‘Sperm Whale 2’ sets new box office records

The Iranian comedy ‘Sperm Whale 2’ has surpassed two box office records during the opening week of its release.

Saman Moqaddam’s comedy, released in cinemas across Iran on May 10, set the new box office record as well as the daily sales figure at a single cinema during opening weekend.

The feature film made USD 355,000 in the first three days of screening, May 10-12, edging out the record held by Asghar Farhadi’s ‘The Salesman’ which took in USD 353,000 on its opening weekend last year.

Moreover, ‘Sperm Whale 2’ sold over USD 19,000 on its first day at Kourosh Cineplex in Tehran, beating the daily sale record in one cinema hall. The previous record of USD 16,500 was set by Saeed Soheili’s ‘Patrol 2’ during the Norouz (Persian New Year) holiday less than two months ago.

‘Sperm Whale 2’ tells the story of Roya (Mahnaz Afshar), who had dreams of migration to the US, but finally agreed to marry Arjang Senoubar (Reza Attaran) in her homeland.

The comedy saw a huge reception by the public, who related to the film’s nostalgia depicting the past four decades of Iran with references to important social and political developments.

The film also has Persian and English songs and melodies.

‘Sperm Whale 2’ is a sequel to Moqaddam’s ‘The Whale’, a comedy released in 2015, which became the year’s second best-seller with a total sale of USD 2 million.

Many film enthusiasts believe that ‘Sperm Whale 2’ will perform better at the box office than ‘Patrol 2’, which currently holds the record of all-time best-seller films in Iran.

‘Patrol 2’ has grossed USD 5 million in two months and is still showing in theaters across the country

AI/AI