Chronicle brings South Africa scenery to no. 1 at box office

In consideration of economics, infrastructure and crew-base, the international filmmakers explored various production centres around the world, including Australia, New Zealand, Vancouver, Cape Town, Michigan and Louisiana. Ultimately, the producers believed it made sense to bring the movie to South Africa that offers a solid infrastructure, a world-class crew and the new, state-of-the-art sound stages at Cape Town Film Studios. Despite the diversity of locations, the production design team still had to create the 'look' of an American suburbia.

The production design team headed up by Oscar nominee, Stephen Altman, (Ray, Gosford Park) pulled off the significant challenge of recreating this very distinctive city in Cape Town. The picture was shot on location in and around Cape Town (including the city centre to shoot groundbreaking stunt and visual effects sequences where the superheroes imploded or 'threw' vehicles into buildings.

Young and upcoming talent

Film Afrika, known for its record of accomplishment in producing major international film projects in South Africa, facilitated the production for the US production company, Davis Entertainment. Young US filmmaker Josh Trank makes his feature directorial debut with Chronicle, produced by John Davis and Adam Schroeder, with James Dodson serving as executive producer and Greig Buckle as line producer.

The film stars a line up of young and upcoming talent: Dane Dehaan, (True Blood), Alex Russell, Michael B Jordan, Ashley Hinshaw and Michael Kelly (The Adjustment Bureau).

"It is extremely gratifying when all the hard work delivers something remarkable that audiences worldwide want to see," says David Wicht, CEO of Film Afrika Worldwide. "This is again a testament to the quality of our crews, the attraction of world class studios and the versatility of Cape Town as a location. Without the support we received from the city at all levels, this film would not have been possible. In addition, the dti's recent decision to lift the cap on its production incentive scheme has markedly increased the attraction to filming in and with South Africa."

No. 1 spot

Also in Cape Town, the company has just completed Labyrinth for Tandem Communications and Ridley Scott's production company, Scott Free Films.

Overseas, Chronicle has claimed the no. 1 spot in a number of international markets, including the United Kingdom, Australia and Hong Kong. This is a somewhat unforeseen success, as Fox was projecting the film would make only $8 million this weekend - traditionally one of the slowest weekends of the year for the movie industry and given the modest $12 million budget - relatively low for a studio production.