Middle Empire” topped the box office on the first day

CINEMA – A start worthy of the fame of the most famous of the Gauls. The film Asterix and Obelix: The Middle Empire, a new film adaptation of the comic strip by Goscinny and Uderzo, has already topped the box office since its release this Wednesday, February 1st. At the end of the first day of operation, the blockbuster produced by the actor Guillaume Canetindeed it drew a total of 463,026 darkroom spectators.

A success which, according to information from the Pathé group, offers this new Asterix the best start for a French film in ten years (and the eighth of all time in France). with winter vacation which begin at the end of the week, the film should also have no trouble crossing a million admissions.

However, this bona fide success must be put into perspective: just over half of the admissions (275,658 to be exact) took place during the various previews organized in France before the release. A common practice for large productions, which allows the film to be talked about and, by the way, increase the statistics when a film is shown.

An XXL cast and mixed fans

with Asterix and Obelix: The Middle EmpireGuillaume Canet is just ahead of Dany Boon and his film The Ch’tite familywhich had 451,530 first-day admissions in 2018. It was then the best opening for a French film since Welcome to Ch’tisand its 558,559 first-day admissions in 2008.

For this new adventure, the famous Gauls find themselves driven to China. Using magic potions and slaps, they will help Princess Fu Yi (Julie Chen) save the Empress from the hands of Deng Tsin Quin (Bun Hay Mean), a prince who has ordered a coup.

As in previous opuses, spectators will be pleased to find an XXL cast. Among the irreducible and their enemies, Gilles Lellouche (Obélix), Vincent Cassel (Jules César), Marion Cotillard (Cléopâtre), Angèle (Falbala), Bigflo and Oli (Adbelmalix and Toufix), Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Antivirus), Jonathan Cohen (cereals) and many other stars.

Despite a huge success on paper, the film received particularly poor reviews in the press, and fans met from HuffPost turn out to be mixed, as you can see in the video below.

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