Paris (AFP)

Despite calls for boycotts after a new rape charge, Roman Polanski's "J'accuse" film took the French box office with more than 500,000 spectators for its first week in the cinema, a historic start in the director's career.

This is the "best start of his career", says CBO Box Office, author of the ranking. According to the specialized body, the precedents were "The ninth door" (499,344 entries the week of its release in 1999), "Oliver Twist" (482,752 in 2005) and "The pianist" (379,604 in 2002). However, data are not available for Polanski's films prior to 1995.

Programmed on 545 screens in France, "J'accuse", devoted to the Dreyfus affair, attracted 501,228 spectators, an average of 920 seats per room. This total takes into account entries made since its release on November 13 as well as previews.

"J'accuse", with Jean Dujardin, ahead of the big budget American film "Le Mans 66" (402,917 spectators in one week). If it makes a very good start compared to the previous Polanski films, it ranks 29th only among the best starts of the year.

The film came out in full controversy, after a new charge of rape against the filmmaker Franco-Polish 86 years. The photographer Valentine Monnier says she was "beaten" and raped by the director in 1975 at the age of 18, in Switzerland. The filmmaker's lawyer refuted the accusation.

Roman Polanski has also been prosecuted for more than 40 years by US justice for illegal sex with a minor in 1977. Since then, he has been the subject of several other rape charges, which he refuted.

Awarded the silver Lion of the Venice Film Festival in September, "J'accuse" had also aroused reservations, especially because Polanski had said repeatedly that he saw in this case an echo to his own story, s 'estimating' persecuted '.

- "Censorship" -

After a difficult promotion, a preview in Paris on November 12 and a session in Rennes on the 16th and another in Bordeaux on Tuesday night were canceled due to blockages and disruption by feminist activists.

A hashtag #BoycottPolanski appeared on social media and several personalities said they would not go see the film, such as the Secretary of State for Gender Equality Marlene Schiappa or the government spokeswoman Sibeth Ndiaye.

On Tuesday, the community East Ensemble, which includes nine municipalities of Seine-Saint-Denis, announced wanting to request the deprogramming of the film of its six public cinemas. The socialist president of the community, Gérard Cosme, finally returned to this decision Wednesday morning, after meeting with directors of cinemas.

"I talked to them about artistic freedom," he told the media. "After having heard everyone, in my soul and conscience, I maintain the programming of + J'accuse +," he added, adding that he requested that debates accompany the broadcast of the film.

The announcement of a deprogramming had prompted very strong reactions from directors of the cinemas concerned and elected officials of the department, seeing it as a "censorship".

"I think that by programming this film I do not endorse all rapists in France," said Annie Thomas, director of the Trianon in Romainville, after the turnaround of the community. "It seems fundamental to me to distinguish the work of the man," pleaded Anne Huet, Director of Cine 104 in Pantin.

The controversy, however, spread to Belgium: for the first time abroad, posters hostile to Polanski were posted on the night of Tuesday to Wednesday by feminist activists on the facades of three cinemas in Brussels that program its movie.

On Monday night, the Civil Society of Authors, Directors and Producers (ARP), an organization of more than 200 filmmakers, announced that it will propose new rules for members convicted or prosecuted for sexual violence at its next general assembly. They will lead to the suspension of Roman Polanski, according to its president Pierre Jolivet.

© 2019 AFP