Purity of Vengeance Biggest Danish Movie Ever

The Purity Of Vengeance (Journal 64), the fourth film based on the Department Q series of books by Jussi Adler-Olsen, has smashed box office records to become the highest grossing Danish film of all time with 725,000 tickets sold so far.

The film begins with a group of construction workers who make a terrifying discovery in an old Copenhagen apartment: behind a fake wall they find three mummified corpses sitting around a dinner table with one open seat.

Detective Carl Mørck (Nikolaj Lie Kaas) and Assad (Fares Fares) investigate the apartment’s owner and find clues that lead back to the infamous women’s institution on the island of Sprogø, where neglect and forced sterilisation were common for the so-called immoral girls placed there.

Having already set a new box office record for an opening weekend, The Purity Of Vengeance has now also taken the mantle from the previous Department Q film as the highest grossing Danish film since records began, with all four instalments in the franchise sitting in the top five.

Producer, Louise Vesth, said: “It’s a wonderful record. We wanted to end the Department Q franchise on top, and it’s fantastic that the film has been so well received by its audience, and has now secured a spot in Danish film history.”

“It will continue to run in cinemas well into 2019, so we’re not even done yet. We’re lucky to have such talented scriptwriters, directors, and actors who can reach this level.”

The Purity Of Vengeance marks an end to Zentropa’s involvement with the franchise, but Jussi Adler-Olsen’s Department Q books will continue to be adapted as Nordisk Film takes over the rights for up to six more films, although a change in cast seems likely.

HIGHEST GROSSING DANISH FILMS:
1. The Purity of Vengeance (2018): DKK 72.5 M
2. The Absent One (2014): DKK 68.1M
3. Klown (2010): DKK 64.9 M
4. A Conspiracy of Faith (2016): DKK 64.3 M
5. The Keeper of Lost Causes (2012): DKK 59.01 M