Major Grom Russian superhero flick leads on Netflix
29.07.2021
Russkiy Mir Editorial
Russian movie Major Grom: Plague Doctor, based on the namesake comic book series, has immediately become the leader once it was launched at the Netflix platform. It has entered top-10 in 64 countries, and got the first place in 15 countries’ rating.
The film was greeted by viewers in Belgium, Brazil, Hungary, Italy, Spain, Czech Republic, Switzerland, a number of countries in Latin America and the Middle East.
Major Grom: Plague doctor is the first Russian full feature film that is based on on the comic book series. The largest Russian comic book publisher BUBBLE Comics is the only publishing house in Russia that produces original non-franchised comic books from 2011. Major Grom story is one of the most popular.
The film was released in Russia on April, 8 2021 but didn’t have an immediate success. The real success was published online, especially when it’s become available for foreign audience.
Major Grom: Plague doctor screenshot
The plot centers around Police Major Igor Grom is known throughout St. Petersburg for his penetrative character and irreconcilable attitude towards criminals of all stripes. But everything changes dramatically with the appearance of a person in the mask of the Plague Doctor. Having declared that his city is "sick with the plague of lawlessness", he takes up "treatment", killing people who, at one time, escaped punishment with the help of money and high status in society. Society is agitated. The police officers are powerless. For the first time, Igor faces difficulties in the investigation, the outcome of which may determine the fate of the whole city.
At first the filmmakers had plans to involve foreign producers and English-speaking actors in the production to adapt the film for a foreign audience. But it turned out that the US producers insisted on a complete "Americanization" of the plot, insisting on changing the location from St. Petersburg to New York and renaming the main character. As a result, it was decided to shoot the film with Russian producers. Finally the film is possible to watch on the Netflix streaming service with English voice overs, which makes the storyline and characters much more approachable for foreign action lovers.
Scriptwriter and the movie producer Roman Kotkov has attributed his success to being original and that it turned out to be "really cool, action-packed, funny, well-played, dramatic."
Major Grom: Plague doctor screenshot
It’s not decided yet whether the film is to be continued with Major Grom-2. The Bubble company is working on an expanded version, which will include deleted and brand-new scenes.
The popularity of the film is also influenced be the Bubble comic book sales. In the wake of the success of the Major Grom movie, the interest in other Bubble comics has also increased. Besoboy, Ex-librium and Mir (Peace) comics are now available also in English language in digital version.
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