TEHRAN -- Iranian film Escort has taken the top spot at Iran’s daily box office in its second week of release, moving ahead of The Death Bath and The Pool after attracting more than 113,000 moviegoers and grossing more than 17 billion tomans ($73,900) in its first eight days.
Written and directed by Yousef Hatamikia and produced by Muhammad-Reza Mansoori, Escort has led the daily box office since Wednesday, Sept. 9, according to the film’s public relations office.
The film held a special charity screening Thursday night at Tehran’s Kourosh Cinema Complex, with proceeds from five screenings donated to efforts to secure the release of women prisoners held for financial offenses. More than 1,000 people attended the screenings.
Hatamikia, Mansoori and members of the film’s principal cast, including Amir Jadidi, Hoda Zeinolabedin, Mahdi Zaminpardaz and Hadi Sheikholeslami, attended the event.
Addressing the audience before the screening, Jadidi thanked moviegoers for participating in the initiative.
“Everyone here has a share in this screening — a share in freeing women prisoners,” he said. 
“Without your presence, we actors have no meaning, especially at a screening organized to help release prisoners.”
Zaminpardaz also encouraged audiences to recommend the film if they enjoyed it, saying that cinema depends on its audience.
Hatamikia said the public screening had another dimension beyond the film itself, referring to its contribution to efforts to free prisoners and expressing hope that the audience’s participation would help the initiative.
Escort opened in Iranian theaters on Wednesday, Sept. 2, and has remained ahead of The Death Bath and The Pool in daily ticket sales since Sept. 9.
The film was produced with investment from Bank Keshavarzi and in partnership with the Farabi Cinema Foundation. Shahr-e Farang is handling its distribution and publicity.