November has opened with a split verdict at the box office this week. Parisians made Martin McDonagh’s Wild Horse Nine their first choice on Wednesday morning, the rest of France backed the courtroom drama L’Affaire Marie-Claire, and Gilles Lellouche’s Moulin still sits on top of the weekly national chart. Here is the full picture, from the boulevards to Los Angeles.
Our coup de cœur is an easy call. Wild Horse Nine sends two CIA agents to Easter Island shortly before Chile’s 1973 coup and turns the mission into a pitch-black comedy. John Malkovich plays an ailing agent who, facing his own mortality, starts handing out sensitive secrets to strangers, much to the despair of his partner, played by Sam Rockwell. Steve Buscemi completes a deliciously eccentric cast.
Coup de cœur: Wild Horse Nine, McDonagh at his sharpest
The role won Malkovich the Volpi Cup for best actor at the Venice Film Festival in September — remarkably, his first major festival prize. Released in France by Disney, the film runs just under two hours and wears its politics lightly, all dry wit and moral unease.
Paris answered first. The film led the new releases at the very first 9 a.m. screening at Les Halles, and was still ahead at the 2 p.m. count of the capital’s cinemas, according to Zickma. Nationally, Boxoffice Pro reports that it posted the best average of the day, 19 admissions per screening from fewer than 700 shows. AlloCiné adds that, previews included, this is the third-best French start of McDonagh’s career, behind Three Billboards and The Banshees of Inisherin.
New films in cinemas: the rest of Wednesday’s releases
The day’s biggest audience went to L’Affaire Marie-Claire. Lauriane Escaffre and Yvo Muller revisit the 1972 Bobigny trial, in which lawyer Gisèle Halimi defended a young woman prosecuted for having an abortion after a rape. Charlotte Gainsbourg plays Halimi, opposite Cécile de France and Grégory Gadebois. Released by Gaumont, it drew more than 34,000 admissions on its first day, previews included, according to AlloCiné and Écran total.
- Godzilla Minus Zero — Takashi Yamazaki’s sequel to Godzilla Minus One drew close to 15,000 admissions on day one, excluding previews, per Boxoffice Pro.
- Un bon patron — Philippe de Chauveron’s French remake of the Spanish comedy El buen patrón, with Didier Bourdon and Catherine Frot, had a slower start and finished behind Wild Horse Nine.
- Club Kid — Jordan Firstman directs and stars in this American comedy-drama.
- Ma toute petite école — Pascal Plisson’s documentary follows a tiny school high in the French Alps.
- Whisper of the Heart — Yoshifumi Kondō’s 1995 animated film, from an idea by Hayao Miyazaki, returns to screens as Si tu tends l’oreille.
Overall, Boxoffice Pro counts around 70,000 first-day admissions for all of the week’s newcomers combined, down 41% on the previous Wednesday: a soft start for the season.
Box office this week: Moulin leads France, a photo finish in the US
On the national chart for 28 October to 3 November, Moulin took first place with 346,178 admissions, previews included, according to AlloCiné, a figure matched by Ciné-Directors. We covered its arrival in last week’s box office round-up. Behind it, Les Misérables added some 244,000 admissions and passed 1.15 million after three weeks, while Guillaume Canet’s Karma drew 233,000 and nears 600,000. Ducobu et le fantôme de Saint-Potache crossed 1.2 million; Le Fantôme de l’Opéra opened with about 137,000 and Hope with roughly 115,000.
In North America, the weekend of 30 October to 1 November was almost a tie. A24’s You Can See Everything stayed at number one for a third weekend with about $11.4 million, according to The Numbers, for a total near $64.7 million. Clayface followed with roughly $11 million and some $44.7 million to date, ahead of Wildwood. Deadline’s Sunday estimates, relayed by The Avocado, gave the same order. Resident Evil, meanwhile, passed $157 million in its seventh week.
Our advice for the weekend: start with Malkovich, then keep a seat for Halimi.
Sources
- Critique Film — 4 November 2026
- Note Critique — 1 November 2026
- AlloCiné (first-day figures) — 5 November 2026
- Boxoffice Pro — 5 November 2026
- Écran total — 5 November 2026
- Zickma (Paris first screenings) — 4 November 2026
- Timepilot (9h des Halles) — 4 November 2026
- AlloCiné (weekly French box office) — 4 November 2026
- Ciné-Directors (French box office, 28 Oct–3 Nov) — week 44, 2026
- The Numbers (US weekend chart) — weekend of 30 October 2026
- The Avocado (citing Deadline) — 2 November 2026
- Malay Mail (AFP) — 13 September 2026
- Martin Cid Magazine — 13 September 2026
Cover photo: Photo: Kilyan Sockalingum — Unsplash
