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BERLIN – After the once-in-a-lifetime indie success of French comedy The Intouchables in Germany last year, first-half figures at Berlin distributor Senator slipped.
Revenue dropped nearly 40 percent to $22 million, and a $6 million profit turned into a $1.1 million loss.
The Intouchables soared to the top of the German box office charts last year, eventually earning some $75 million in the territory.
That success single-handedly transformed Senator from a nearly-bust indie producer/distributor to a major player in Germany. The coming months and years will show if the boost was temporary or if Senator can continue to play in the major leagues.
The results so far this year have been weaker. Operating profits dipped more than 35 percent to just under $7 million. Senator’s first-half releases, including On The Other Side of the Tracks featuring Intouchables star Omar Sy and Lasse Hallstrom‘s Safe Haven, have not provided the needed boost.
Senator is betting in-house productions and co-productions will help. The company’s highest-profile in-house titles include the co-production A Most Wanted Man starring Philip Seymour Hoffman, Willem Dafoe and Rachel McAdams and German-language literary adaptation Der Koch from director Ralf Huettner, both of which hit German theaters next year.
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