The animated feature “Three Heroes and the Navel of the Earth” has lit up the box office, accumulating over 990 million rubles in its fourth weekend across Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States, standing as the top performing animated film in domestic distribution history according to box office portals and trade outlets. Movie data confirms this milestone for the industry.
In doing so, the film has eclipsed the prior record holder, Three Heroes: Knight’s Move, which earned 963 million rubles. Industry trackers anticipate that the film will surpass the one billion ruble threshold within the current week, underscoring its broad audience appeal and staying power in theaters.
The twelfth installment in the Three Heroes series hit theaters on December 28, with Volga handling the distribution of the animation. Production duties were carried out by Melnitsa Studio. The last release from the series, Three Knights and a Horse on the Throne, premiered in cinemas on December 30, 2021.
Three Heroes stands as a Russian franchise comprised of full length animated adventures featuring the trio of legendary heroes known to generations: Alyosha Popovich, Dobrynya Nikitich, and Ilya Muromets. The series began with Alyosha Popovich and the Dragon of Tugarin, released in 2004. It was followed by Dobrynya Nikitich and the Dragon Gorynych in 2006, and Ilya Muromets and the Nightingale Robber in 2007, each expanding the universe and deepening the mythos surrounding these iconic characters.
Earlier, reports mentioned the discovery of an unreleased song by the band King and the Jester, highlighting ongoing chatter in the entertainment landscape beyond the animation sphere. [Source: Movie Business]