Wanting and not wanting: "Christmas Trees" and "Kuzya" will divide the audience on the weekend

The eleventh "Yolki" claims to repeat the box office successes of the past parts of the franchise. "Domovenok Kuzya" spoke with the voice of Sergei Burunov and became computerized. Philip Kirkorov found a half-brother and flew to a wild tribe. An American family invented and made a movie about their own adventures. The creators of "Three meters above the sky" and "Buried alive" united under the wing of Martin Scorsese. "Izvestia" chose the main movie novelties of the weekend.

"Christmas Trees 11" 6+

Directors: Alexander Karpilovsky, Alexander Kott, Sergey Trofimov, Egor Chichkanov

Starring: Dmitry Nagiyev, Ruzil Minekayev, Burak Ozcivit, Christina Babushkina, Anton Vasiliev, Irina Pegova, Viktor Horinyak.

Movie franchise "Yolki" - one of the longest-playing, such in Russia in general only two: more cartoons about bogatyrs. And both are characterized by enviable success with the audience. Come out "Yolki" since 2010, the most successful at the moment - "Yolki 3", they collected 1.2 billion rubles, they were watched by more than 5 million viewers. Not bad for an anthology, a form of movie that is rarely commercially impressive. At one point it seemed that the idea had exhausted itself, but if "Yolki the Last" collects 730 million rubles, why should it be the last? We need to move on. It turned out that the franchise can work without the core duo of Urgant and Svetlakov, that it is possible to call completely different actors and not return to the old characters. The figures proved that the series sells the New Year mood and a clear concept of the product, thanks to which the viewer knows exactly what result to expect and is sure that there will be no unpleasant surprises. The main thing is to strictly adhere to the formula, otherwise the output will be a failure like "Furry Christmas Trees".

Last year, the tenth "Christmas Trees" gathered at the screens only 1.2 million people. The eleventh installment needs to beat that result to prove its viability. It's not easy, considering how many movies with Nagiyev alone are at the box office right now. But, unlike other comedies for family viewing, "Christmas Trees" is a recognizable brand, they have the ability to remind the viewer of the pleasant impressions of the past parts. But does the movie have a chip like the acronym "Z. G.", which had to decipher, will become clear this weekend.

"Domovenok Kuzya" 6+

Directed by: Victor Lakisov

Starring: Sergei Burunov, Garik Kharlamov, Alika Smekhova, Ekaterina Stulova.

It is difficult to house Kuzma to get used to the life of the big city. Even more difficult movie about Kuz to come out today, when from all sides are squeezed by other movie stories. From last week's "Paddington 3", "Baba Yaga saves the New Year" and "Three Cats". Next weekend comes out "Ivan Tsarevich and Grey Wolf 6." And after that, only "The Wizard of Emerald City" and "Finist" will remain, which will bravely fight each other until the very end of the vacations.

Yaga Berry again: the fairy tale about the forest witch topped the box office box office chart

Domestic fantasy displaced "The Adventures of Paddington" in Russian cinemas

How to survive in such a situation and defend the right to their place in the sun? And when in every first movie Baba Yaga appears, and in this case she is also the main character? Strange as it may seem, "Kuza" manages to do it quite easily. On pre-sales, he collected quite a decent amount of money, almost 10 million rubles, on the first day of screenings topped the Russian box office, and now it is already predicted to 250 million rubles in the first weekend. Simply put, it is guaranteed first place at the end of the weekend. Maybe the whole point is that in the promotional materials Sergei Burunov very accurately falls into the intonation of the very Kuzi, who is still loved by both children and adults. And what can be more important than intonation? Only the final product.

"Brothers" 12+

Directed by: Mark Gorobets

Starring: Denis Dorokhov, Philip Kirkorov, Alena Savastova, Karina Andolenko

Last year, Philip Kirkorov shone in "Christmas Trees", this year he competes with "Christmas Trees". And again shines - in the literal sense of the word. In the movie "Brothers" singer plays as if himself, pampered, capricious, arrogant, shoutingly dressed idol of millions. Just in a slightly unusual situation. The plot is built on the fact that as if once his father Bedros seduced a Russian provincial, she gave birth to a child, the child grew up and became ill. Donor can only be a relative, and that's where hapless Slavik and learns that Kirkorov - his brother.

Next - it's a matter of little. To break through to the King, steal a balloon with the singer, and then go with him through the ordeal of wild rivers, wild forests and a wild tribe, where the natives do not understand English or even French. All this, of course, is one big joke, which also gives Kirkorov a chance to shine with the results of plastic surgeries and gym sessions. Perhaps the audience will appreciate it, especially since Kirkorov's self-irony is enough to make him look like a helpless moron most of the time in the frame, who really, really needs a simple brother "from the people" in his life.

"Escape" 18+

Directed by: Rodrigo Cortes

Starring: Mario Casas, Anna Castillo, Guillermo Toledo, Jose Garcia.

So far, the fate of the movie "Escape" is not very bright. He did not receive much attention from critics after the premiere at the festival in San Sebastian, and the name of Martin Scorsese did not help the picture to sharply burst into the international markets. Perhaps the reason is that Rodrigo Cortez decided to return to his roots and for the first time in many years to shoot a picture in Spanish, although all these years successfully worked in English. His most famous work, Buried Alive with Ryan Reynolds, was also shot in English. In 2010, this claustrophobic thriller quickly gained almost cult status, and let's be honest, Cortez hasn't directed anything comparable since.

"Christmas trees" as a decoration: the premiere of the movie with Burak Ozcivit took place in Moscow

Turkish actor helps Snow Maiden and saves her from her stepmother

In the same year, 2010, a very different film, Three Meters Above Heaven, came out and became a cult film as well. Just with a completely different audience - women who like melodramas. And Mario Casas, who played there, turned into a sex symbol. And he too has had no revelations since then. So now the two stars have teamed up to prove to the world that it's too early to write them off. Casas plays a weirdo who demands to be put in jail because he's a bad person. Everyone can see that the guy has lost his mind, but there is nowhere to go - he must be isolated. And then begins the game with genres, so that the viewer guesses whether the thriller will be further, action or still melodrama, in which Casas feels most cozy.

"Island of the Missing Girls" 6+

Directed by Anne-Marie Schmidt, Brian Schmidt

Starring Otem Fiore Schmidt, Avila Marie Schmidt, Scarlet Rose Schmidt, Ann Marie Schmidt, Brian Schmidt

If you're all about supporting family content, here's a near-perfect example of a 100 percent family production. That is, one and the same Schmidt family wrote a book, and then made a movie, in which the same all and played, and this film was released in the U.S., was awarded at the prestigious festival in San Diego, and then reached Russia, and got into theaters. And dubbed it personally Alexander Petrov, a superstar. All that remains is to bring the whole family to the premiere - it's a pity it didn't happen.

The plot is very simple: three sisters were carried away on a sapa in the ocean just near San Diego. They swam to a sea cave, met its inhabitants, and had a series of adventures. Whether it's a true story or a fairy tale, it's presented like an amateur movie. Moreover, it seems as if the plot was invented with the participation of the little actresses themselves, that is, we are talking about the fact that children's fantasies appeared on the screen. From the point of view of cinema it cannot be evaluated, but the audience likes the movie for other reasons. It's like an opportunity for the kids in the audience to interact with other kids, those across the ocean, and it creates an amazing sense of contact and understanding, which is very valuable today.