The much talked-about romantic comedy film Tell Me Sweet Something, has been doing well at the South African Box Office since its launch on 4 September.
This is according to the National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), which helps to develop and promote the film industry in the country.
Tell Me Sweet Something, is romcom directed and produced by the award-winning Akin Omotoso.
It debuted at number five at the South African Box Office, competing against popular international films, The SouthPaw and Fantastic Four.
The film was released on 45 screens (prints), earning R843 589 revenue in its debut.
In its second week the film grossed at R646 241, an achievement for a local romcom, accumulating a total of R1 646 085.
This success encouraged exhibitors to increase the number of cinemas to 47.
“From the successes of Tell Me Sweet Something, we hope that South Africans will keep up the momentum, choosing local films when they visit the cinemas. The Box Office report constantly points to the lack of support for our local films, however we hope that the support we’re experiencing with Tell Me Sweet Something will be the norm and consumers will fill the cinemas to watch local film,” said Zama Mkosi, NFVF CEO.
Tell Me Sweet Something tells the story of Moratiwa (Nomzamo Mbatha), an aspiring writer who owns and runs a bookstore in the heart of Johannesburg.
The bookstore, like her love life, is not experiencing much success. This all changes when she meets and falls in love with the unlikeliest candidate in the world, Nat (Maps Maponyane), a male model, who has never read a book in his life and is desperate to be loved for his mind not his body.
NFVF further stated that, in its third week the film experienced a decline at the cinema, grossing R233 785, an issue that can be attributed to the reduction of number of screens to 28.This indicates that the more screens the film is released on, the better the chance for more people to see it.
“It also indicates that if the number of screens (prints) in the high performing sites are reduced, then the numbers will also decrease,” Mkosi explained.
She encouraged the public to support the South African film industry, “as the country prepares for the release of award-winning actor/producer Terry Pheto’s film, Ayanda, the NFVF would like to encourage South African film consumers to continue demonstrating the support for local films.”Ayanda opens on 02 October, around the same time as other local films including Necktie Youth and While You Were Not Watching.
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