‘Intouchables’ Turkish Remake Tops Local Box Office

More than a decade after “The Intouchables” became a global box office phenomenon and launched Omar Sy’s international career, a Turkish remake of the French buddy comedy titled “Yan Yana” is doing gangbuster business in Turkey, becoming the country’s 2025 box office champ.

Since the film’s Nov. 14 release in Turkish movie theatres via Universal Pictures International, “Yan Yana,” which is directed by Mert Baykal, has scored more than two million admissions, pulling more than $12.4 million, and counting.

That figure is more than twice the Turkish box office take of “A Minecraft Movie” ($5.2 million) and roughly three times as much as “Zootopia 2” ($4.1 million), according to Box Office Mojo figures.

Produced by Turkey’s NuLook Production – the prominent company behind works by prominent Turkish helmers Nuri Bilge Ceylan and Emin Alper – “Yan Yanna” is also the first Turkish film to be released locally in IMAX format.

The Turkish adaptation follows the same premise as the original “Intouchables,” which was produced by Gaumont. A wealthy man, Refik (Haluk Bilginer), is paralyzed after a paragliding accident and hires a cheerful caregiver, Ferruh (Feyyaz Yiğit), who comes from a completely different background.

“Yan Yana,” which is also being released in several European territories (France, Germany, Austria, Sweden, Belgium, Switzerland and the Netherlands) via European distributor Cinedex, follows several other “Intouchables” adaptations around the world. These include the film’s 2019 American remake “The Upside” directed by Neil Burger starring Bryan Cranston as a wealthy quadriplegic and Kevin Hart as his caregiver which was a surprise box office hit for STX Entertainment following distribution delays due to the Harvey Weinstein scandal.