'1944' proves a box-office hit
Estonia's newest historical feature film "1944" has been seen by over 100,000 theatergoers since premiering in February. This makes it the second most popular Estonian movie of the past two decades.
As the title implies, the film is based on the events of 1944, when the Soviet forces re-invaded Estonia and clashed with the retreating Nazis. The film offers perspectives from two young Estonians fighting on either side of the conflict.
Elmo Nüganen's historical masterpiece is only the second Estonian film to reach the magical 100,000 viewers boundary in cinemas. The first to do so was the 1918-1920 War of Independence drama "Names in Marble" ("Nimed Marmortahvlil", 2002), also directed by Nüganen. The epic sold what was then a record-breaking 168,113 tickets.
Altogether, only five more films have managed to lure more than 100,000 Estonians to the cinema since then:
Ice Age 3 (2009) - 186,521
Ice Age 4 (2012) - 170,696
Ice Age 2 (2006) - 129,614
Shrek 3 (2010) - 106,676
Pirates of the Carribean 2 (2006) - 104,765
The production team has announced that "1944" will also premiere in Finland in September.
Editor: M. Oll