The film starring Guillermo Francella has already sold more than 1.5 million tickets
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According to the latest available data, the Argentine film Homo Argentum, directed by Mariano Cohn and Gastón Duprat and starring Guillermo Francella, has already sold more than 1.5 million tickets.
These are impressive figures, since it has spent three consecutive weeks in the top spot for box office revenue, with minimal declines between each week, a particularly noteworthy fact. It is, by far, the most successful national release since El robo del siglo in 2020, which reached two million viewers just before cinema closures due to the pandemic.
The film's major boost is largely due to word of mouth. Additionally, it represents a significant contribution of direct funds to the INCAA Film Promotion Fund, although it did not receive financial support from the institute and was entirely financed with private funds.
Guillermo Francella en Homo Argentum.
Homo Argentum, given its number of viewers, could have qualified for the box office subsidy for mass-market films, with a minimum threshold of around 70,000 viewers. However, it was decided not to apply for it, just as with any other subsidy or support for production from INCAA.
In 2019, the last year before the pandemic, ticket sales in the country reached 46 million. In 2020, with the lockdown, there were just 9 million; 13 million in 2021; 33 million in 2022; 43 million in 2023 (the year of “Barbenheimer,” the last time the U.S. high season surpassed 4 billion dollars); and 35 million in 2024. For 2025, estimates are between 35 and 36 million tickets sold.
This indicates that, according to the data, the national box office lost about 10 million viewers per year since 2019. The most-watched Argentine film this year before the release from Cohn and Duprat was Mazel Tov, by Adrián Suar, with around 370,000 tickets sold. In third place is El novio de mamá, a comedy starring José María Listorti, which drew about 80,000 viewers.
Guillermo Francella en Homo Argentum.
For this reason, Homo Argentum on its own represents box office revenue equivalent to the sum of the rest of the Argentine films released so far this year. To date, according to data from INCAA's Oversight, 143 national films have been released, some in special screenings or non-commercial venues.
As of September 2, it is estimated that the revenue caused by Homo Argentum for INCAA will reach 1,019,283,800 pesos (2,247,000 pounds). If the film manages to reach 2 million viewers, a possible figure, this would be approximately 1.3 million dollars. Added to this will be the money caused when the film is shown on digital platforms or electronic media, which will also be contributed to INCAA through Enacom, the main source of income for the Fund.
