‘Trapped’ Showrunner Sigurjon Kjartansson’s Iceland B.O. Hit Comedy ‘Grand Finale’ Heads To EFM With Picture Tree International

Melanie Goodfellow

9 February 2024 at 4:30 am·2-min read

EXCLUSIVE: Picture Tree International (PTI) has acquired international sales rights for Icelandic box office hit Grand Finale (Fullt hús) for an EFM launch.

The Nordic comedy is the debut feature of Icelandic actor, writer and producer Sigurjon Kjartansson who is best known internationally as the showrunner of hit series Trapped and co-creator of Netflix’s Katia.

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Have premiered domestically on January 26, Grand Finale is currently at the top of Iceland’s box office charts with a ticket share of 28% on the opening weekend.

The dark comedy revolves around a chamber orchestra working out of a rundown theatre in Reykjavik on a shoe-string budget.

When the annual grant from the city comes is to an end the orchestra hires a world-renowned cellist in order to secure their future. The media goes wild and money starts to flow back in.

The cellist turns out to be an execrable character but it’s too late to fire him ahead of the big fund-raising grand concert. However, fate strikes when the cellist chokes to death 15 minutes before the concert and the orchestra is forced to take a macabre decision.

Grand Finale is produced by Örn Marinó Arnarson and Thorkell Hardarson under the banner of comedy-focused company Markell Productions.

The ensemble cast features a host of Icelandic stars including Hilmir Snaer Gudnason (The Last Fishing Trip, Lamb), Helga Braga Jonsdottir (Katla, Stitch n’Bitch), Ilmur Kristjansdottir (Trapped, Entrapped), Halldor Gylfason (The Last Fishing Trip, The Very Last Fishing Trip).

Grand Finale is PTI’s fifth Nordic title hitting the upcoming EPM after recent acquisitions shipwreck drama Unsinkable by Danish director Christian Andersen; Swedish religious cult drama Raptures by Jon Blåhed and Rotterdam and Gothenburg titles Stormskerry Maja by Tiina Lymi and The Missile Miia Tervo.

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