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FAMILY FILMS WERE big hits at the Irish box office this year according to the latest figures on Ireland’s cinema-going habits.
According to figures released by Wide Eye Media, 2017 was a record-breaking year for family films, with six family films in the box office top 10. That was twice as many as in 2016.
A family film took the top spot – Beauty and the Beast, which was released in March and made €5 million at the box office.
“The incredible performance of the family genre at the ROI box office in 2017 demonstrates again how essential and personal cinema is to us,” said Eoin Wrixon, CEO of Wide Eye Media.
Family movies accounted for 30% of all box office receipts. The four films that weren’t family hits in the top 10 were Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Dunkirk, It and Guardians of The Galaxy Vol 2.
The success of It marked the first time a horror has entered the Irish top 10 since Scary Movie took seventh place in 2000.
Cardboard Gangsters, which was filmed and set in Darndale in Dublin, was the top Irish film.
According to Wide Eye Media, final cinema admissions for 2017 are expected to be above 15 million for the second year running, and are predicted to rise even higher in 2018.
“2018 will be an extraordinary year as there is at least one massive blockbuster scheduled to release every month,” said Wrixon. “High-profile sequels and the return of beloved family classics are among the most-anticipated releases as well as some seriously strong women.”
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Same old predictable irish gangster tripe
@Donnacha Bhoicaire: yep, proper cringe film
@Donnacha Bhoicaire: Should have been called Cardboard Actors… God it was a struggle to watch…
@Jason: I liked it. Much better than a lot of hollywood garbage
@GunsGerms: …
@GunsGerms: It’s just not good for an Irish film. One of my all time favourite films is Disco Pigs…I loved What Richard Did.. There’s a little known flick called Salt water from the 90′s that I’d recommend to anyone… This thing is just badly acted, badly written, clichéd rubbish trading solely on the minority angle… I wouldn’t mind but even that angle has been covered so much better in films like Into the West or even Pavee Lackin… This thing is just a tick the box exercise… Generic minority character, social injustice, inner city, shoot it through a blue filter to add to the grittiness, don’t worry about little things like script or direction.. it’ll be lauded by the Irish hacks because not to would be racist etc etc…
@Jason: can’t stand Connors either
@Donnacha Bhoicaire: I thought it was okay
I watched it. It’s a 4/10 film. Very predictable. Nothing special about it. We’ve low standards if this is the best selling film of the year.
Surprisingly a good flick.
@Declan Byrne: I agree but of course you’ve the same old anti Irish crew that hated it.
It was rubbish ..
@Gary: I thought it was absolute shíte. Not a bit irish in anyway. Loved the guard, the general, veronica Guerin, can’t remember the name but 2 kids trying to find the cocaine in cork, I went down and many other irish films. But cardboard gangsters was woeful.
@John Doe: Young offenders is the one with the coke n cork, that was class, I think they’re making a series on Netflix or something.
@Ron North: they are I think most of it is filmed already my buddy was on site for two weeks making it
@Declan Byrne: Surprisingly very good movie as I usually hate all that gangster stuff.
@Gary: Not really. If a movie is good or bad we just say how it is. I watch movies and series in subtitles from all over the world. Just because it’s pretty sh*te doesn’t mean anti irish. This movie was just about bearable.
the movie of the year for me was legend Tom Hardy playing both Ronnie and Reggie, now that’s acting, and the award 2017 for hammiest ham actor goes to Connors.
@Maurice Slater: didn’t like Legend myself but I’ll agree Tom Hardy was spectacular in it.
Pure mock
I recorded it during Christmas off the telly. Havent watched it yet. How was it in cinema and on telly in same year? Strange.
It couldn’t have been worse than Crushproof, a contender for worst Irish film of all time
paper gangster is what we say in dublin
@Julie Burn: really ? Since when?
@siobhan ni mhurchu: since about 15 yrs ago ,its basically means someone that goes around spoofing about things they supposedly done. are you from dublin? another saying we have about some people that think they are strung out on heroin but only buy it with there dole money ,, labour day junkie
@Julie Burn: similar to Mickey money day ….
@Siobhán Ni Mhurchú: yes ,i haveheard the mickey money one , Have you not heard the paper gangster one before? grussy or gussy? bitzy on that
@Siobhán Ni Mhurchú: gollyer
@Julie Burn: yep most of them but never paper gangster !
ken
John Connor
Only decent part of it was the very ending.
Cardboard gangsters was tripe.
Beauty and the Beast made over €5 million. It wasn’t watched by over 5 million people surely (in which case the entire population saw it at least once).
@Daragh Cassidy: average ticket price 10+/-. So 500,000 people could have seen it. What cinema do you go to that charges a €1?
@tweetforjunk: eh, that’s my exact point. The original article (which they’ve now corrected) said 5 million people WATCHED the film last year (which would have meant it took in around €50 million at the box office).
I pointed out that the table in the article was actually showing that the film MADE €5 million (which means around 500,000 saw the film and would seem correct).
Didn’t like it. But got to say that actor who played the character Dano really played a proper tool. Convincingly good actually annoying as the character was.
As for the soundtrack….
It just tried to come off all Compton like or Chicago south side which Dublin isn’t anywhere near
Favourite Irish movie – I Went Down. My favourite Brendan Gleeson movie too
@Alan Dowdall: Your tax is out……
Cardboard gangsters was one of the worst films i ever watched.
A balls of a film.
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