Mexico has had its first – and hopefully not its last – blockbuster of the year with wedding romcom ‘Mesa de Regalos’ (roughly translated to Wedding Gift Table or Wedding Registry) with more than 1.7 million admissions, far surpassing other Mexican titles this year by over a million.
Produced by Spain’s The Mediapro Studio and Buenos Aires-based Pampa Films, its box office success is welcome news for Mexico’s film industry, which continues to see a slump in post-pandemic theatrical admissions, despite some gains.
According to the latest report from Canacine, the Mexican Film Industry’s Chamber of Commerce, theatrical admissions grew 33% in 2023 compared to the previous year but still lagged 32.30% behind its pre-Covid benchmark of 2019. The phenomenon is worldwide given the inexorable rise of streaming platforms, changing consumer habits and other factors.
Ranking second after “Captain America Brave New World” (posting $6.5 million) in the week of Feb. 10-16, “Mesa de Regalos” ($5.8m) is still light years behind the number one all-time box hit in Mexico, Eugenio Derbez’s 2013 hit “Instructions Not Included” (“No se aceptan devoluciones”), which clocked 15.2 million admissions.
Directed by Noé Santillán-López (“Infelices para siempre,” “Veinteañera, divorciada y fantástica”) it stars Cassandra Sánchez-Navarro and José Eduardo Derbez, and has continued to lure more auds since its Jan. 16 theatrical release by Disney. “Admissions grew the second week which likely means that word of mouth has driven its box office success,” said Cabe Bossi of Pampa Films. “We can also attribute the marketing machinery of Disney, which pulled out all the stops to promote our film,” said Pampa Films partner, Pol Bossi.
Mesa de Regalos
Courtesy of The Mediapro Studio
“They always thought in Mexico that wedding-themed movies were past their prime but ‘Mesa de Regalos’ disproved it, thanks to its great script and cast as well as timing as Mexican audiences like going to the movies during the first part of the year,” said Catalina Porto, executive producer and head of The Mediapro Studio Colombia & Mexico.
Penned by Juan Carlos Aparicio, Mateo Stivelberg and Daniela Richer, the romcom follows Antonia (Sánchez-Navarro) and Nicolás (Derbez), two inseparable friends who, after watching their peers achieve emotional and professional stability, feel stuck in their own lives.
After attending countless weddings, they hatch a clever (and slightly outrageous) plan: to get married. However, their union is a strategic move to pretend to be a loving couple, throw an extravagant wedding and take advantage of the gift registry to fulfill their dreams. But as they navigate the charade, not everyone buys into their relationship, and amidst growing doubts and appearances, unexpected feelings begin to surface, threatening to derail their well-laid plans.
“Our challenge was to make a film that would have universal appeal. The script began in Colombia in collaboration with Pampa Films in Argentina where post production took place and was shot in Mexico with Mexican talent,” Porto told Variety, who added that social media posts have been overwhelmingly positive, including for its soundtrack.
Disney plans to stream the movie across Latin America on Disney+.
Catalina Porto
Courtesy of The Mediapro Studio
