French regional comedy breaks box office record

PARIS (Reuters) - A low-budget comedy about French regional prejudices is breaking box office records in western Europe's largest country, several newspapers reported on Saturday.

The film "Bienvenue Chez les Ch'Tis" has already been seen by more than 5 million people in 15 days, beating a record set by "Les Bronzes 3" in February 2006.

"The film...could reach 15 million entries. Even the figure of 17 million is not far fetched," Le Monde quoted Serge Siritzky of movie industry trade mag Ecran Total as saying.

That would put "les Ch'Tis" on track to become France's most widely seen movie ever, a record held since 1966 by "La Grande Vadrouille," a film about a World War Two airforce crew shot down over France. The film was released in the U.S. as "Don't Look Now...We're Being Shot At."

"Les Ch'Tis" centers on the life of a post office director from southern France who is posted to Bergues, close to France's northern border with Belgium, where he is forced to come to terms with a damp climate, strong regional accents and local traditions.

The film which cost 11 million euro ($16.95 million) to make has already grossed producers Pathe close to 30 million and could spawn offshots elsewhere, Le Monde said.

"The United States is thinking of a remake. Germany could also transpose the idea of the north-south split onto its own territory," Pathe's Francois Ivernel told Le Monde.

Liberation newspaper said the film has also triggered a boom in tourism in the town of Bergues and met widespread acclaim among residents of the surrounding Nord-Pas-de-Calais region.

(Reporting by Nick Antonovics; Editing by Matthew Jones)