Agnieszka Holland’s Green Border has topped the Polish box office for the second weekend in a row despite fierce attacks on the refugee drama from the country’s right-wing government.
Its total box office now stands at PLN 8.5m ($1.9m) on 425,000 admissions, according to figures from Polish company boxoffice.pl supplied by distributor Kino Swiat.
The takings mean that it has entered the top 20 film releases in Poland in 2023 on its second week. Barbie is the biggest film of the year in Poland with box office of $13.3 million since its July 21 launch.
Holland’s Green Border, which won the special jury prize at Venice, tells the story of refugees, charity workers, activists and border guards, whose lives intersect in the cold, swampy forests between Poland and Belarus.
Holland and the film have become the focus of a string of attacks by Polish government ministers, including President Duda who has compared the film to Nazi propaganda.
But the attacks don’t seem to have deterred audiences. Green Border had 165,000 admissions over its second weekend, taking PLN 2.8m ($630,000). Its second weekend coincided with the 8th annual Cinema Day in Poland on September 30, when tickets were sold at the discounted price of PLN 12 ($2.74). 250 cinemas took part in Cinema Day, which is supported by the Polish Film Institute, including the Cinema City, Helios and Multikino chains as well as many arthouse cinemas.
Green Border scored 137,000 admissions in its launch weekend, making it the best opening for a Polish title in 2023.
Distributor Kino Swiat expanded the release of Green Border for its second week from 230 to 281 cinemas. It played on 305 screens, up from 257 screens in its first week.
“The Polish people have voted with their feet,” said Mike Downey, one of the producers of Green Border. “To get to number one with this controversial film bears witness to the depth of feeling that is in Poland on this subject. The film is working across the country at a very grassroots level and we have every reason to believe that with the impending election it will have the legs to mature into one of the best box office assets of the year.”
Green Border next releases in the Czech Republic on October 18 and soon after in Ukraine.
A key screening will take place at the European Parliament in early November. The film will also be screened at the Vatican as part of the 27th Tertio Millenio Film Festival in November. Holland will also receive the festival’s Special Fuoricampo Prize in the Vatican Library on November 13, ahead of the screening in the presence of top Vatican representatives.
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