Israel-Gaza documentary NAZA passes 1.5 million cinema admissions worldwide
The documentary NAZA has passed 1.5 million theatrical admissions worldwide, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The film examines alleged policies used by the Israel Defense Forces to target and kill civilians in Gaza. It was directed by Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor.
The paper reported more than 1.54 million admissions as of Nov. 6, across 47 territories. An admission is one person entering a cinema on a ticket. The same report put the film's gross, the total money taken at the box office, at more than $14 million worldwide. That breaks down to more than $1 million in the United States and $13.5 million in the rest of the world.
The film premiered at the Venice Film Festival, where Abraham and Szor won the Special Jury Prize. Its release in the United States began on a self-release basis, meaning the film's own team handled the launch rather than a large distributor. mTuckman Media started that run on Sept. 30. The distributor Neon expanded the theatrical release in late October.
Europe has been the film's strongest market so far. In Italy, it opened at No. 1 on Sept. 29 through the distributor I Wonder, and has grossed more than $6 million. In France, it sold more than 82,000 tickets during a two-day event release, a short run of screenings on set dates, and topped the box office over the two days. In the UK and Ireland, distributor Dogwoof has taken it past 100,000 admissions.
Ticket sales in other countries are also in the tens of thousands. The Hollywood Reporter counted more than 80,000 tickets in Germany, more than 60,000 in Spain and over 50,000 in Switzerland.
The film has also drawn a political response. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called for the people who acted as whistle-blowers in the film to be identified and prosecuted. Israel's culture minister has threatened to strip the directors of their citizenship, the trade paper said.
The Guardian, one of the film's producers, will screen it for free on its website from early December. That gives viewers who have not yet found a cinema a way to watch the film at no cost.
