10 European titles that could make a box office splash in 2024

France

And Their Children After Them
Dirs. Ludovic Boukherma, Zoran Boukherma
French fraternal twin writer/director duo Ludovic and Zoran Boukherma adapt from Nicolas Mathieu’s Prix Goncourt-winning 2018 novel of the same name. Set in August 1992, the coming-of-age story follows a 14-year-old boy and his cousin growing up in eastern France across several subsequent summers and paints a portrait of life in a post-industrial region. The film boasts a starry local cast including Gilles Lellouche, Ludivine Sagnier and Paul Kircher. Alain Attal’s Trésor Films and Hugo Sélignac’s Mediawan-owned Chi-Fou-Mi produce.
Release: TBC, Warner Bros

The Count Of Monte Cristo
Dirs. Matthieu Delaporte, Alexandre de La Patelliere
Released in the wake of its Out of Competition Cannes premiere, this big-budget adaptation of Alexandre Dumas’ famous 1844 novel stars Pierre Niney in the title role of Edmond Dantes, who is imprisoned for a crime he did not commit before assuming the identity of the Count of Monte Cristo and exacting his revenge on the men who betrayed him. The A-list local cast also includes Anaïs Demoustier, Bastien Bouillon, Anamaria Vartolomei and Laurent Lafitte. Co-directors Delaporte and de La Patelliere wrote — but did not direct — two‑film box-office hit The Three Musketeers, achieving a combined 6 million admissions at French cinemas.
Release: June 28, Pathé

Monsieur Aznavour
Dirs. Mehdi Idir, Grand Corps Malade
This buzzy biopic stars Tahar Rahim as legendary French crooner Charles Aznavour alongside César-winning actor Bastien Bouillon and Marie-Julie Baup. It follows the famed Armenia-born French singing sensation from his humble beginnings to his rise to fame, and from Paris to New York. There is even early awards buzz for the $28m (€26m) film directed by Idir and famed rap artist Grand Corps Malade, whose last two films School Life and Step By Step (aka Patients) achieved 1.8 million and 1.3 million admissions in France in 2019 and 2017 respectively.
Release: October 23, Pathé

Spain

Father There Is Only One 4 
Dir. Santiago Segura
Mainstream comedies have reliably topped the charts of local productions in Spain in recent years, including all three in actor/director Segura’s Father There Is Only One saga, which began in 2019 with Segura as a dad who has to rise to the challenge of looking after his five children when their mother goes on a trip. The fourth instalment arrives two years after Father There Is Only One 3, which ranked fourth at the Spanish box office in 2022, behind only Avatar: The Way Of Water, Minions: The Rise Of Gru and Jurassic World: Dominion, and grossed $17m (€15.6m).
Release: July 18, Sony

SuperKlaus
Dirs. Steve Majaury, Andrea Sebastian
Animation is one of the two most popular genres at Spanish cinemas, alongside comedy, and local production in the sector is strong, with the Tad The Explorer saga and Mummies among some of the highest-grossing local hits of recent years. SuperKlaus (aka 4 Days Before Christmas) sees the story of Santa take a superhero turn when he accidentally bumps his head and starts believing he is SuperKlaus. This Spain-Canada co-production from Capitán Araña, 3 Doubles Producciones, Smartrek Films AIE and PVP Media will hit the family market for the festive season.
Release: December 5, Filmax

Germany

Hagen
Dirs. Cyrill Boss, Philipp Steinert
Based on prolific German fantasy author Wolfgang Hohlbein’s Hagen Von Tronje, Hagen is a retelling of the medieval Nibelungen folk saga centring on the titular Viking who allies himself with the ancient gods and takes up arms against an unscrupulous ruler. Past credits for co-directors Boss and Steinert include the Pagan Peak TV series and Victor And The Secret Of Crocodile Mansion. The title role is played by Dutch actor Gijs Naber (The Story Of My Wife) with Jannis Niewöhner (Munich — The Edge Of War) as rival dragonslayer Siegfried.
Release: October 31, Constantin Film

School Of Magical Animals 3
Dir. Sven Unterwaldt Jr
A third screen feature from Margit Auer’s bestselling children’s book series will be looking to repeat the success of the first two films, which were the biggest local hits in Germany in 2022 and 2023, grossing $13.2m (€12.1m) and $22.7m (€20.9m) respectively. Auer’s adventures are set at a school where talking magical animals become a child’s best friend. Unterwaldt Jr, who directed and co-wrote the second film, returns as director for part three. Auer has written 13 novels in the School Of Magical Animals series plus various spinoffs, and has been translated into more than 20 languages.
Release: September 26, Leonine Studios

Italy

Here Now
Dir. Gabriele Muccino
Muccino is a big box-office draw in Italy, where his romantic comedy A Casa Tutti Bene was the country’s top local film in 2018. He is best known internationally for 2006’s Will Smith film The Pursuit Of Happyness. Here Now is an English-language romantic thriller starring US actress Elena Kampouris as a young Californian holidaying in Sicily. There she meets Giulio and his friends with whom she spends what is described as “the most unpredictable, crazy, shocking, exciting, romantic and terrifying night of her life”.
Release: October 31, 01 Distribution

Parthenope
Dir. Paolo Sorrentino
The Italian filmmaker’s latest had its world premiere last month in Cannes, where it divided critics. Yet any film by Sorrentino — one of Italy’s most prominent directors — is likely to attract interest at home. His Oscar winner The Great Beauty grossed $7.9m (€7.3m) in Italy in 2014, while his two-part Loro collectively achieved $7m (€6.4m) in 2018. New Italian distributor Piper­Films — set up by former Vision Distribution executives — is releasing Parthenope theatrically. It was acquired by A24 for the US ahead of Cannes.
Release: TBC, PiperFilms 

Denmark

The Quiet Ones
Dir. Frederik Louis Hviid
Danish director Hviid follows his 2020 Venice selection and local hit Shorta (which saw 114,000 admissions in Denmark) with this action drama inspired by a real-life ambitious heist plan hatched during the financial crisis of 2008. Work-in-progress footage set the industry buzzing when it was unveiled at Göteborg in January, and TrustNordisk has closed a slew of deals including for the US (Magnolia), France (KMBO) and Germany (Plaion). The cast includes Reda Kateb (A Prophet), Gustav Giese (Riders Of Justice) and Amanda Collin (The Promised Land), while Kasper Dissing produces for Zentropa.
Release: October 31, Nordisk

• Screen launches ‘The Future of UK Film’ summit to take place at BFI Southbank