Domestic films dethrone Hollywood at Turkish box office in 2015

Moviegoers in Turkey preferred watching Turkish films in theaters in 2015, according to data from boxofficeturkiye.com. The comedy film "Düğün Dernek 2" (Wedding Feast 2), starring Ahmet Kural, Murat Cemcir, Rasim Öztekin and Şinasi Yurtsever, smashed the Turkish box office and was watched by 4,464,242 people in 871 movie theaters across the country. Although the film opened almost two weeks before "Star Wars: The Force Awakens," which set a global opening weekend record, "Düğün Dernek 2" beat the American production by selling twice as many tickets on its opening day in Turkey.

Comedian Cem Yılmaz has been one of the most outstanding box office sensations with his films and stand-up shows for years, but his film "Ali Baba ve 7 Cüceler" (Ali Baba and the 7 Dwarves) did not meet expectations. It claimed fifth place on the Turkish box office list for 2015 with a total of 1,814,048 tickets sold. Although "Düğün Dernek 2" managed to beat its rivals this year, it was not able to beat the all-time record of "Recep İvedik 4," which was written and directed by Togan Gökbakar and stars comedian Şahan Gökbakar. Opened on Feb. 21, 2014, the film was seen by a total of 5,357,455 moviegoers across Turkey.

There are only two non-Turkish productions among the top-10 films of 2015 that were watched in Turkish theaters. While the latest film of the "Fast and Furious" series was watched by 2,960,487 people and claimed third place, "Avengers: Age of Ultron" managed to draw 1,284,365 people and claimed ninth place. "Düğün Dernek 2," the most watched film of 2015 in Turkey, was followed by Mahsun Kırmızıgül's "Mucize" (Miracle) with a total of 3,582,552 tickets sold. Another comedy, "Kocan Kadar Konuş" (Husband Factor), claimed fourth place with 1,930,677 tickets sold while Cem Yılmaz's "Ali Baba ve 7 Cüceler" was seen by 1,814,048 moviegoers. The list continues with "Selam: Bahara Yolculuk" (Hello: Journey to Spring) with 1,683,497 tickets sold, Bana Masal Anlatma (Don't Give Me That) with 1,576,979 tickets sold, "Aşk Sana Benzer" (Love is You) with 1,406,620 tickets sold and "Yapışık Kardeşler" (Stuck With You) with 1,014,630 tickets sold.