Letters to Santa 3, which has over 2.7 m admissions in Poland, cashed in over 600,000 EUR since its premiere on 24 November 2017 in the UK, where it opened at number nine, before George Clooney’s Suburbicon.

"The number one reason for the film's success in the UK is the major presence of the Polish audience. These viewers crave big, Polish productions. But only the biggest box office hits, which bring 2-3 m admissions domestically, have a chance to push through and get wide UK distribution. Every time it is a great success that gives Polish films a chance to compete with major international productions in the UK”, Michał Duma from Kino Świat told FNE.

Polish films that noted major success in the UK are the Letters to Santa series, Pitbull (Ent One) and Botox (Ent One), both directed by Patryk Vega.

Letters to Santa 3 was released in the US, Canada, Ireland, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg and Iceland on 22 November 2017. The following weekend it opened in Austria, Sweden and Norway, according to Kino Świat. Only in the UK and Ireland it is presented on 246 screens.

The TVN series has topped the Polish box office for years. Letters to Santa directed by Mitja Okorn sold 2.5 m tickets in 2011, while Letters to Santa 2 directed by Maciej Dejczar had close to 3 m admissions in 2015.

FNE asked Michał Duma what is the reason of this success. “It seems that these productions are the perfect answer to the audience’s needs. They are ‘feel good movies’ about love and holidays, with top Polish cast led by brilliant directors. The audience is used to the protagonists, but it is also surprised with new names, characters and plotlines. The film has humor, emotions and it fits greatly from November to January, during the peak of the viewers’ interest in cinema", Duma said.