Happiness movie is still breaking records at the box office

Johannesburg - A woman on a date tends to choose what movie the couple will watch – and the man will happily agree, if it means impressing her.

This has had a good bit to do with the runaway success of the local romantic drama Happiness Is a Four-letter Word, reckons one of the producers.

Happiness is doing so well at the local box office that it looks set to overtake celluloid king Leon Schuster’s last movie and set a new record for an independent black film.

Starring a gorgeous cast – Khanyi Mbau, Renate Stuurman, Mmabatho Montsho and Chris Attoh – Happiness is also going international, starting with a theatrical release in Nigeria.

According to Box Office Mojo, Happiness has already grossed R12.5m at the box office. Still in cinemas throughout the country, it has a shot at overtaking the R17.5m grossed by Schuster’s Schuks! ... Pay Back the Money!, SA’s biggest movie last year.

“Our main audience is urban women, but what has really worked in the film’s favour is that when men have gone into the cinema, they have really enjoyed the film,” says Helena Spring, who produced Happiness with Bongiwe Selane and Junaid Ahmed.

It is still the top-ranked South African film at the box office, more than eight weeks after its release, which is exactly what the producers intended.

Watch the cast chats to City Press about the film:

Read more here.