Spectacular Film Shot in Romania Debuts in US Box Office

By Romania Journal Last updated Apr 28, 2025

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“The Legend of Ochi”, a fantasy feature film filmed entirely in Romania, from the Transfăgărășan to the depths of the Apuseni Mountains, with the famous actor Willem Dafoe in one of the main roles, debuted at the top of the North American box office ranking, the market by which Hollywood measures the success of a film.

Data cited by Variety magazine shows that The Legend of Ochi has obtained total receipts of 1.4 million dollars from 1,153 North American cinemas, enough to take the 9th position in the top 10 of the box office ranking.

Although the grosses are relatively modest by Hollywood standards, The Legend of Ochi is a film that benefited from a production budget of only $ 10 million. It was produced by A24, the independent studio that has become famous in Hollywood in recent years thanks to its films that are both critically acclaimed and commercially successful, despite the fact that they were produced with low budgets compared to the “blockbuster” feature films of American cinema.

Among others, A24 has produced films such as Everything Everywhere All At Once, the big winner of the 2024 Oscars, Ex Machina, Talk to Me, Lady Bird, Midsommar or The Whale, the film that brought actor Brendan Frasier his first Oscar Award, also at the 2023 edition of the prestigious gala.

The story of the new film The Legend of Ochi revolves around Yuri, a shy girl (played by Helena Zengel), who discovers an injured Ochi cub and embarks on a journey that challenges everything she knew about her world. She is joined by Willem Dafoe (as the rigid father), Finn Wolfhard (Stranger Things) and Emily Watson (Dune: Prophecy). Directed by Isaiah Saxon, a visionary known so far for his animated videos and his work behind the Encyclopedia Pictura studio, the film marks his feature film debut and a rare venture into the Fantasy genre for A24.

Much of the magic of this film comes not only from the story or the practical effects, but also from the way Romania was transformed into a mythical land – Carpathia Island. The feature film was generally appreciated by film critics, with an approval rating of 80% on the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, and an overall rating of 68 out of 100 on Metacritic.

And this would not have been possible without the people behind the scenes, the Romanian team that collaborated closely with the international one. One of them is George Magheru, assistant director, who had an important role in coordinating the filming, a job that means, among other things, managing the local crew, big actors, logistics in difficult terrain and… animatronic creatures. He told in an interview for HotNews.ro about what it was like to work on this ambitious filming set in Romania, what the “organized chaos” behind an A24 fantasy means and what it’s actually like to sit at the table with Willem Dafoe, but keep in mind that at 6 in the morning you have to organize a scene with a giant doll that “seems alive”.

Trailer here.

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