The Young Offenders Is The Highest Opening Irish Movie This Year

Peter Foott’s hilarious, home grown The Young Offenders (read our four star review here) opened in cinemas across the country on Friday, and with the weekend box office counted, we are happy to announce it has achieved the highest opening for an Irish film at the Republic of Ireland Box Office this year. The film opened this weekend with a total of €202,000 including previews, with some cinemas yet to report, charting ahead of other new releases The Infiltrator (starring Bryan Cranston and Diane Kruger) and the horror sequel Blair Witch. Released in Irish cinemas by Wildcard Distribution, The Young Offenders has landed second in the box office chart behind the blockbuster Bridget Jones’s Baby. 

Inspired by Ireland’s biggest cocaine seizure of €440 million off the coast of Cork in 2007, the laugh-out-loud comedy follows two Cork inner-city teenagers, Conor and Jock, as they embark on a 160km road trip on stolen bikes in the hopes of finding an unrecovered bale of cocaine. It’s the debut feature from Peter Foott and introduces new acting talent Chris Walley and Alex Murphy in the lead roles.

Commenting on the result, Patrick O’Neill MD of Wildcard Distribution said: "We’re absolutely delighted that audiences have embraced The Young Offenders so enthusiastically. It’s been a brilliant year for Irish film so for The Young Offenders to have the highest opening is a huge achievement. Congratulations to Peter and all the team behind the film who worked so hard on creating something really special."

International audiences will get to see the film when it screens at Fantastic Fest in Texas this week and at the BFI London Film Festival next month.