Historical record: The ticket sale for CHECKERED NINJA– the new animated feature film from A. Film – has exploded. In its first week CHECKERED NINJA has sold no less than 345.047 tickets, giving it the best box office-start for a Danish movie ever.

Following last year’s hugely successful ”The Incredible Story Of the Giant Pear”, CHECKERED NINJA is yet another hit from the experienced animators at A. Film. The movie tells the story of a struggling seventh-grader, Aske, who comes across a strange, checkered ninja doll. Aske soon finds out that the doll is alive and willing to help him with his everyday problems, such as girls and bullies. In return, Aske must help the checkered ninja fulfill its dangerous and revenge-seeking mission.

CHECKERED NINJA is produced by executive producer Cemille Matthesen as well as Trine Heidegaard (producer on Terkel In Trouble) and Anders Mastrup. The movie is a co-production between A. Film Production A/S, Sudoko ApS and Pop Up Production. It is also co-produced by DR and has had financial support from The Danish Film Institute (DFI) and is distributed in Denmark by Nordisk Film Distribution, with LevelK handling international sales and distribution.

LevelK will bring the film to Berlin FF/EFM 2019

In terms of ticket sales, Anders Matthesen’s third feature film seems to be his most successful. Following the massively popular Terkel In Trouble from 2004 (376.188 tickets sold) and Black Balls from 2009 (405.057 tickets sold), ticket sales for Matthesen’s latest animation feature film CHECKERED NINJA has gone through the roof. The movie premiered on Christmas day, and in the following eight days CHECKERED NINJA managed to sell 345.947 tickets  (sneak-preview included), which is the best opening week for a Danish movie ever. This also marks the best opening week for an animated feature film in Danish theatres to date.

Published in Variety on January 4th, 2019. Read the exclusive here.