The first film in the Jussi-Adler Department Q franchise directed by Mikkel Norgaard will be available in France across several VOD platforms such as Club Video SFR, FilmoTV, Google Play, iTunes, MyTF1 VOD, Orange and on all digital service providers (Bouygues, Free, Numéricable, Orange, SFR) to cover around 80% of French households.
The second film in the franchise The Absent One will hit French cinemas on April 8, 2015. “Wild Bunch has opted for an atypical event style release which will allow both films to benefit from a strong promotional support,” said the French distributor in a statement.
“Our goal is to release a dozen films each year, using the same distribution model. The idea is to show that these are true films for the cinema, not bad movies relegated to video,” explained co-founder Brahim Chioua to French newspaper Les Echos.
The company first tested a VOD premiere last Cannes with the controversial film Welcome to New York that registered more than 200,000 downloads.
The Zentropa produced The Keeper of Lost Causes supported by Nordisk Film & TV Fond sold more than 725,000 tickets in Denmark, making it the biggest theatrical success of 2013. The follow up The Absent One also claimed the top of the Danish charts in 2014 with 766,000 tickets sold.
In Denmark, Nordisk Film Distribution used the popularity of the second Department Q film to launch its new ‘Digital Buy’ model, an exclusive digital window between theatrical and DVD/Blu-ray.
The third film in the series Flaskepost fra P (English title A Conspiracy of Faith) starring Nikolaj Lie Kaas and Fares Fares will be directed by Hans Petter Moland. The film just received support from Eurimages.