EXCLUSIVE: Zátopek, a biopic about four-time Olympic champion Emil Zátopek, has become a box office champ in Czech Republic as it continues to dominate turnstiles after two weeks in release.
From director David Ondricek, the movie originally debuted on August 26, scoring over 17M crowns ($791.5K) in its first frame to record the biggest opening weekend in the market since the start of the pandemic. It also was one of the five highest-grossing opening weekends of all time for a Czech title. In its second session, the film held the top spot (despite the arrival of Shang-Chi) and reached more than 200K admissions and about $1.4M. Scroll down for the trailer.
Produced by Kryštof Mucha and Ondříček, Zátopek had its world premiere at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, where it was the opening-night film and went on to win the KVIFF Audience Award among 109 competing titles in the official selection.
The story sees Australian runner Ron Clarke, after suffering a serious collapse during a major race, pay a visit to legendary Czech runner Emil Zátopek, who he believes might help him become a champion again. Over the course of Clarke’s visit, the film takes viewers back through the key moments in Zátopeks life, including his tumultuous and passionate marriage to Olympic champion Dana Zátopková.
Václav Neužil (Dabing Street), Martha Issová (Dukla 61) and James Frecheville (Animal Kingdom, Peaky Blinders) star.
Zátopek is the seventh film by Ondříček, whose In the Shadow was the Czech Oscar submission in 2012. We are hearing that Zátopek has a shot at being the Czech Oscar submission this year and that U.S. buyers are circling. UTA Independent Film Group reps the movie worldwide.
Here’s the trailer: