Record-breaking Cinema Sales Amid Iran's Poor Economic Conditions

Last week, the film "Hezarpa" directed by Abolhasan Davoodi surpassed 30 billion tomans in sales, becoming the highest-grossing film in the history of Iranian cinema, taking the title from "Whale Amber 2: Selection of Roya." In recent years, with a significant increase in cinema ticket prices, sales records in Iranian cinema have been repeatedly broken. However, these record-breaking figures have not included new audience numbers, and considering inflation rates, population size, and the number of theaters, films from earlier years such as "Ganj-e Qarun," "Gheysar," "Dar Emtehad-e Shab," "Oqab-ha," and "Kolah Ghermezi and Pesar Khaleh" still have a considerable distance in terms of the number of viewers relative to the population at the time of their release compared to the highest-grossing films of recent years. Nevertheless, "Hezarpa" has been one of the most-watched films in the last two decades of Iranian cinema. With an average ticket price of 12,000 tomans, it has attracted nearly 3 million viewers to theaters, which is a significant figure. With this level of sales, "Hezarpa" is the second most-watched film in the last two decades after "Ekhrayiha 2." The film features actors Reza Attaran and Javad Ezati and tells a humorous story about two pickpockets, one of whom has lost a leg. They try to get close to the daughter of a wealthy man who has vowed to marry a war veteran. "Hezarpa" is the latest representative among the highest-grossing comedy films of recent years. In recent years, films such as "Whale Amber," "Ayneh Baghal," "Gasht-e Ershad," "50 Kilo Albaloo," and "Man Salvador Nistam," all considered comedies, have been the highest-grossing films. Various opinions have been expressed regarding the reasons for the audience's interest in comedy films. Some observers attribute the filmmakers' focus on comedies to strict censorship, while others assess the audience's interest in these films as a reaction to the economic conditions of society, suggesting that today's viewers watch these films to forget their life circumstances. The record-breaking success of "Hezarpa" also occurs during a time of intensified economic problems in Iran. Critics' reception of recent comedy films has not matched that of the audience, with many criticizing these films for relying on verbal and somewhat sexual humor. In the list of the highest-grossing films of this year in Iranian cinema, three out of the top five films are comedies, indicating that audience interest in humorous works continues. The story of "Hezarpa" is narrated in a manner similar to several recent high-grossing films, including two parts of "Whale Amber," set in the 1980s, and represents a new example of humorous storytelling about events from that specific time in Iran. The events of the 1980s have been of interest to Iranian filmmakers for several years, a period characterized by pressures and specific living conditions, as well as the Iran-Iraq war, which offers many dramatic possibilities. Meanwhile, the reduction of censorship sensitivities regarding the portrayal of events from that period and limited humor about it coincides with the production of a range of political-social films that provide a narrative favorable to the regime about events from that time. "Ma'jareh Nimrooz" and "Emkan-e Mina" are among the most notable films in this category made by filmmakers close to the regime. Despite the recent record-breaking sales of films, audience statistics, considering the population size, do not show high numbers. The reception of films in the 1970s and 1980s is not comparable to recent years. For instance, the least-watched high-grossing film of these two decades, "Shokran," had 2.7 million viewers in 2000, with its percentage of attracting viewers, considering the 70 million population of Iran at that time, being higher than that of "Hezarpa." In the first half of the 1990s, "Kolah Ghermezi and Pesar Khaleh" attracted nearly 6.5 million viewers. In the 1980s, the film "Oqab-ha" attracted about 9.5 million viewers from its first screening in 1985 until a decade later when it was shown annually as a second screening. Considering the population of about 50 million in Iran at that time, approximately 20% of the Iranian population had seen "Oqab-ha" in theaters. The film "Kani Manga" also had a similar performance to "Oqab-ha," being a popular choice for second screenings and attracting over 6 million viewers over a seven-year period starting in 1987.