‘The Queen of Ireland’ Secures the Largest Opening Weekend for an Irish Documentary
The Queen of Ireland, a documentary which explores the life of Rory O'Neill, AKA Panti Bliss, has opened to strong box office on its first weekend of release, raking in €47,906 across Ireland. This figure means that it has secured the biggest opening weekend for an Irish documentary at the box office.
The Queen of Ireland has also secured the third-largest opening for a documentary in Ireland, coming behind only 2004’s Fahrenheit 9/11 and the recent Amy. It has been met with widespread critical acclaim, with 5-star reviews from publications including The Irish Times, the Sunday Independent and The Sunday Times.
Directed by Conor Horgan, The Queen of Ireland follows Panti Bliss in a journey from the small Mayo town of Ballinrobe to striding the world stage, including this year’s marriage equality referendum.
The film is produced by Katie Holly and Ailish Bracken for Blinder Films, with funding from Bord Scannán na hÉireann/the Irish Film Board and RTÉ. It is distributed by Universal Pictures.
For a list of Irish cinemas screening The Queen of Ireland, see here.