Aretha Franklin film attracts full cinema halls

The film Amazing Grace with and about singer Aretha Franklin, who died last year, is doing well in Dutch cinemas. Despite the relatively small number of halls, the recording of the recordings of the eponymous gospel album that the singer made in 1972 achieved sixth place in the list of best-visited cinema films.

The film Amazing Grace attracted more visitors on Thursday evening than major titles such as Gemini Man (with Will Smith) and Downton Abbey, according to figures from the cinema sector. Aretha Franklin did not want the film recordings to ever be released. Because there were problems with the sound processing of the film, the prints were placed in a safe at studio Warner. After her death in 2018, her family still gave permission to edit and release the images. The film received lyrical reviews.

Two other new releases this week are also doing well. Terminator: Dark Fate, the first sequel to the series in nearly thirty years for which spiritual father James Cameron invented the story, comes in with 9,000 visitors in second place in the list. Joker, who has already been packed for a month, stays ahead of title hero Arnold Schwarzenegger.

The Dutch thriller Bumperkleef, with Jeroen Spitzenberger as a traffic jerk who gets it over with another road user, comes in at the fourteenth place in the list. This makes it the best-scoring Dutch film production in cinemas at the moment, outside of romantic comedies.