ScreenDaily’s weekly round-up of the local and independent releases in key markets this week.

France:

EuropaCorp Distribution released Radu Milhaileanu’s The Concert on Wednesday (November 4) to earn the top spot among new releases for the day. It sold 51,214 tickets on 335 copies. The film tells the story of Russian conductor who is demoted to janitor under the Communists. Years later, he intercepts an invitation for the Bolshoi Orchestra to play in Paris and heads there to reassemble his old orchestra. Wild Bunch sold the film quite successfully in pre-sales in Cannes in 2008. The Weinstein Company has US rights.

Alain Resnai’s Les Herbes Folles, which picked up a special prize in Cannes this year, was released by StudioCanal on Wednesday falling just behind Saw VI to land in third place among new films. It took in 26,026 admissions on 196 screens. The story about chance meetings stars Andre Dussollier and Sabine Azema.

Richard Kelly’s The Box went out via Wild Bunch Distribution this week on a relatively small 214 screens. The Cameron Diaz-James Marsden thriller sees a couple deeply disturbed when a strange man delivers a mystery box. The film placed fourth in first day releases with 21,742 admissions.

UK:

UK- Australian co-production Bright Star gets a nationwide release from November 6, with Warner Bros distributing. Jane Campion’s drama chronicles the relationship between Fanny Brawne and John Keats, cut short by the poet’s death at the age of just 25 years old.

Indie distributor Vertigo is opening local production 1 Day with a wide release. Directed by Penny Woolcock, the rap musical is set on a Birmingham council estate and follows a day in the life of a drug dealer.

US indie Paper Heart gets a limited release in the West End and key cities, thorough Anchor Bay. The quirky quasi-documentary follows Charlyne Yi’s search for the secret to finding your soul mate.

Germany:

Christian Klandt’s film City Of The World (Weltstadt), based on the true story of two bored youths beating and burning a homeless man to death in 2004, was released by X Verleih’s new label Neue Heimat at cinemas in Beeskow, Berlin and Freiburg. Klandt’s debut won a special prize at this year’s Zlin Film Festival.

Neue Visionen is releasing the Golden Bear winner The Milk Of Sorrow in 18 towns throughout Germany. Claudia Llosa’s drama was shown in Berlin on November 4 as part of the World Cinema Fund Spotlight showcase.

The animation film The Way To The Stars, which was sold to over 100 countries and was the most expensive film ever made in Finland, is released nationwide by Universum.

Eric Cantona came to Berlin to support Delphi’s release of Ken Loach’s latest feature Looking For Eric in 50 towns throughout Germany. Subtitled prints are being shown at such cinemas as Berlin’s Odeon Kino and Hackesche Höfe, Cologne’s Off Broadway and Munich’s Atlantis.

Spain:

Paramount will release Spanish director Daniel Monzon’s hotly anticipated new thriller Cell 211 this weekend. The film was written by Alex De La Iglesia’s long time collaborator Jorge Guerricaechevarria and stars Luis Tosar and Alberto Ammann. It tells the story of a newly appointed prison guard (Ammann) who has to cope with a riot led by Tosar’s fiery character Mala.

Local outfit DeaPlaneta will be showing German director Christian Alvart’s sci-fi thriller Pandorum, which stars Dennis Quaid and Ben Foster. The film is backed by Resident Evil series partners Constantin Film and Impact Pictures and has already taken $9.5m in the US.

Multi-award winning Catalan born director Ventura Pons’ new film A La Deriva will get a limited release in Spain through local outfit Baditri. Based on Lluis-Anton Baulenas’ best selling novel Area De Servei, the film is about a Spanish nurse who returns from a conflict in Africa and finds it hard to adjust to normal life.

Donnie Darko director Richard Kelly’s tense thriller The Box will hit Spanish cinemas through Warner Bros.