Hitler comedy number one at German box office

BERLIN: A comedy about Hitler by a Jewish filmmaker rocketed to the top of the German box office charts in its first week in the cinemas, the country's biggest movie theater chain said on Monday.

My Fuehrer -- The Truly Truest Truth About Adolf Hitler by Swiss-born, Berlin-based director Dani Levy shot to first place ahead of a raft of Hollywood blockbusters and the latest James Bond film Casino Royale.

The film has received mixed reviews from critics.

But audiences have responded enthusiastically to the picture which sends up the genocidal Nazi leader as an impotent, bed-wetting, whimpering drug addict who just wanted his father's love.

The picture has enjoyed massive coverage in the German press, which has focused on the question of whether it is acceptable to laugh about Hitler six decades after World War II.

Hitler, as played by comedian Helge Schneider in the film, sneaks drugs from a stash in the giant globe in his office, proves a flop in bed with his mistress Eva Braun and wrestles with his German shepherd Blondi, outfitted with her own tiny SS uniform and able to perform the Hitler salute.

My Fuehrer hit German cinemas Thursday with an initial run on 250 screens.

US comedy Night at the Museum starring Ben Stiller came in second place, followed by the Denzel Washington thriller Deja Vu, Casino Royale and The Holiday with Cameron Diaz and Jude Law.

The rankings were released by the Cinemaxx cinema chain based on box office returns for 339 screens between January 11 and 14.