The longer the summer the more boring the charts. Or so it seems. Blame it on the heatwave. Or the lack of new releases. In any case, Germany’s top ten prove to be as slow-moving as a snail in 100-degree temperatures.

There is virtually no change in the country’s top ten, save for the one and only new release, Der Gesang der Flusskrebse (Where the Crawdads Sing). It debuted in number three which is a feat in itself in the midst of a blockbuster season where neither Norsk Gods nor T-Rexes nor a flying Tom Cruise seems to want to leave the charts. And we haven’t even mentioned the yellow rascals called Minions that stick to the number two spot after sticking to the number one spot like a fly to honey. Regardless, the adaptation of the novel by Delia Owens, a bestseller that sold 12 million copies and won two major book awards, the Indie Book Awards in 2020 and the Pageturner of the Year at British Book Awards in 2021, hit the jackpot for a film made on the modest budget of $ 24 million. Especially since it is completely lacking in monsters, high-speed chases, cartoon characters, and anything else that seems to excite audiences of late.

No, in Gesang der Flusskrebse (Where the Crawdads Sing Daisy Edgar-Jones stars as Kya, an abandoned girl, who raised herself in the dangerous marshlands of North Carolina. For years, rumors of the marsh girl haunted Barkley Cove, isolating the sharp and resilient Kya from her community. Drawn to two young men from town, played by Harris Dickinson and Taylor John Smith, she opens herself to a new and startling world. However, when one of them is found dead, Kya immediately becomes the main suspect. As the case unfolds, the verdict as to what happened becomes increasingly unclear, threatening to reveal many secrets. David Strathairn plays her defense attorney, desperately trying to avert the death sentence the prosecution is asking for. Olivia Newman (First Match) directed the film and shot it entirely in and around New Orleans, Louisiana.

The critically acclaimed film landed in third place behind Guglhupfgeschwader and the aforementioned Minions 2 – Auf der Suche nach dem Mini Boss (Minions 2 – In Search for the Mini Boss).

Bullet Train slipped to number four, followed by Top Gun: Maverick, Thor 4: Love and Thunder, DC League of Super-Pets, Monsieur Claude und sein grosses Fest (Monsieur Claude and his big Party) and Bibi und Tina – Einfach Anders (Bibi and Tina – Simply Different). It is Jordan Peele’s Nope which could not recover from its already disappointing sixth-place debut last week, that is now in tenth place.

Guglhupfgeschwader is also at the top of Austria’s box office now, too. In fact, the first five films resemble Germany to the tee: in second place is Minions 2 – Auf der Suche nach dem Mini Boss (Minions 2 – In Search for the Mini Boss), Gesang der Flusskrebse (Where the Crawdads Sing debuted here in third place, too and Brad Pitt stays close behind, still in competition with other contract killers on the Bullet Train.

Top Gun: Maverick slid down to the fifth spot. Only then things change with French comedy Monsieur Claude und sein grosses Fest (Monsieur Claude, and his big Party) which climbed up once again – this film is like a boomerang – and DC League of Super-Pets edging out Thor 4: Love and Thunder which ended up in the eighth spot. Which makes Jordan Peele’s scifi/horror film Nope almost as equally underperforming in Austria as it is in Germany in number nine. Bibi und Tina – Einfach Anders (Bibi and Tina – Simply Different) round out the top ten.