Championext

Championext
Theatrical release poster
SpanishCampeonex
Directed byJavier Fesser
Written by
  • Javier Fesser
  • Athenea Mata
  • David Marqués
Produced by
Starring
  • Jesús Vidal
  • Gloria Ramos
  • Sergio Olmo
  • Jesús Lago Solís
  • José de Luna
  • Fran Fuentes
  • Alberto Nieto
  • Roberto Chinchilla
  • Stefan López
CinematographyÁngel Amorós
Edited byJavi Frutos
Production
companies
Morena Films
Películas Pendelton
Distributed byUniversal Pictures International Spain
Release date
  • August 18, 2023 (2023-08-18)[1]
Running time
125 minutes
CountrySpain
LanguageSpanish
Box office€11.7 million[2]

Championext (Spanish: Campeonex) is a 2023 Spanish sports comedy-drama film directed by Javier Fesser and written by Fesser, Athenea Mata and David Marqués.[3] It is a sequel to the 2018 film Champions.[4] Once again, it stars Jesús Vidal, Gloria Ramos, Sergio Olmo, Jesús Lago Solís, José de Luna, Fran Fuentes, Alberto Nieto, Roberto Chinchilla and Stefan López.[5] It premiered on August 18, 2023, in Spanish theaters.[6]

Synopsis

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The basketball team of Los Amigos, composed of players with various degrees of intellectual disability, wins the final of its championship but they are disqualified because Sergio, one of their players, was sent on the bench and, frustrated, stole the medals and went away.

Two years later, Julio, the club's president, manages to recruit a new coach, Cecilia. She has no experience and needs to validate a year of training to validate her graduation. She also was bullied during her studies as she has the reputation of being a black cat and bringing bad luck on everyone and everything she touches. Still, almost all former players accept to reform the team, but not if Segio comes back. However, when Cecilia applies for the club qualification at the last minute, she forces the attendant to accept the team but in the process she registers the team for athletics instead of basketball. The team trains hard and even accepts Sergio back but the latter comes with a newcomer, Brian, whom he has befriended in a healthcare center. Brian is a teenager with a passion for gaming and is on wheelchair due to a severe muscular disease.[7][8]

The team trains hard but on their way to their first tournament, their van collapses and they cannot reach the site on time. In the meanwhile, Brian is qualified for a hybrid gaming tournament, involving him as captain and team of "real runners" on the field: the Real Runners. Despite Sergio arriving very late in the arena, and thanks to the efforts of the team and their fairplay, they finally win. Julio, who suffered a heart attack before the tournament, witnesses their victory online, only to die later.

Cast

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  • Jesús Vidal as Marin[10]
  • Gloria Ramos as Collantes
  • Sergio Olmo as Sergio
  • Jesús Lago Solís as Jesús
  • José de Luna as Juanma
  • Fran Fuentes as Paquito
  • Alberto Nieto as Benito
  • Roberto Chinchilla as Román
  • Stefan López as Manuel
  • Brianeitor as Brian
  • Juan Pino Rodil
  • Jelen García as Andy
  • Julian Margallo as Julio, the elderly club president

Production

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Principal photography began at the end of August 2022[11] and ended at the end of November of the same year in Madrid, Spain for 9 weeks.[12][13][14]

Release

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The film was released theatrically in Spain on August 18, 2023. It became the largest-grossing film on that Friday with €603,000 and a 32% box-office share.[15] It ended with a €1.72 million opening weekend.[16]

Accolades

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Year Award Category Nominee(s) Result Ref.
2023
 29th Forqué Awards Cinema and Education in Values Nominated [17]
Audience Award Won
2024
 38th Goya Awards Best New Actor Brianeitor Nominated [18]
Best Sound Tamara Arévalo, Fabiola Ordoyo, Yasmina Praderas Nominated

Reception

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The film received various positive reviews[19][20][21] and was described as "an efficient sequel"[22] El País admitted the social value of the film was, as in the first film, present but that from a cinematographic point of view, the film was not an achievement.[23] Another review criticised the length of the film ( 125 min), judged excessive for a comedy of this type.[24] Other mixed reviews were published in El Correo, [25] and in the Diario de Sevilla, which wrote, "The X in CampeoneX has to do with the idea of dissolving the physical and intellectual difficulties and differences of our heroes in the virtual universe of eSports, to which the film is delivered in a long final third only suitable for lovers of streaming or fans of Ibai Llanos. One might be misled to think that it is actually a new exercise in eXploitation of its subject matter and of each and every one of its characters and actors, disabled or not."[26]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Cinemagavia (2023-05-11). ""Campeonex": regresan los emblemáticos protagonistas de la primera entrega". Cinemagavia (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-06-07.
  2. ^ "Acumulado cine español 2023" (PDF). Ministerio de Cultura y Deporte. 29 October 2023. Retrieved 2 November 2023.
  3. ^ "¡Prepárate para emocionarte! El tráiler de 'Campeonex' llega con una historia conmovedora y un elenco excepcional". cine.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-06-07.
  4. ^ "'Campeonex', la esperada continuación de 'Campeones', ya tiene fecha de estreno". Fotogramas (in European Spanish). 2023-01-17. Retrieved 2023-06-07.
  5. ^ "Primer tráiler de 'Campeonex', la secuela de 'Campeones', que se pasa al atletismo". www.ecartelera.com (in Spanish). 10 May 2023. Retrieved 2023-06-07.
  6. ^ "'Campeonex' el regreso de los Campeones de Javier Fesser ya tiene fecha de estreno". okdiario.com (in Spanish). 2023-01-17. Retrieved 2023-06-07.
  7. ^ "'Campeonex': tráiler, argumento, reparto y fecha de estreno en los cines". MARCA (in Spanish). 2023-05-10. Retrieved 2023-06-07.
  8. ^ Cinemanía (2023-05-10). "'Campeonex': fecha de estreno, tráiler y sinopsis de la secuela de 'Campeones'". Cinemanía (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-06-07.
  9. ^ Elices, Raquel (18 August 2023). "Elisa Hipólito, así es la nueva entrenadora de los Campeones: la actriz de 'CampeoneX'". rtve.es.
  10. ^ "Reparto de Campeonex (Campeones 2) (película 2023). Dirigida por Javier Fesser". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 2023-06-07. Retrieved 2023-06-07.
  11. ^ Antolín, Carlos (2022-08-05). "'Campeones 2' comenzará a rodarse en breve". Tu Cine Crítico (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-06-07.
  12. ^ Meeks, Randy (2022-11-21). "Vuelven los campeones de Javier Fesser: termina el rodaje de 'Campeonex', una secuela que reunirá a casi todo el reparto (aunque hay una ausencia irreparable)". Espinof (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-06-07.
  13. ^ Amores, Raúl (2022-11-21). "'Campeonex' Javier Fesser | Fin rodaje, protagonistas y detalles". Los Lunes Seriéfilos - Cine, series, televisión y entretenimiento (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-06-07.
  14. ^ Cinemanía (2022-11-21). "La secuela de 'Campeones' se llama 'Campeonex', y ya ha terminado su rodaje". Cinemanía (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-06-07.
  15. ^ ""CampeoneX" también en los cines: desbanca a "Barbie" y es el mejor estreno español del año". EFE. 19 August 2023.
  16. ^ Hopewell, John (26 August 2023). "'Championext' Replaces 'Barbenheimer' as Spain's New Box Office Phenom". Variety.
  17. ^ "Palmarés completo de los Premios Forqué 2023: '20.000 especies de abejas' y 'La Mesías' lideran la apertura de la temporada". Cinemanía. 17 December 2023 – via 20minutos.es.
  18. ^ Hopewell, John (11 February 2024). "Spain's Goya Awards: J.A. Bayona's 'Society of the Snow' Wins Best Picture, Director as Sigourney Weaver Receives an International Goya". Variety.
  19. ^ "Crítica de cinema | Campeonex, de Javier Fesser". el9nou.cat. Retrieved 2024-09-01.
  20. ^ "Crítica de 'Campeonex': La maravillosa perfección de lo incompleto". Diario ABC (in Spanish). 2023-08-16. Retrieved 2024-09-01.
  21. ^ "Campeonex: El delirante, disfuncional y genial superpoder de lo distinto (****)". ELMUNDO (in Spanish). 2023-08-16. Retrieved 2024-09-01.
  22. ^ Zorrilla, Mikel (2023-08-18). "'Campeonex' es una eficaz secuela que no defraudará a los mayores fans de la exitosa película de Javier Fesser". Espinof (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-08-31.
  23. ^ Ocaña, Javier (2023-08-18). "'Campeonex': el valor social de 'Campeones' sigue presente, el cinematográfico se ha perdido". El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-09-01.
  24. ^ Arconada, Andrés. "'Campeonex', ¿nunca segundas partes fueron buenas?". Libertad Digital - Cultura (in European Spanish). Retrieved 2024-09-01.
  25. ^ Gurpegui, Mikel G. (2023-08-19). "Crítica de 'Campeonex' (2023): 'Los amigos', sin medalla". El Correo (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-09-01.
  26. ^ Lombardo, Manuel J. (2023-08-19). "Discapacidad aumentada". Diario de Sevilla (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-09-01.
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