Inxeba coins it at the box office

Controversial film hits number three in ratings

Award-winning movie Inxeba: The Wound came back with a bang when it took R1.5-million from 24 739 movie-goers at the weekend – nearly double its premier weekend takings before it was banned.

“We are currently playing on 12 sites,” said distribution company Indigenous Films MD Helen Kuun.

And more cinemas across the country will be added to the list. She said the movie made it to the industry top 20 for the weekend and it was the third highest of the films on circuit behind first-placed Black Panther followed by Death Wish.

“There was no violence or protests,” Kuun said.

This is in contrast to the interruptions and threats to cinema staff and movie-goers when the film premiered last month. This weekend was peaceful, she said. Ster-Kinekor head of marketing Lynne Wylie also confirmed there was peace.

“They were no interruptions at Ster-Kinekor cinemas,” she said.

Inxeba, a story that added gay love to initiation in the Xhosa culture, was met with mixed reactions in South Africa.

The Man and Boy Foundation and the Congress of Traditional Leaders of South Africa lodged a complaint with the Film and Publications Board Appeals Tribunal. The film was X-rated and banned from public cinemas.

Last week, the Pretoria High Court ruled that pending a review application on March 28, the film could be screened again from March 9.