The feature film The Last Hero: Kolobok is projected to earn between 1.5 billion and 2 billion rubles, according to Roman Isayev of the Association of Theatre Owners.
Isayev, a board member of the cinema association, said reports of weak attendance and half-empty Moscow screening rooms were intentionally exaggerated. He called the negative coverage a targeted attack, a storm in a teacup, and an act of industry sabotage.
Isayev noted that online criticism relied on a single image from an unnamed Moscow theatre, likely taken five minutes after sales opened. He added that the movie is not a concert by the band BTS where tickets sell out in ten minutes.
Figures from the Cinema Fund EAIS showed the film earned 53.8 million rubles on its August 6 opening day, setting a record for summer releases this year. Total earnings surpassed 76 million rubles by August 7.
Box office records and release dates
Isayev said opening day ticket sales were strong and exceeded the first day earnings of the movie Serf by mid-afternoon. He added that early viewers described the film as the funniest and most entertaining entry in The Last Hero franchise.
Isayev also said that moving the premiere of the new Spider-Man movie to August 20 was a reasoned decision made by industry leaders. He stated that both films would be able to perform well financially under the updated release schedule.
Director Anton Maslov previously told NSN that his team spent two and a half years making the film. Maslov detailed the process of creating the main character's physical body, animating the figure without facial capture technology, and developing the philosophical themes of the story.
