“Coco Avant Chanel” Shows Box Office Grace in France

(April 30, 2009 – Paris, France) — The much-anticipated motion picture “Coco Avant Chanel,” starring Audrey Tautou as the legendary style icon, opened in France with an estimated box office gross of over €2.7 million (US$3.5m) in its first week, making it one of the country’s strongest French-produced dramas released in 2009. Distributed by Warner Bros. Entertainment France, the acclaimed Anne Fontaine film opened last week (April 22nd) to strong reviews and, buoyed by enthusiastic word-of-mouth, climbed the charts to become the number one film in Paris on Monday and again on Tuesday. “We are very pleased with the results of ‘Coco Avant Chanel’ in France, and with the ecstatic critical reaction to the film. We are in a position to support the film, for what we expect will be a very long run,” said Iris Knobloch, Président-Directeur Général, Warner Bros. France S.A. Building on the strong French opening, Warner Bros. and several key independent distributors have plans to roll out “Coco Avant Chanel” in 60 countries overseas. Warner Bros. will release in a number of international territories, starting with Italy in May, Spain and Australia in June, Germany in August and winding up with Japan and Latin America in the fall. Sony Classics will also release the film in the US in the fall. “We’re thrilled that ‘Coco Avant Chanel’ will be exported with the muscle of Warner Bros. behind it, as well as our strong independent distributors: Optimum in the UK, Svensk in Scandinavia, RCV in Benelux, Alliance in Canada, Global Motion in Russia and SPI in Eastern Europe. We now have the US expertise of Sony Classics supporting us, and we’re honored that our film will be seen by audiences around the world,” said producer Philippe Carcassonne. “It’s a unique situation for a French film to be exported so widely,” added Richard Fox, Executive Vice President, International, Warner Bros. “It has been a key strategy for Warner Bros. local production efforts to utilize the strength of the Warner pipeline whenever possible, and also maintain strong relationships with key local partners.” From Haut et Court, Cine@, Warner Bros. Entertainment France and Films Distribution comes “Coco Avant Chanel,” starring Audrey Tautou (“Amélie,” “The Da Vinci Code”) in the title role, along with Benoît Poelvoorde (“Entre ses mains/In His Hands,” “Podium”), Emmanuelle Devos (“Rois et reine/Kings and Queen,” “L’Adversaire/The Adversary”), Marie Gillain (“L’Enfer/Hell,” “Les Femmes de l’ombre/Female Agents”) and Alessandro Nivola (“Junebug,” “Jurassic Park III”). “Coco Avant Chanel” is directed by Anne Fontaine (“La Fille de Monaco/The Girl From Monaco”) from a screenplay by Anne Fontaine and Camille Fontaine, with the collaboration of Christopher Hampton (“Dangerous Liaisons”), loosely based on “L’irrégulière” by Edmonde Charles-Roux. The producers are Philippe Carcassonne (“La Fille de Monaco/The Girl From Monaco”), Caroline Benjo (“Entre les murs/The Class”) and Carole Scotta (“Entre les murs/The Class”). The director of photography is Christophe Beaucarne. The production designer is Olivier Radot. The film is edited by Luc Barnier. Catherine Leterrier created the original costumes. The production was given the assistance of the Maison CHANEL, who opened their archives and collections. Academy Award nominee Alexandre Desplat (“The Queen,” “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”) composed the score. # # #

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