Taxi Drivers was released on 20 January 2023 on an impressive number of 115 screens (with 18 screens less than Avatar: The Way of Water), and cashed in 211,326 EUR / 1,038,308 RON compared to 298,949 EUR / 1,468,990 RON made by Cameron’s film over the same weekend, according to Cinemagia.
Number 3 in the weekly box office, Damien Chazelle’s Babylon, grossed 118,540 EUR / 582,524 RON over the same weekend.
Reminiscent of Night on Earth by Jim Jarmusch, Taxi Drivers adapts a stage play written by Bogdan Theodor Olteanu and Adrian Nicolae (who also penned the script), and follows several people including two taxi drivers in the colourful Bucharest during one night.
Alexandru Ion and Rolando Matsangos play the taxi drivers and the cast includes popular actors Maria Popistașu, Andi Vasluianu, Monica Bârladeanu, Cosmin Nedelcu and Victoria Răileanu.
The film is an independent 100% Romanian coproduction produced by Bold Film Studio (the first film investment fund in Romania), together with Tangaj Production and Avanpost Media.
The domestic film with the best opening in Romania in 2023 and in the last 30 years is the musical comedy Romina, VTM directed by Paul Răzvan Macovei. The film produced by Romania’s Vidra Productions in coproduction with Selly Media Network, and distributed by Vidra Productions on 82 screens, had 233,208 admissions and 1.3 m EUR / 6,553,905 RON gross in its opening weekend (6 – 8 January 2023), more than Avatar: The Way of Water during its first weekend. In three weeks, Romina, VTM cashed in 1.7 m EUR / 8,629,358 RON.
