'NAZA' Passes 1.5 Million Admissions as Awards Momentum Builds

More than 1.5 million people have bought cinema tickets for "NAZA" across 47 territories as of Nov. 6, placing the Gaza documentary among the year's most-watched films of its kind on the big screen. The film, directed by Israeli filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor — co-directors of the Oscar-winning "No Other Land" — has grossed $13.5 million outside the U.S. and a further $1 million within it.

The documentary, which examines killings in Gaza and won a special jury prize at the recent Venice Film Festival, has converted festival heat into sustained theatrical business on several continents.

Where is the film performing best?

Italy is the standout market. I Wonder opened the film there on Sept. 29, shortly after its Venice debut, and it has drawn 717,517 admissions — nearly half the worldwide total. "NAZA" has topped the Italian box office and now ranks third among documentaries in the country's cinema history, trailing only "Fahrenheit 9/11" and "March of the Penguins." It is still playing on 379 screens.

Other markets show the same pattern in smaller measure:

• U.K. and Ireland: 102,509 admissions since Dogwoof opened the film on Oct. 15.
• Benelux: 132,323 admissions, counted by Cherry Pickers.
• Germany: 83,355 admissions, reported by distributor ImmerGuteFilme.
• France: more than 82,000 admissions.
• Spain: 61,783 admissions by Nov. 6 after Elastica launched it on 105 screens on Oct. 9.
• Switzerland: more than 50,000 admissions.
• Austria: 16,521 admissions since Polyfilm opened it on Oct. 1.

In Germany and Austria, "NAZA" is running ahead of where "No Other Land" and Kaouther Ben Hania's Oscar-nominated "The Voice of Hind Rajab" stood at the same point in their runs.

How did different countries release it?

France took an unusual route. Local rules governing the window before a film can stream online meant "NAZA" played there as a 48-hour event release. Close to 500 screenings in more than 260 theaters drew over 82,000 admissions, and the documentary topped the French box office on each of the two days.

The U.K. launch leaned on live talent. Dogwoof opened the film with an event screening at the Ritz on Oct. 15, where Abraham and Szor took part in a Q&A alongside producer Jim Wilson and executive producer Jonathan Glazer. The discussion was beamed live to 104 more cinemas, and that night alone sold more than 7,000 tickets. The film went on to play the full Picturehouse circuit, sites from the Odeon, Cineworld and Vue chains, and a handful of independents.

In the U.S., "NAZA" opened on Sept. 30 through a self-distribution arrangement with Michael Tuckman's company mTuckman Media. Neon joined as U.S. distributor in late October and plans to take the film wider off the back of that first run. Admissions across the U.S. and Canada stand at 83,673. The film has also found audiences in Australia and New Zealand, Scandinavia, Poland, Romania, Mexico, Japan, Indonesia and Thailand.

What does the awards run change?

The box office has grown alongside a busy prizes season. Since Venice, the film has won the audience award at San Sebastián and, this week, the critics prize at the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival. On Nov. 8, the New York Critics Circle named it best political documentary, having also nominated it for documentary feature and for its directors. It is up for best documentary feature at the Gotham Awards and has been shortlisted by DOC NYC and, in the European documentary category, by the European Film Awards.

With Neon now steering the U.S. release and 379 Italian cinemas still showing the film, the documentary enters the awards season with both critical recognition and proven theatrical reach behind it.