Gints Zilbalodis’ “Flow,” the dialogue-free survival tale of a solitary cat’s journey that won both the Oscar and Golden Globe for best animated feature earlier this year, has been embraced by moviegoers around the world.
Budgeted at $3.4 million and sold internationally by Charades, “Flow” has grossed, as of March 17, more than $36 million worldwide. This includes $4.6 million (€4.5 million) in North America, where it opened in November and was released by Sideshow and Janus Films. The feature went on to gross about $6.7 million in Mexico; $1 million in Brazil; $3.4 million in Argentina, Chile, Uruguay and Paraguay; $2.1 million in its native Latvia; $5.4 million in France (from 682,217 admissions); $1 million in Germany (after its first weekend); $1.3 million in the Netherlands; $1.6 million in Spain; $2.7 million in China (after its third weekend); and $591,000 in Vietnam from 157,000 admissions (after its first weekend), among other territories.
Since premiering in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard section, “Flow” had a spectacular run in the awards circuit, winning over critics, audiences and voters to ultimately thrive in a category that also included “The Wild Robot,” “Inside Out 2,” “Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl” and “Memoir of a Snail.” “Flow,” produced by Dream Well Studio, Sacrebleu Prods. and Take Five Prods., also accomplished the rare feat of being nominated for both best animated feature and international film at the Oscars.
“Flow” is set in the aftermath of a terrible flood that ravages the world and follows a stubbornly independent cat who is forced to share a boat and get along with a group of animals. It’s been described as an allegory for current issues such as climate change.
Zilbalodis, who made his feature debut at the age of 24 with the international hit “Away,” alluded to the timeliness of the themes tackled in “Flow” during his acceptance speech at the Oscars.
“We’re all in the same boat and we must find ways to overcome our differences and find ways to work together,” he said. The soft-spoken director also pointed out that it was the first time a film from Latvia had ever been nominated and won at the Oscars, and said he hoped that it will “open doors to independent animation filmmakers around the world.”
Before the Oscars, the director also spoke to Variety about the success of “Flow” despite being a smaller animated feature without dialogue, saying that animation “can transcend these boundaries.”
“I think people are accepting that animated films can be for kids, which is fantastic, but it can be for all kinds of audiences,” he added.
