Entertainment · Film · 14 hrs ago
French De Gaulle Epic Gets U.S. Theatrical and VOD Release
Antonin Baudry’s two-part film about Charles de Gaulle premiered in Los Angeles at the American French Film Festival.
The films follow the French general during World War II, including his effort to build a Resistance movement after France surrendered to Nazi Germany in 1940.
The €74 million production stars Simon Abkarian as de Gaulle and Simon Russell Beale as Winston Churchill.
After a slow start in France, the films became a domestic box-office success, selling more than six million tickets.
U.S. distributor Samuel Goldwyn Films is releasing the films in major cities and nationwide through transactional video on demand.
The second film, “De Gaulle: Liberty,” is due in early December.
Goldwyn is using both theaters and online rentals because U.S. cinemas may not give a foreign-language film much time to find an audience.
Antonin Baudry’s two-part World War II epic about Charles de Gaulle is receiving a U.S. theatrical release and nationwide transactional VOD distribution.
Samuel Goldwyn Films is releasing the films in major U.S. markets, including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Washington, D.C.
The second film, “De Gaulle: Liberty,” is scheduled for release in early December.
The films star Simon Abkarian as Charles de Gaulle and Simon Russell Beale as Winston Churchill.
The €74 million production has sold more than six million tickets in France.
- Who
- Samuel Goldwyn Films is distributing the films in the United States. Antonin Baudry directed the two-part epic.
- What
- The films about Charles de Gaulle are receiving a U.S. theatrical release and nationwide transactional VOD distribution.
- When
- The U.S. premiere took place on Saturday. The second film is due in early December.
- Where
- The films are being released in major U.S. markets and nationwide on transactional VOD.
- Why
- Distributor Peter Goldwyn said the films could appeal to U.S. audiences, with World War II providing an entry point.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
The two films made their U.S. premiere at the American French Film Festival in Los Angeles.
Goldwyn is rolling out the films theatrically in major U.S. markets and nationwide on transactional VOD.
De Gaulle: Liberty” is scheduled to be released.
- Production budget
- €74 million
- French ticket sales
- More than six million
- U.S. theatrical markets
- New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., Seattle, Austin, Minneapolis, Houston and Atlanta
- Stars
- Simon Abkarian as Charles de Gaulle; Simon Russell Beale as Winston Churchill
- Second film
- De Gaulle: Liberty,” due in early December
What people are saying
The films have proven themselves, and audiences are audiences, whether they’re American or French
World War II is an easy entry point for U.S. audiences
The only thing that makes it an arthouse movie is because it’s in a foreign language
In France it had this sort of slow start and was really discovered, but theaters in the U.S. don’t have the patience or time to let things be discovered.