This film, which cost €43 million, is the phenomenon of 2024 in France: it has exceeded 9 million cinema admissions

News culture This film, which cost €43 million, is the phenomenon of 2024 in France: it has exceeded 9 million cinema admissions

A colossal success

The Comte de Monte Cristoa French film released in 2024, is the new adaptation of the famous novel by Alexandre Dumas, supported by the talent of Pierre Niney in the role of Edmond Dantès. Directed by Alexandre de La Patellière and Matthieu Delaporte and produced by Dimitri Rassam, the film marks an important milestone for French cinema. Rassam, who had already produced the diptych The Three Musketeers the previous year, here brings an epic breath to the timeless tale of betrayal and revenge ofEdmond Dantes.

In this adaptation, Niney embodies a young 22-year-old sailor, who, on his return to Marseille to find his fiancée Mercédès Herrera and rise to the rank of captain, is betrayed by jealous friends and falsely accused of Bonapartist conspiracy. Imprisoned in the Château d’If, Dantès endures fourteen years of confinement, until a spectacular escape allows him to discover a treasure hidden on the island of Montecristo. Transformed into a count, he then undertakes a vengeance methodical and implacable against those who caused his downfall.

Already cult

Presented out of competition at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, The Count of Monte Cristo received a warm welcome, both for its fidelity to the work of Dumas and for Niney’s poignant interpretation, which gives a intensity rare to the character of Edmond Dantès. His physical transformation, intended to embody the character’s years of suffering and resilience, was noted, and the entire cast was praised for the richness of emotions they manage to convey. With a large budget for French filmthis adaptation stands out as a daring bet, aiming to compete with Hollywood productions. The production of Delaporte and De La Patellière also offers sumptuous settings and intense action scenes which captivated the viewer throughout the three hours of the film.

The success of Monte Cristo is not limited to critics: the film has gathered an impressive audience. Four months after its release, it accumulated 9.25 million entriesplacing him at the 41st ranking of films the most viewed of all time in France, even surpassing The idiots’ dinnera classic of French comedy. The film is on track to climb but above all remain in the top 150 most viewed films in history in France, and this success could well extend internationally with a release in the United States scheduled for the end of December 2024.For comparison, A little something extra, by Artus, still occupies 25th place with 10,781,027 entries, but remains far behind Bienvenue chez les Ch’tis and its 20,489,303 spectators.