Maciej Kawalski's adaptation of "Lalka" has sold two million tickets in Polish cinemas within three weeks of its release, WP Film reported on 22 October 2026. The distributor described the response as a genuine surge in attendance and called the result a high point for Polish film, according to the outlet. The milestone arrives just before Święto Kina, the annual nationwide cinema promotion, which this year falls on 24–25 October.
Why it matters
Two million admissions in three weeks places the film within reach of the ten biggest Polish releases since 1989, WP Film reports. That list is currently closed by the comedy "Listy do M.", which drew 2.56 million viewers. The gap is substantial but not unbridgeable, and the timing of the discount weekend gives the production an unusually favourable opportunity to close it.
The film's performance also stands out against its cost. At 63 million złoty, "Lalka" is among the most expensive Polish productions made since 1989, WP Film notes. Only "Quo Vadis", which cost 76 million złoty a quarter of a century ago and sold 4.3 million tickets, had a larger budget — a sum the outlet says would be worth roughly 160 million złoty in today's money. Last year's "Chopin, Chopin!", made for a reported 65–70 million złoty, took only about 9 million złoty at the box office from roughly 450,000 admissions.
A weekend built for cinemas
Święto Kina has been running for 11 years with the aim of getting more people into cinemas, and this year every ticket for every film on show costs 15 złoty, WP Film reports. Few current releases are as well placed to benefit as "Lalka". Over the previous weekend alone it drew more than 200,000 viewers, close to half of all cinema admissions in the country during that period, according to the outlet.
The film's producer, Radosław Drabik, made the case for seeing it on a big screen in comments cited by WP Film. He described the production as one made out of a love for cinema, said it would not appear on any streaming platform in the coming months, and argued that a first viewing should happen in a theatre. He promised audiences an escape from routine and good entertainment, and suggested that anyone who has forgotten what a real cinema experience feels like should take the chance now.
The distributor's statement, quoted by WP Film, said viewers had taken to the epic adaptation of Bolesław Prus's novel and that cinemas were experiencing heavy demand.
What to watch
Whether the discount weekend pushes "Lalka" past "Listy do M." and into the all-time top ten will become clear once admissions for 24–25 October are counted.
