Top 10 highest grossing Russian films that give pride and joy

Not so long ago, almost all talk about cinema ended with the fact that Soviet cinema was great, and modern films were so bad that it was better to forget about their existence. In the early 90s and 2000s, it was really hard for us to compete with big-budget foreign blockbusters, but in the last 20 years this trend has started to change. It is uneven, there are delays and glitches, but it is still noticeably improving.

In recent years, Russian films have received more and more attention and awards at international film festivals (“Unlock My Fists”, “Dilda”, “Anora”), and some of them have foreign remakes (“The Irony of Fate in Hollywood”, “The Parisian Serf”). And the Russian audience itself began to vote with rubles in favor of domestic cinema. Demand increased, especially after foreign film distributors stopped their activities in the country. At the same time, both the quality and quantity of worthy projects increased. Traditionally, our audience prefers comedies and fairy tales, while historical dramas and melodramas are in second place.

On August 27, Russian Cinema Day, we are organizing a marathon where we will watch the highest grossing Russian films of the last 20 years.

“Cheburashka”, dir. Dmitri Dyachenko (2023)

No matter how skeptical the Russian audience was at first, especially the Soviet generation, which rebelled against remakes of childhood films, the animated film “Cheburashka” won the hearts of the public. Perhaps thanks to the original plot, which evokes nostalgia, but does not benefit from the popularity of the original cartoon. The plot tells about the friendship of an asocial old gardener Gennady and a furry animal unknown to science, which appeared together with the orange sprinkle that fell on the seaside town. A local rich woman, the owner of a confectionery factory, tries to get the fluffy one, while at the same time trying to learn the secret of chocolate from the owner of a small shop, Gennady’s daughter, who has been offended by her father many years. The animal named Cheburashka will have to go through many adventures together with Gennady and find new friends. In just nine days, “Cheburashka” took first place in the box office among Russian films and was watched by almost 10.5 million viewers. As a result, the film became the leader in the domestic box office, grossing $ 91 million, taking second place after Avatar ($ 119.9 million).

“Slave”, dir. Klim Shipenko (2019)

In second place in the Russian box office ranking, the comedy “Slave” confidently occupies, having collected $ 62.2 million at the box office. The plot tells about a psychological experiment conducted by the father of the “major” Grisha (the main role was played by Milos Bikovich) in order to re-educate his son. He hires professional actors and builds a small village in the spirit of serf Russia in the 19th century. After another prank, Grisha wakes up in a barn and finds himself in Russia in 1860, where he becomes a powerless groom. For any crime, he is punished with sticks in front of honest people. The film gained popularity not only at home but also abroad – the French have made a remake of the film “A Serf in Paris”, which will be released on September 12 this year.

“Moving Up”, dir. Anton Megerdichev (2017)

The sports drama “Moving Up” tells the story of the legendary basketball match at the 1972 Munich Olympics, when the USSR national team defeated the “invincible” American team for the first time in 36 years. The film was impressive not only with its dynamic shots and drama, revealing the personalities of the characters, but also with the theme of the unity of the peoples of Russia, which so worried our citizens after the collapse of the country. One team brought together Russians, Ukrainians, Belarusians, Georgians, Kazakhs and Lithuanians. Despite different goals and destinies, they united for something very big and important, and therefore survived the fight against a strong opponent. The film grossed $ 54 million. Following the success of the film “Moving Up”, other popular films about the achievements of Russian athletes were released: “Coach”, “Lev Yashin. Goalkeeper of my dreams”, “Streltsov”, “One Breath” and others.

“Stalingrad”, dir. Fyodor Bondarchuk (2013)

Fyodor Bondarchuk’s historical drama “Stalingrad” is based on the chapters of Vasily Grossman’s novel “Life and Fate” and tells the story of a single event in the Battle of Stalingrad during the Great Patriotic War – the defense of a strategically important house. In 1942, the Germans occupied the city, but several Soviet soldiers held defenses on the approaches to the crossing, preventing the enemy from advancing deep into the country. The film broke box office records in 2013, grossing $51.8 million. Despite receiving mixed reviews from critics and viewers, the film was nominated for an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, but was not among the nominees. Note that “Stalingrad” was the first Russian film to be shot in IMAX 3D, which may have increased its popularity.

“The irony of fate. Continuation”, dir. Timur Bekmambetov (2007)

It goes without saying that the sequel to “The Irony of Fate” is doomed to success. The plot of the new film is somewhat different from the original. 30 years have passed since Zhenya Lukashin met Nadya on New Year’s Eve. But the couple broke up, and Nadya returned to Leningrad. As before, Zhenya goes to the bathhouse with friends every year, but this time they are joined by his son Kostya from another, but also unsuccessful marriage. Unexpectedly, friends persuade Kostya to perform a New Year’s miracle – to reconcile Zhenya (Andrey Myagkov) and Nadya. Kostya (Konstantin Khabensky) leaves for St. Petersburg, but the daughter of the same Nadezhda (Barbara Brylska), the beautiful Nadya (Elizaveta Boyarskaya), now lives at this address. And, by coincidence, on this day her fiancé Irakli (Sergei Bezrukov) will propose to her. The star cast and familiar plot caused delight and nostalgia in the audience. Overall, the film grossed $49.9 million.

“Slave-2”, dir. Klim Shipenko (2023)

The second part of “Serf” was a little less successful, but still is in the top 10 grossing films in Russia – the film collected $ 44.5 million. The “re-educated” major Grisha, who became a slave, cannot calmly tolerate the antics of the arrogant and spoiled daughter of the official Katya (Aglaya Tarasova). When her father plans to close the project, Grisha takes the opportunity and, for the purpose of “re-education”, brings the hungover Katya to Russia in the 19th century. But this time the actors are unprepared and improvise on the fly.

“Yolki-3”, dir. Olga Kharina (2013)

The “Christmas Tree” series is still growing, but the third part remains the highest grossing installment, grossing $38.1 million. As in previous films, as the bells ring, the heroes will be united by a boomerang of good. On New Year’s Eve, Borya and Zhenya are torn apart by an important matter and end up in a mental hospital. A loving professor from Ekaterinburg, a skier-snowboarder, a girl and a couple of dogs in love – all of them will cross paths in the most unexpected situations.

“T-34”, dir. Alexey Sidorov (2018)

The patriotic blockbuster starring Alexander Petrov grossed $36.5 million at the box office. The story tells of cadet Nikolai Ivushkin, who in November 1941 fought an unequal battle with a German tank company at Nefedovka on the road to Moscow. The hero is captured and makes several unsuccessful escape attempts. Hauptmann Jäger forces him to train German cadets due to his abilities. When he is given a new model of the T-34 tank from the front, Nikolai devises a plan.

“Viy 3D”, dir. Oleg Stepchenko (2014)

The free adaptation of Nikolai Gogol’s story “Viy” became the highest grossing Russian film of 2014. The action takes place in an 18th-century Transcarpathian village, where the skeptical scientist Jonathan Green arrives. Even in his worst dreams he could not imagine what kind of evil spirits he would encounter. The main roles were played by Jason Fleming, Alexey Chadov, Andrey Smolyakov, Agniya Ditkovskite.

“Admiral”, dir. Andrey Kravchuk (2008)

Biographical drama about Admiral Alexander Kolchak, his fate and the love of his life, Anna Timireva. The heroes find themselves at the very center of events in the turning point of the Russian Empire in the 1916-1920s, when two revolutions and a civil war shook the Russian Empire. The romantic duet was performed by Konstantin Khabensky and Elizaveta Boyarskaya. The film grossed $34.5 million.