Arabic movies dominate movie theaters this season and vie for their share at the box office
CAIRO: Despite the start of the World Cup, the season of summer films has started with a bang. Five Egyptian films have overrun the multiplexes nationwide as their producers and distributors gamble with all their assets: catchy one-liners, singers posing as actors, with the directors doing their work from home.
It was no surprise that “Lakhmet Ras (loosely translated as “Messed Up in the Head ), the new comedy starring folkloric Saad El-Soghayar with comedians Ashraf Abdel-Baky and Ahmed Rizk, kick-started the local box office with an astonishing LE 1,353 million, surpassing the other two rival romantic films “Zay El-Hawa (“Like the Wind ) and “El-Ghawass (“The Diver ), both co-starring TV anchorwoman turned actress Dalia El-Beheiry.
Directed by Ahmed El-Badry, “Lakhmet Ras revolves around a singer named Safina (Ship) who helps his friend Youssef (Rizk) to join the Police Academy. The movie is a repertoire of jokes, but it was no coincidence that it did very well as it is the perfect time for families to go out and watch a brainless comedy with a so-so storyline and too much songs (a friend of mine compared it to a feature-length folkloric wedding).
“El-Ghawass faced the fate of all romantic musical films that try to compete with big blockbusters (remember last summer’s flop “Harim Karim starring Mostapha Kamar?) Pulling in only a measly LE 173,000 during its first week, the only high note is that it’s its star Amer Moneeb – despite his third consecutive flop after “Sehr El-Oyon and “Kimo We Antimo – is seeing his paycheck rise for performing at weddings and concerts. As he is currently shooting yet another film called “Kamel El-Awsaf with Hala Sheiha, I sincerely advise him to take some acting (and some singing) lessons if he can find some times between film sets and hotel banquets.
In addition to the reappearance of Dalia El-Beheiry, “Zay El-Hawa has a lot in common with “El-Ghawass. It takes place by the seaside, making it a good opportunity to view the leading actress in figure-hugging swimsuits and stars yet-to-be-established actor Khaled El-Nabawy (who shaved his beard especially for his role in “Kingdom of Heaven but forget to cut his hair). The result is the best “hair performance since Anwar Wagdy in classic Egyptian films “Dahab and “Anbar. “Zay El-Hwa only raked in LE 458,000 so far. Two new films have just been released this week.
The first is a completely different film called “Awkat Faragh (“Free Time ) starring a group of teen newcomers lead by Randa El-Beheiry. Directed by Mohamed Mostapha, the movie reminded me of Francis Ford Coppola’s “The Outsiders. It was a good drama about lost teenagers in Egypt, and I hope it receives some media attention after the special screening because it will face a crazy competition from the low brow comedy “Ferka 16 Igram, starring the magnificent duet of Essam Karika and Riko.
After the banning of “The Da Vinci Code in Egyptian theaters, the foreign films did well despite the local competition. The horror remake “The Omen has surpassed the LE 750,000 mark in the first week, and the sci-fi ‘threequel’ “X-Men:The Last Stand has scored LE 929,000. Supported by a strong ad campaign, “Mission Impossible 3 has astonishingly achieved LE 1.370 million for the new UIP distributors in Egypt, Four Stars.
Expect more comedies with “El-Eayal Herbet starring Hamada Helal, “Wesh Igram with Heneidy, “Katakout with Mohamed Saad and a romantic film called “El-Essh Wal Hawa starring Ahmed El-Sakka.
