2 Caesars + 8.5 million receipts: this cult film surpassed Harry Potter and Spider-Man at the box office!

Released in theaters on March 17, 2004, Les Choristes returns to theaters on April 10 to celebrate its 20th anniversary. The feature film was the biggest hit of 2004 with 8.5 million admissions. It beat the likes of Shrek 2, Harry Potter 3, Spider-Man 2 or The Incredibles.

History takes us back to 1949. Clément Mathieu, played by Gérard Junio, is an unemployed music teacher. He is appointed as a supervisor in a juvenile re-education boarding school. Particularly repressive, Principal Racine’s education system tries to maintain authority over difficult students. By introducing the residents to the magic of song, Mathieu transforms their lives.

A true social phenomenon, Les Choristes became a cult following, revealing a young Jean-Baptiste Mounier in the painful role of Pierre Morhange in the process.

Revelation of Jean-Baptiste Mounier

The search for a translator for Pierre Morhange was exhausting for Christophe Baratier and his team. The director wanted the chosen actor to be a singer as well. Composer Bruno Kula, who accompanied him, tells us about the discovery of Jean-Baptiste Maunier.

“That day we are in Lyons to visit the little singers of St. Marc. As we climb the steps of the college, we hear the echo of Purcell’s aria, dominated by an incredible soprano voice…

A voice we soon recognize: that of a twelve-year-old boy with the physique of a young star. he will be The team is great. That would be it.”

Authentic youth

Christophe Baratier wanted the young children of the choristers not to be professional actors. Therefore, the director conducted the casting in the surroundings of Clermont-Ferrand. Of the 2,000 children he met, he kept about forty.

For the purposes of the film, they’re back at school… in the middle of summer, and above all, in the middle of the heat! In fact, the footage was shot in the famous summer of 2003. Filming was almost canceled that year due to extreme heat.

Junot and the children

Gérard Junot has already acted with children, notably in Scout Aus or Monsieur Batignole, two of his films. In Les Choristes, he meets 40 apprentice actors.

“I have made many films with children. They are the ones who guide you. The characters are found in relation to whom we are in front of. There I found myself in a classroom, in the middle of the heat, in front of forty very friendly children, but exhausting because they are always full of energy”– the actor confided.

Note that to become Clément Mathieu, Gérard Juniot used a very personal method: “I stuck to the details of his physical appearance: wore old shoes, never changed his suit, kept the same little threadbare coat”.

In 20 years, Les Choristes has become a classic of French cinema. Nominated 8 times for the 2005 César, he won the statue for Best Music and Best Sound. The work was also nominated twice for the 2005 Oscars (Best Original Song and Best Foreign Language Film).

The Chorists returns to theaters on April 10th!