South Africa’s King Of Comedy, Leon Schuster retains his position as the country’s Number One Box Office Star with a record breaking opening of his latest film, Mama Jack. The film earned R4 228 042 during its opening weekend, making it an almost 50% bigger opening weekend than Mr Bones which went on to gross more than R32 million at the South African boxoffice making it South Africa’s Number One film of all time. The top earning cinemas this weekend were East Rand Mall and Gateway in Umhlanga which earned over R160 000 each. This exceptional first weekend boxoffice earnings of Mama Jack indicates that it ought to outgross Mr Bones during its run in South Africa.
Mama Jack marks a departure from the usual Schuster fare of candid camera antics and has a compelling and extremely funny storyline with numerous visual gags and a host of interesting characters played by well-known personalities like Alfred Ntombela, Jerry Mofoekeng, Lionel Newton, Mary-Anne Barlow and Shaleen Surtie-Richards. The film also sees Schuster play three roles with great ease and dexterity.
Schuster’s unique brand of comedy has made him South Africa’s foremost box office attraction and the mastermind behind the phenomenally successful film, Mr Bones which broke all South African boxoffice records and outgrossed films like Harry Potter and Lord Of The Rings. Schuster also holds the distinction of having two films in the All Time Top 10 Grossing Films in South Africa which including Mr Bones.
Producer, Anant Singh said, “Mama Jack is definitely Leon’s best film to date. His transformation from a macho guy to the lovable, “Mama” is truly convincing. It is a wonderful, 100% local family film and a treat for audiences this holiday season. It is great to see people of all ages and a fully integrated racial mix in the cinemas. It is also great to see South Africa’s leading critics respond positively, including Barry Ronge, who said “This is Schuster at his typical best… He’s virtually a national monument’.”
Leon Schuster commented, “I am thrilled with the performance of Mama Jack this past weekend. I have been working on Mama Jack for four years and it is very satisfying for me to see South African audiences enjoy the film so much.”
Mama Jack stars Leon Schuster, Alfred Ntombela, Mary-Anne Barlow, Lionel Newton, Jerry Mofokeng, Shaleen Surtie-Richards. The film is a Videovision Entertainment production in association with Distant Horizon and Delta Films (Pty) Ltd, produced by Anant Singh and Helena Spring, executive produced by Sanjeev Singh and Sudhir Pragjee and is written by Leon Schuster, Gray Hofmeyr, Paul Slabolepsky and Jeff Newton and directed by Gray Hofmeyr.
Mama Jack is a Videovision Entertainment release through United International Pictures (South Africa), playing across South Africa in over 100 cinemas.
