The Last Viking Opens US, Outgrosses Jensen's Past
Get the Culture newsletter
Daily culture — film, music, books, the trends and ideas worth your attention. Free.
- The Last Viking opened in the US after its out‑of‑competition premiere at the previous year’s Venice Film Festival.
- Denmark box‑office numbers show the film outgrossed Jensen’s prior directorial works, becoming a substantial domestic hit.
- Denmark Oscar committee passed the film over for the Best International Feature submission, selecting “Mr. Nobody Against Putin” instead.
- Anders Thomas Jensen mixes absurdist farce with hard‑boiled crime thriller elements, using an animated Viking‑lore prologue and a plot about a thief and his brother with dissociative identity disorder.
- Mads Mikkelsen portrays Manfred, a man who believes he is John Lennon, leading to unpredictable and dangerous behavior as the story unfolds.
Why it matters: The film’s strong Danish box‑office lifts Jensen’s profile and boosts local cinema earnings, while being rejected for Oscar submission limits its global award exposure and potential streaming deals.
