Congratulations poured in as the highly anticipated romance Happiness is a Four-Letter Word, smashed box office expectations in cinemas in its opening 3 days, with 45 000 attendances and gross box office receipts of R2 371 782. It was the best performing film of all new releases this weekend and did better than international releases such as 13 Hours, Secret soldiers of Benghazi, Hail Caesar!, 50 Shades of Black and Trumbo. It is ranked at number 3 on the Top 10 after Deadpool and Vir Altyd.
Mario Dos Santos, CEO of Ster Kinekor Entertainment said: “The opening weekend’s results for the film are simply overwhelming not only from local content perspective but also in comparison to Hollywood content. Rewarding for the whole Happiness is a Four -Letter Word team that great films get a positive response from audiences”.
The film has also attracted rave reviews nationally with audiences setting social media platforms on fire with Twitter, Instagram and Facebook postings. Sharing their excitement about the film were singer Lira and popular DJ Black Coffee who enthused, “Beautiful story, brilliantly told…” The only major complaint is from fans that struggled to get tickets or didn’t have access to a cinema featuring the film. However, SK has already added 6 further screens to the current line-up in order to meet audience demand.
Based on Nozizwe Cynthia Jele’s award winning novel of the same name, Happiness is a Four-Letter Word tells the story of three close friends – perfectionist lawyer Nandi, glamorous housewife Zaza and trendy art gallery owner Princess, who all seem to be living the new South African dream – but still searching for that elusive happiness they so desperately desire in their lives.
Director Thabang Moleya, whose accolades include Vuka Awards, SAFTA Awards and an Emmy Nomination leads a stellar cast including Mmabatho Montsho, Khanyi Mbau and Renate Stuurman. The film also boasts two great stars from the continent- LA based Tongayi Chirisa from Zimbabwe, presently creating waves on American TV, while Ghanaian Chris Attoh is a leading Nollywood star. Adding to this exciting pool of talent are other South African greats including Terence Bridgett, Hlomla Dandala, Pabi Moloi and Emmanuel Castis. The Voice SA judge, superstar Lira, also makes a guest appearance and performs the theme song which she wrote specially for the movie.
At the helm of the production team are Hard to Get producers Helena Spring and Junaid Ahmed, partnering with Bongiwe Selane. The trio put the project through an intensive three year development period in order to bring Happiness is a Four-Letter Word to South African cinemas.
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