Maren Ade’s film “Toni Erdmann” was a fan favorite at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, but it didn’t take home any of the fest’s prizes. It did, however, earn top honors from the International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI), and scored U.S. distribution through Sony Pictures Classics.
But before it hits the U.S., “Toni Erdmann” has become a big hit in Ade’s native Germany. As Screen Daily reports, the film, released on July 14, is already approaching the $1 million mark. Screen Daily goes on to detail that the film “took the top spot in the arthouse chart and entered the general box office chart in fifth position. It clocked the weekend’s best screen average and the best screen average for a German film this calendar year. In Austria, the film had similar success with more than 8,000 admissions accounting for a No. 4 slot in the chart.”
The film follows “practical joker Winfried (Peter Simonischek) [who] disguises himself as flashy ‘Toni Erdmann’ to get busy Ines’ (Sandra Hüller) attention and change her corporate lifestyle. The father-daughter challenge reaches absurd proportions until Ines begins to see that her eccentric father deserves a place in her life.”
“Toni Erdmann” will hit U.S. theaters in December, giving it a prime release spot for Best Foreign Language Film consideration for the Oscars.
