Domestic films triumph over Hollywood at Turkish Box Office in 2016

Turkish films won a huge victory over Hollywood productions at the Turkish box office in 2016. More than 55 million movie buffs visited theater halls this year and more than 29 million of them preferred to watch a total of 169 Turkish productions from those that hit the theaters this year.

In the last 10 years, there has been an increasing interest in domestic productions in Turkey. Turkish film lovers who used to prefer Hollywood productions over Turkish films are now flocking to the theaters to watch Turkish films. This interest is also mirrored in the number of Turkish productions that hit the theaters throughout the year. According to the data, while a total of 34 Turkish films debuted in theaters in 2006, this number increased to 136 in 2015. This year, however, 169 films out of a total of 509 films that debuted in Turkish theaters were domestic productions.

"Dağ 2" (Mountain 2), which tells the story of the Maroon Berets, an elite force in the Turkish army, became the most watched filmed of the year. So far, the sequel of the 2012 film "Dağ" (Mountain) has been seen by more than 2.5 million people. Although the film hit theaters on Nov. 4, it has managed to gross nearly TL 27 million ($7.6 million). Starring Çağlar Ertuğrul, Murat Serezli, Ufuk Bayraktar, Atılgan Gümüş, Emir Benderlioğlu and Ahu Türkpençe, "Dağ 2" was directed by Alper Çağlar.

Apart from "Mountain 2," the Turkish box office was dominated by comedy films in 2016.

One of the most anticipated Turkish films of the year was Mert Baykal's "Kardeşim Benim" (My Brother), which hit the theaters early this year and earned the title for the second most watched film of the year. Starring heartthrobs Murat Boz and Buraközçivit, "My Brother" drew slightly over 2 million people to the theater halls.

Turkish comedy film "Dedemin Fişi," directed by Meltem Bozoflu, became the third most watched film of the year with 2,015,000 viewers. Starring Onur Buldu, Alper Kul, Erdem Yener, Onur Atilla, Meltem Yılmazkaya, İrem Sak, Özge Borak, Doğa Rutkay, Uğur Bilgin, Ali Sunal and Ayşen Gruda, the comedy film tells the story of the Çiftçi Family whose members compete with each other to get the lion's share of the family inheritance.

Turkish comedian and actor Şahan Gökbakar, known for his fictional character Recep İvedik, has regularly dominated the Turkish box office with his comedy films. This year, the actor took a break from his well-known character and gave the lead to his new character, the marketing man Osman. Şahan's film "Osman Pazarlama" (Osman Marketing) claimed fourth place with nearly 2 million viewers.

The only Hollywood production in the Turkish Box Office Top 5 is this year's biggest box office disappointment "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice." Zack Snyder's adaptation of DC Comics' two most famous characters drew nearly 1.5 million Turkish film lovers to the theater halls.