“Gorko!” comedy beats Bondarchuk’s “Stalingrad” at Russian box officeOctober 30, 2013 - 10:25 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - The wedding comedy Gorko! (Now a Kiss!), directed by Zhora Kryzhovnikov and produced by Timur Bekmambetov’s company, Bazelevs, became this past weekend’s top-grossing film at the Russian box office, beating the previous two weeks’ champion Stalingrad, as well as Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 and Machete Kills, which were also released in Russia on Oct. 24., The Hollywood Reporter said. Gorko! grossed $6.99 million over the weekend, followed by Stalingrad ($5.68 million), the second installment of the Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs franchise ($3.86 million), Escape Plan, which drew in $1.59 million in its second weekend, and Machete Kills ($1.24 million). According to the research group Romir Movie Research, word of mouth contributed substantially to the box office success of Gorko! A survey conducted by the group showed that 88% of the respondents were ready to recommend the film to their friends, 77% said they liked the film and 69% said they would want to watch a sequel, which is already in production. This is the third weekend in a row in which a local film has topped the Russian box office, a rarity. Fedor Bondarchuk’s Stalingrad was the top earner the two previous weekends. To date, the WWII movie has grossed $42.9 million. Top stories Ara Aivazian said Azerbaijan continues the traditions of Turkey after seizing territories and forced Armenians out. The creative crew of the Public TV had chosen 13-year-old Malena as a participant of this year's contest. She called on others to also suspend their accounts over the companies’ failure to tackle hate speech. Penderecki was known for his film scores, including for William Friedkin’s “The Exorcist”, Stanley Kubrick’s “The Shining”. Partner news | Police try to impede Armenian Church head’s access to war memorial Police tried to stop the supreme head of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Catholicos Karekin II, from visiting a war memorial. Greece says ready to help as Armenia fights flooding consequences Greece is ready to assist Armenia in combatting the consequences of deadly floods in the country’s north. “He will leave”: Protest leader no longer demands meeting with Pashinyan Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan no longer demands a meeting with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. Lemkin Institute petition seeks release of Armenians in Azerbaijan The Lemkin Institute is deeply concerned about the continued illegal detention of political prisoners from Karabakh in Azerbaijan. |