"Melchior the Apothecary" thus became the first domestic film screened since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic to draw 100,000 or more viewers to theaters, and just the 11th ever to reach the milestone, according to a press release.

It can now safely be said that the people of Estonia have found their way back to movie theaters following the pandemic, said "Melchior" distributor Timo Diener.

"Each year, several dozen new films are produced in Estonia," Diener noted. "In 2022, for example, the premieres of 37 domestic films are scheduled for this year, according to Estonian Film Institute (EFI) info. Of these, only the cream of the crop make it to the exclusive '100,000 Club.'"

Estonian feature films by box office success

1. "Truth and Justice" (February 22, 2019) — 267,588
2. "Class Reunion" (February 19, 2016) — 189,084
3. "Names in Marble" (November 1, 2002) — 168,743
4. "Winter" (February 7, 2020) — 151,137
5. "Phantom Owl Forest" (December 7, 2018) — 150,429
6. "Class Reunion 2" (February 16, 2018) — 146,501
7. "Class Reunion 3" (January 25, 2019) — 122,146
8. "The Little Comrade" (March 23, 2018) — 116,744
9. "1944" (February 20, 2015) — 115,599
10. "Sipsik" (February 21, 2020) — 107,496
11. "Melchior the Apothecary" (April 15, 2022) — 101,392 and counting

'Melchior the Apothecary' trailer

A famous knight who has driven pirates from the Baltic Sea is murdered in medieval Tallinn. The hero has been decapitated, his mouth filled with coins. The gold chain he had bought that day is missing.

The advocatus places Melchior the apothecary, who is believed to be able to converse with the dead, in charge of the investigation. The smart young man soon discovers the victim was hunting a mysterious "Tallinn prisoner," whose trail leads to the local Dominican monastery. A series of gruesome murders follows, and anyone who gets a sniff of this mystery is in mortal danger.

At the same time, the apothecary grows increasingly suspicious of his own apprentice, who seems to be hiding something...

'Melchior the Apothecary: The Ghost' in theaters August 19

For the first time in Estonian movie history, an entire trilogy of films will premiere within a single calendar year.

"Melchior the Apothecary: The Ghost," the second installment, is scheduled for release on August 19.

The third and final movie, "Melchior the Apothecary: The Executioner's Daughter," is slated to hit theaters on October 14.

Watch the trailer for "Melchior the Apothecary: The Ghost" below.

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