Animation Holds Firm as Legacy Films Falter at Iranian Cinemas

Date: 16 November 2025 - 21:40

News ID: ۱۴۵۸۸۰

TEHRAN -- Last week, Mr. Leech firmly consolidated its position at the top of the Iranian box office, while the long-awaited release of Cinema Shahre Gheseh, after a seven-year hiatus, struggled to find an audience.
The dominance of comedies and animated features has become a recurring trend in recent weeks, steering the dynamics of Iran’s cinema screens. Yooz, the family-friendly animation, held onto second place, demonstrating the enduring appeal of animated storytelling in the local market.
Meanwhile, comedies Mr. Leech and Kaj Pileh (The Crooked Cocoon) battled for weekly supremacy, underscoring the genre’s continued draw for broad audiences.
Mr. Leech, the latest work by Mehran Ahmadi, registered a weekly haul of 14 billion tomans, maintaining a strong average of 180,000 viewers over the past two weeks, following its initial opening. The film’s steady performance highlights the sustained appetite for lighthearted domestic fare amidst a landscape often dominated by blockbusters and art-house fare.
Yooz retained its audience with approximately 100,000 viewers, contributing roughly 5 billion tomans to the weekly tally. The film’s stable performance is a testament to the growing foothold of animated cinema in Iran, which has been steadily rising since the start of the year.
In contrast, Koj Pileh, directed by Hatef Alimardani, experienced a marked decline in its second week, dropping to third place with 3 billion tomans in receipts, a sharp contrast to its opening week’s 10.5 billion. The arrival of Mr. Leech on screens appears to have accelerated this downturn, highlighting the competitive pressures within the domestic comedy sector.
Other notable entries included Qosantinia (Constantinople), securing fourth place with 2.8 billion tomans, and Two Days Later, a foundation-backed release, which attracted 27,000 viewers and earned roughly 2 billion tomans.
Among mid-tier performers, The Man With Glasses collected 1.7 billion tomans, while the week’s lower-ranking dramas—In the Form of Love, Majnoon, and Someone Else’s Child—each crossed the 1.4–1.5 billion tomans mark.
The return of Cinema Shahre Gheseh to cinemas, however, was modest. Its opening weekend yielded a mere 34 million tomans, a stark reminder that even long-awaited releases can struggle to resonate with contemporary audiences.
Overall, last week’s box office underscores the continued commercial dominance of comedies and family animation in Iran, while the reception of prestige or legacy films remains unpredictable—a landscape in which audience loyalty and timing prove as decisive as critical acclaim.