Czech Oscar Entry ‘Waves’ May Have Been A “Tough” Proposition But Is Defying Doubters At The Box Office
Welcome to Global Breakouts, Deadline’s fortnightly strand in which we shine a spotlight on the TV shows and films killing it in their local territories. The industry is as globalized as it’s ever been, but breakout hits are appearing in pockets of the world all the time and it can be hard to keep track… So, we’re going to do the hard work for you.
This week we’re featuring Ji?í Mádl’s International Feature Oscar entry from the Czech Republic, Waves. Winner of the Karlovy Vary Audience Award, the film has set the local box office alight with over $6.9 million at home and in neighboring Slovakia. In Czech Republic, it is the top local title of the year, the third-biggest ever and sits at 11th position among all films since 1991.
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Name: Waves
Country: Czech Republic (Slovakia co-production)
Producers: Dawson Films, Wandal Production
Distributor: Bontonfilm
Sales Agent: Urban Films
For Fans Of: Argo, Good Night and Good Luck
Ji?í Mádl’s third feature is set during the 1968 Prague Spring and delves into the dramatic events of the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia from the point of view of journalists working in the International News Office of Czechoslovak Radio.
The drama follows Tomá? (Vojtech Vodochodsky), a radio station employee who finds himself caught between the secret services and his revolutionary brother as the station broadcasts a confidential recording, forcing him to confront history head-on. The film embraces heroism in the face of an oppressive regime, the strength of fraternal ties and the themes of love, betrayal, morality and hope.
Mádl has previously said the main subject of the film is “how we protect our loved ones when times get hard.” “I wanted to touch the issue at its core and, at the same time, entertain the audience with a film that is dynamic and thrilling… Tomá? is easy to identify with as a character, and that allows us to experience the events with him, his role as a brother and parent figure, a person swept by history. The invasion of the troops of the Warsaw Pact remains among the most iconic moments of Czech modern history, but it has always been used as a background, it set the scene for other stories. In Waves, we get to the center of the action, to the radio.”
After debuting at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, Waves released August 15 in its home market to coincide with the anniversary of the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia. It has since broken records. With nearly 765,000 admissions in Czech Republic and counting, it has surpassed the lifetimes of such Hollywood blockbusters as Barbie and four Harry Potter movies on its way to overtaking Mamma Mia! The gross there is $5.6M after the 14th weekend (which saw a 71% uptick in admissions). In Slovakia, it has seen a staggering 9x+ multiple since release, now grossing $1.3M from 167,624 admissions across 16 weeks.
The historical thriller particularly appeals to younger audiences and screenings for students have totaled 40,000 admissions to date. Schools have booked another 184 screenings in the coming weeks.
Urban Sales handles international rights with deals in place in France (ARP Selection) and Spain (La Aventura). We hear more are percolating.
Tricky proposition
Producer Monika Kristl of Dawson Films is particularly gratified at Waves’ success, since she was cautioned from the outset that it was a tricky proposition as films addressing the topic and the era of the late 1960s had previously struggled.
“We had some signs right from the beginning that it would be tough to approach people with the topic,” Kristl tells Deadline, explaining that she was told if the film garnered 60,000 admissions total it would be a very good result. As for financing, “We heard lots of ‘Nos’,” but some “told us they felt they could see we have a diamond in our hands.”
Facing post-COVID inflation, there was suddenly a 20% gap in the budget. This was followed by an energy crisis in Europe after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Yet alongside director Mádl, Kristl says they activated “all our friends and forces to help us to find a way how to hack the system.”
She continues, “We were always talking about, what is a blueprint, what is the DNA of the story, and we took it from there. We were thinking about what was really strong in the late 60s: it was fashion, it was music. Also in society, there was some hope for a better future… Big things were happening all around the world. So there was a big force of hope, and especially for the young generation — and suddenly they were stopped… I think this is something which really resonates, also with the young audience in our country, and through all gaps of generations.”
In terms of marketing, the team landed Polish-Czech superstar Ewa Farna for the title song which Kristl calls “a bridge from the past through today or tomorrow.” Dawson Films produced a music video to kick off promotion for the movie, which worked a charm and can be seen below.
Waves went on to play the Hamptons International Film Festival, where Kristl says organizers asked for additional screenings to keep up with demand. “Our intention was to be very clear in terms of storytelling,” attempting to reach a young generation without perhaps little interest in history, and an international audience “with maybe not so much interest in Eastern European history,” but who would be able to “attach emotionally to our heroes, to go through the story with them, and maybe to understand what the film is about.” “I keep on saying the film is not about politics, the story is beyond the politics…. Especially in these decades, also in the 60s and also through COVID, people’s inner fears are going to the surface and they react, and some people are brave enough to keep the light, carry the light of life.”
In other words, I suggest to Kristl, the specificity of the movie helps to make it universal. “Exactly,” she says, “and that’s really important on this one, because normally we finance in Central Europe, as European co-productions because we are short of money… But for this story, I knew that we needed to keep it within Czech and Slovak to be true to the core of the story, and then to make it travel and to show it to the audience internationally.”
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