The film Homo Argentum became the undisputed phenomenon of the Argentine film season by surpassing 527,879 viewers in just five days since its premiere.
This figure, confirmed by Ultracine, which records ticket sales weekly, represents a milestone for national cinema and positions the film directed by Mariano Cohn and Gastón Duprat, and starring Guillermo Francella, among the most successful releases of recent years.
Since its debut last Thursday, audience turnout has remained high: on its first day, 73,886 people attended in 405 theaters across the country, and in just three days the figure was already around 330,000 viewers, clearly leading the national box office.
Guillermo Francella en Homo Argentum
Homo Argentum's performance becomes especially relevant when compared to other recent releases. It ranked as the fourth most-watched film on an opening day in the history of Argentine cinema and also recorded the third-best opening of 2024. On its second day, 185,055 tickets were sold, which represents more than half of the entire audience that attended theaters that weekend.
This trend continued, quickly placing it in the race for a spot among the twenty highest-grossing films of the year, breaking previous records. Compared to titles such as Mazel Tov by Adrián Suar, which accumulated 356,897 viewers in 17 weeks, Homo Argentum is closing the gap at an unusual pace in the Argentine circuit, with expectations of surpassing it during the current week. Analysts point out that, if this streak continues, the film will keep consolidating its position in the recent history of the national box office.
The film
The story, composed of 16 satirical vignettes in which Francella portrays various facets of the national character, caused intense reactions among critics and the public. Numerous users on social media identified in the characters recurring traits of the social imagination, such as "garca, estafador, ventajero, chorro, chanta," and considered that the film offers, in a playful and biting way, a mirror of Argentine idiosyncrasy.
Guillermo Francella en Homo Argentum
The political impact was not long in coming either. President Javier Milei organized a special screening where he watched the film together with deputies and members of his Cabinet, an event that quickly occupied the public agenda.
On his X account, the president commented that Cohn and Duprat's satire constitutes a direct critique of the current social situation. According to Milei, Homo Argentum presents a scathing X-ray of certain sectors, which he described as "kukas" and "woke progressivism."
The president highlighted that the film made those who saw themselves unfavorably reflected particularly uncomfortable and emphasized the achievement of the production in reaching its success without state funding.
