Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis / Welcome to the Sticks (literally, Welcome to the Land of the Ch'tis), a comedy about French regional stereotypes, has been seen by more than 17.4 million people since its February 27 release. That makes it the most successful French production in history. (According to an Agence France Presse report, the previous record was held by the 1966 Louis de Funès comedy La Grande Vadrouille, which sold 17.3 million tickets.)
If ticket sales remain strong, Welcome to the Sticks will likely surpass the 1997 romantic disaster-epic Titanic (20.7 million entries) to become the most successful film ever at the French box office.
Directed and co-written (with Alexandre Charlot and Franck Magnier) by two-time (acting) César nominee Dany Boon, who also stars and who is himself a Ch'ti, Welcome to the Sticks follows a southerner (Kad Merad) who, on orders from his company, moves to the Nord Pas de Calais region bordering Belgium. He's not happy at first, but once he's able to communicate with the locals — who speak an impossible-to-understand French dialect — he discovers that the Ch'tis are a kind-hearted bunch, after all.
So far, Welcome to the Sticks — which cost 11 million euros (US$17 million), has grossed 99 million euros (US$153 million).
As per the AFP report, the nickname "'Ch'ti' emerged during World War I when soldiers from the region were teased by comrades about their prononciation [sic] of ch'est ti, ch'est mi instead of c'est toi, c'est moi (it's you, it's me)."
See also the Welcome to the Sticks review at european-films.net.
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It's not a bad movie, but even OSS 117 was funnier.
The film is really fun if you understand French, but I'm still sort of baffled by its success. I guess what makes it work so well is that it is a regional comedy that is inclusive, i.e. it uses a southerner that goes north to appeal to people everywhere. Still, the film is nowhere near as good as La grande vadrouille or Titanic.