Presidents (film)

Presidents
FrenchPrésidents
Directed byAnne Fontaine
Written byAnne Fontaine
Produced byPhilippe Carcassonne
Starring
CinematographyYves Angelo
Edited byFabrice Rouaud[1]
Music byVincent Blanchard[2]
Production
company
Ciné@
Distributed byUniversal Pictures International France
Release date
  • 30 June 2021 (2021-06-30) (France)
Running time
100 minutes[3]
CountryFrance
LanguageFrench
Box office$3.6 million[4]

Presidents (French: Présidents) is a 2021 French political satire film written and directed by Anne Fontaine.[5] Although it was promoted with the disclaimer that "any resemblance to real persons is purely coincidental", the film stars Jean Dujardin and Grégory Gadebois in roles inspired by former French presidents Nicolas Sarkozy and François Hollande, respectively.[6] It was theatrically released in France on 30 June 2021.

Cast

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Jean Dujardin

Production

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Aubazine Abbey, where some of the scenes of the film were shot.

In August 2020, director Anne Fontaine revealed that she developed the idea for the screenplay during the first COVID-19 lockdown in France:

The lockdown stimulated me into the idea of a different time. It was quite exhilarating to take advantage of a time not planned for writing and to create something unexpected. It's not representative of this period but I wanted something like a comedy, whether it's light, whether it's funny, something whimsical.[7]

The project was described as a comedy about "[the] power and the difficulty of no longer being in charge [...] it is the meeting of two political adversaries who will live an adventure of sorts".[7]

Presidents was produced by Philippe Carcassonne at Ciné@. The film was shot over a seven-week period in Corrèze and Paris, with Yves Angelo as director of photography.[5] Principal photography began on 5 October 2020,[8] and concluded in mid-November 2020.[9]

Release

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The film was theatrically released by Universal Pictures International France on 30 June 2021.[10]

Reception

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Box office

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Presidents grossed $3.6 million in France, and $0 in other territories, for a worldwide total of $3.6 million.[4]

In France, the film opened alongside Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway, Le Sens de la famille, Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard, The Deep House, The Rose Maker, Teddy, and Charlatan. The film sold 41,241 admissions on its first day,[11] 4,623 of which were preview screenings.[12] It went on to sell 213,699 admissions in its opening weekend, finishing 5th at the box office, behind Cruella, Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway, The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, and Le Sens de la famille.[13] At the end of its theatrical run, the film sold a total of 431,129 admissions.[12]

Critical response

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Presidents received an average rating of 3.5 out of 5 stars on the French website AlloCiné, based on 30 reviews.[14]

References

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  1. ^ "Présidents". Cineuropa. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
  2. ^ Baud, Véronique (12 February 2021). "Le Rouennais Vincent Blanchard a composé la musique du film d'Anne Fontaine, Présidents". Paris-Normandie (in French). Retrieved 5 June 2023.
  3. ^ "Présidents: synopsis et bande-annonce". 24 minutes (in French). 26 July 2021. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
  4. ^ a b "Presidents (2021)". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
  5. ^ a b "Anne Fontaine puts the finishing touches to Présidents". Cineuropa. 29 December 2020. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
  6. ^ Laffon, Lucie (24 June 2021). "Jean Dujardin fait un énorme carton dans C à vous avec une imitation magistrale de Nicolas Sarkozy en train de se plaindre". GQ (in French). France. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
  7. ^ a b Palanchini, Corentin (9 September 2020). "Jean Dujardin : son personnage s'inspirera de Nicolas Sarkozy dans Présidents". Allociné (in French). Retrieved 21 November 2020.
  8. ^ "Présidents : première image de Jean Dujardin en Nicolas Sarkozy pour Anne Fontaine". Première (in French). 8 October 2020. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
  9. ^ "Présidents : Jean Dujardin annonce la fin du tournage du film d'Anne Fontaine". CinéSéries (in French). 20 November 2020. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
  10. ^ ""Présidents", "La Fine fleur", "Pierre Lapin 2"... Les films en salles cette semaine". Le Journal du Dimanche (in French). 29 June 2021. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
  11. ^ Colon, Tanguy (1 July 2021). "Box-office 1er jour : Pierre Lapin 2 démarre au poil". Boxoffice Pro (in French). Retrieved 5 June 2023.
  12. ^ a b "Présidents (2021)". JP Box-Office (in French). Retrieved 5 June 2023.
  13. ^ Colon, Tanguy (5 July 2021). "Box-office week-end : Cruella garde la main". Boxoffice Pro (in French). Retrieved 5 June 2023.
  14. ^ "Critiques Presse pour le film Présidents". AlloCiné (in French). Retrieved 5 June 2023.
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