The six feature films and one animated movie, which have been screened since a week before the beginning of the Iranian New Year (started March 21), have grossed $12 million at the box office after about 50 days and are approaching the end of their screening.
Appealing to different tastes, the movies cover various genres, including action, thriller, comedy, drama and adventure.
On top of the box office table sits “Confiscation”, the debut directorial work of actor Mehran Ahmadi, which has so far taken in over $3.1 million.
A comedy, the flick has popular comedian Reza Attaran in the lead role. Houman Seyyedi, Babak Hamidian and Ahmadi are also in the cast.
The film, based in the 1970s, is the story of a SAVAK (Iran’s security service before the 1979 Islamic Revolution) member (played by Attaran) who is involved in many adventures and challenges.
Second best-seller of the year so far is “Lottery” directed by Mohammad Hossein Mahdavian which has earned over $2.7 million.
The drama is the story of Amir Ali and Noushin, two youth who want to marry each other despite their families’ refusal. They both have only one dream: to win the lottery and get the green card to go and live in the US. However, things do not turn out the way they expect.
The cast includes Hamid Farrokhnezhad, Saed Soheili, Ziba Karam-Ali, Hadi Hejazifar and Javad Ezzati.
Following closely in the box office list is Ebrahim Hatamikia’s “Damascus Time” which has earned $2.6 million.
The action/thriller film unfolds in the city of Palmyra in eastern Syria that has fallen to the extremist group IS. The terrorists surround the airport in a nearby city where many wounded people and the last defenders of the airport await emergency evacuation.
An Iranian young pilot has to risk his life and reach the airport to help evacuate these people while they are under direct IS fire. A close confrontation with IS fighters determines their fate in a dramatic turn of events.
Hadi Hejazifar, Babak Hamidian and a number of Syrian and Iraqi actors star in the film.
For the film, Hatamikia was co-awarded the Crystal Simorgh award for best director at the 36th Fajr Film Festival. The movie won two other awards for best music and best sound mixing.
The comedy “Vespiary” directed by Borzou Niknejad fetched $1.8 million and is among the top grosser at Iran’s box office.
A comedy with a social theme, it follows a pair of small-time thieves who embark on a big adventure after collecting a box. Mohsen Kiaei, Pejman Jamshidi, Bahareh Kian-Afshar, Rana Azadivar and Houman Barqnavard are in the cast.
Sole Animation
The only animation among the Norouz screenings is “The Elephant King” directed by Hadi Mohammadian, which has also done well at the box office and collected almost $1 million.
The story revolves around the society of elephants in an African jungle. After being humiliated by others, a baby elephant called “Shadfil” goes through several adventures to finally win everyone’s heart and become the real elephant king.
Another comedy on screen is “Khargiush”, the first feature film of Nima Baghbani. It has fetched about $500,000. It is about a group of youths who get high on drugs to forget about their problems, which leads to the revelation of secrets. The cast includes Javad Ezzati, Babak Hamidian, Siamak Ansari, Mina Sadati, Homayoun Ershadi, Melika Sharifinia and Omid Rouhani.
And the last film in the list is the social drama “Ferrari” directed by Alireza Davoudnejad that only made $150,000.
However, the low turnover belied the expectations since the film is helmed by an experienced director, benefits from the script written by veteran writer Kambuzia Partovi and features popular actors like Mohsen Tanabandeh, Tarlan Parvaneh, Mohammad Reza Davoudnejad, Sima Tirandaz, Siamak Safari and Reza Davoudnejad.
The movie had won the Special Jury Prize and Crystal Simorgh awards for best actor, best screenplay and best sound recording at the 35th Fajr Film Festival. It tells the story of an 18 year-old rural girl who comes to Tehran to take a picture with a Ferrari, but that embroils her in troublesome events.
