ASTERIX AND OBELIX 2023. The figures for the first week of release of the film Asterix and Obelix The Middle Empire are now known. Is this a good start for Guillaume Canet’s film?
[Updated on February 8, 2023 at 3:42 p.m.] The box office results of Asterix and Obelix The Middle Kingdom are particularly scrutinized. Its success or failure is supposed to say a lot for the future of French cinema, announced Guillaume Canet – visibly worried – during his numerous appearances in the media for the promotion of his film. The director can be reassured, the public is present in theaters to see the new episode of the Asterix saga in the cinema.
In total, for its first week of operation, Asterix and Obelix: The Middle Kingdom attracted 1,882,686 admissions. This marks the 20th best weekly start in history for a French film. It is therefore a very good launch that must however be put into perspective in the face of the success of the other films of the Asterix license. Indeed, Guillaume Canet’s film greatly exceeds In the Service of Her Majesty (2012) but is separated by nearly a million admissions from Asterix and Obelix against Caesar (1999). However, the start remains very important for a French film, especially in the post-Covid period.
On its first day of operation, the film achieved a total of 463,026 admissions on its first day including previews. These preview sessions alone bring 275,658 admissions to the total first day box office of Asterix and Obelix and the Middle Kingdom, which therefore generated just under 190,000 admissions for its first day in France.
All in all, on its first day of release in France, Asterix and Obelix and the Middle Kingdom has had the best start for a French film in 15 years. It’s simple, you have to go back to 2008 and the release of Bienvenue chez les Ch’tis (which had gathered 558,359 spectators on its first day) to exceed the first day of Guillaume Canet’s film. Previously, only La Ch’tite Famille by Dany Boon came close in 2018, but L’Empire du Milieu is kicking off in 2023. It’s also a pretty good start for an Asterix film, like us. we explain it below.
Compared to other films in the Asterix saga, The Middle Kingdom is aptly named since it starts exactly in the middle of the five live action episodes. Guillaume Canet’s film drops to third place for the first day box office just below Asterix at the Olympic Games with 464,248 admissions (6.8 million admissions in total) and well below Mission Cleopatra and its 629,148 admissions (14.4 million total admissions in 2002). We find in fourth position Asterix and Obelix against Caesar with 446,724 admissions for the first day and finally Asterix and Obelix in the service of his Majesty and a launch well below forecasts with 120,856 admissions.
It is therefore a completely exceptional start for a French film, especially when you consider the fact that cinemas are still in post-Covid-19 period remission, which obviously did a lot of harm to attendance. If superhero films or even big American event films manage to fill up, French productions were rare in the top 10 of the 2022 box office, for example. On this subject, Asterix and Obelix: The Middle Kingdom has done better than all French productions for 15 years. It is therefore a particularly successful Day 1 launch that must continue in order to make it a real commercial success. Indeed, we recall that the film cost 65 million euros and will therefore have to reach at least 5 million admissions to avoid failure at the box office.