# Asterix & Obelix Take On Caesar
**Asterix & Obelix Take On Caesar** (French: *Astérix et Obélix contre César*) is a 1999 French comedy-adventure film directed by Claude Zidi and the first live-action screen adaptation of the Asterix comic book series created by [René Goscinny](https://www.edgepedia.org/rene-goscinny) and Albert Uderzo[1](https://www.allocine.fr/film/fichefilm_gen_cfilm=14539.html) • [2](https://www.otakia.com/1364/produit/films/film-live/asterix-et-obelix-contre-cesar-1999/). Set in 50 B.C., it follows the Gaulish warriors Asterix and Obelix, whose village resists Roman occupation with the help of a magic potion brewed by the druid [Panoramix](https://www.edgepedia.org/panoramix); when Caesar and his aide de camp Detritus discover the elixir and capture the druid, Asterix and Obelix set out to rescue him[3](https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/9564-asterix-obelix-contre-cesar). It stars Christian Clavier as Asterix and [Gérard Depardieu](https://www.edgepedia.org/gerard-depardieu) as Obelix, with Roberto Benigni as the villainous Detritus[3](https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/9564-asterix-obelix-contre-cesar).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| French release | 3 February 1999, distributed by AMLF on more than 764 prints[1](https://www.allocine.fr/film/fichefilm_gen_cfilm=14539.html) • [4](https://scholar.lib.vt.edu/InterNews/LeMonde/issues/1999/lm990203.pdf) |
| Director and writers | Claude Zidi, screenplay by Claude Zidi and Gérard Lauzier[1](https://www.allocine.fr/film/fichefilm_gen_cfilm=14539.html) |
| Budget | 274 million francs (42.81 million euros) according to *Le Monde*; other tallies give 250 million francs or 41.87 million euros, then the largest budget for a French-language film[4](https://scholar.lib.vt.edu/InterNews/LeMonde/issues/1999/lm990203.pdf) • [5](https://www.offi.fr/cinema/evenement/asterix-et-obelix-contre-cesar-2148.html) • [2](https://www.otakia.com/1364/produit/films/film-live/asterix-et-obelix-contre-cesar-1999/) |
| French admissions | About 9 million, with one detailed tally at 8,776,988[6](https://voyage-en-liberte.fr/boxoffice/Asterix1.php) • [7](https://www.premiere.fr/node/306066) |
| Lead cast | Christian Clavier (Astérix), Gérard Depardieu (Obélix), Roberto Benigni (Lucius Detritus), Gottfried John (Jules César), Laetitia Casta (Falbala), Claude Piéplu (Panoramix)[3](https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/9564-asterix-obelix-contre-cesar) |
| Critical scores | Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer 42%; AlloCiné press rating 3.1 out of 5 from 18 reviews, audience rating 2.2 from more than 33,000 notes[8](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/asterix-et-obelix-contre-cesar-asterix-and-obelix-vs-caesar) • [1](https://www.allocine.fr/film/fichefilm_gen_cfilm=14539.html) |
| Video game | A licensed game based on the film was released in 1999 on PlayStation and 2000 on Windows, developed by Tek 5 and Pathé Interactive and published by Cryo Interactive[9](https://www.mobygames.com/game/4850/asterix-and-obelix-take-on-caesar/) |
## Spoilers
### Story and adaptation
The film draws on an original screenplay rather than a single album, while borrowing plot elements from several books: Obelix's love for Falbala from *Asterix the Legionary*, a false soothsayer sowing discord in the village from *Asterix and the Soothsayer*, and the druid's abduction during a feast from *Asterix and the Goths*[2](https://www.otakia.com/1364/produit/films/film-live/asterix-et-obelix-contre-cesar-1999/). In the synopsis, the villagers of a small Armorican village defy Caesar by seizing the tax revenue collected for Rome[1](https://www.allocine.fr/film/fichefilm_gen_cfilm=14539.html). Detritus, played by [Roberto Benigni](https://www.edgepedia.org/roberto-benigni), schemes to take Caesar's place[11](https://www.larousse.fr/encyclopedie/film/Ast%C3%A9rix_et_Ob%C3%A9lix_contre_C%C3%A9sar/832).
## Production
A live-action Asterix film had been contemplated for decades. Early abandoned projects imagined [Louis de Funès](https://www.edgepedia.org/louis-de-funes) in the title role, but he declined to wear a mustache; a separate proposal by [Claude Lelouch](https://www.edgepedia.org/claude-lelouch) to cast people from the street also came to nothing[1](https://www.allocine.fr/film/fichefilm_gen_cfilm=14539.html). The project finally moved forward in the 1990s through producer Claude Berri, prompted by his son Thomas Langmann and by Sylvie Uderzo, then general director of Éditions Albert René[10](https://www.femis.fr/IMG/pdf/fonteilles_lauriane_me_moire_version_corrige_e.pdf).
The shoot lasted 21 weeks and required 60 actors and 1,495 extras[4](https://scholar.lib.vt.edu/InterNews/LeMonde/issues/1999/lm990203.pdf). Financing was shared between France, Germany, and Italy, with the French portion covering half the budget; the risk was carried by Renn Productions, a Pathé subsidiary, and Katharina, a company Berri created in 1996[4](https://scholar.lib.vt.edu/InterNews/LeMonde/issues/1999/lm990203.pdf). The producers deliberately withheld foreign sales, except to Italy and Germany, until after the French release, and the score was composed by Jean-Jacques Goldman[4](https://scholar.lib.vt.edu/InterNews/LeMonde/issues/1999/lm990203.pdf). Albert Uderzo said he read Zidi's screenplay to check that it respected his characters but did not otherwise intervene, calling the mixture of comic-strip fantasy and live actors both the risk and the excitement of the venture[1](https://www.allocine.fr/film/fichefilm_gen_cfilm=14539.html).
## Reception and box office
The film was a commercial success in France. It opened on 3 February 1999 and took in about $2.8 million in first-day ticket sales[12](https://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/bitstreams/54c9bfec-b77b-409b-b38b-3442cab8532f/download), launched on more than 764 prints with 790 planned for the second week, on its way to becoming the first French film to reach 800 screens[4](https://scholar.lib.vt.edu/InterNews/LeMonde/issues/1999/lm990203.pdf). It drew roughly 9 million admissions in France[7](https://www.premiere.fr/node/306066), and one retrospective analysis calls it a huge economic success[13](https://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/46418/7/Kim%20-%20ETD%20-%20Final.pdf). By contrast, its North American release through Lionsgate, beginning 4 June 1999, grossed $1,541,261 domestically, with a further $91,306 from a 2000 re-release in Iceland[14](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0133385/).
Critical reception was mixed. The Tomatometer stands at 42 percent[8](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/asterix-et-obelix-contre-cesar-asterix-and-obelix-vs-caesar), and AlloCiné's aggregated press score is 3.1 out of 5 against an audience score of 2.2[1](https://www.allocine.fr/film/fichefilm_gen_cfilm=14539.html). French critics praised the spectacle while faulting the script; one review cited by AlloCiné called it "a diversion of little interest, a barely funny copy of an original packed with humor," while *Le Figaro* called it "a show of great luxury, sumptuous (...) with a stunning cast"[15](https://www.lorientlejour.com/article/304286/Cinema_-_Asterix_et_Obelix_contre_Cesar_La_potion_magique_reste_sans_effet%28photo%29.html). Larousse's film dictionary notes that the producers spared no expense and that the public rewarded them, with audiences flocking "by millions"[11](https://www.larousse.fr/encyclopedie/film/Ast%C3%A9rix_et_Ob%C3%A9lix_contre_C%C3%A9sar/832).
## Place in the series
The film opened a run of five live-action Asterix features. Its successor, *[Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra](https://www.edgepedia.org/asterix-and-obelix-mission-cleopatra)* (2002), directed by Alain Chabat, became the installment most favorably received by critics and audiences[8](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/asterix-et-obelix-contre-cesar-asterix-and-obelix-vs-caesar). Depardieu played Obelix in the first four live-action films[8](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/asterix-et-obelix-contre-cesar-asterix-and-obelix-vs-caesar), while Gilles Lellouche took over the role in *[Asterix & Obelix: The Middle Kingdom](https://www.edgepedia.org/asterix-and-obelix-the-middle-kingdom)* (2023) and Clavier declined to play Asterix again after the early 2000s[1](https://www.allocine.fr/film/fichefilm_gen_cfilm=14539.html) • [17](https://www.tresorprod.com/films/asterix-et-obelix-the-middle-kingdom/?lang=en). A restored version of the film was issued in 2022[16](https://boutique.arte.tv/detail/asterix-et-obelix-contre-cesar), and a Blu-ray followed on 27 September 2023[1](https://www.allocine.fr/film/fichefilm_gen_cfilm=14539.html).
## References
1. [Astérix et Obélix contre César (1999), AlloCiné](https://www.allocine.fr/film/fichefilm_gen_cfilm=14539.html)
2. [Astérix et Obélix contre César (1999), Otakia](https://www.otakia.com/1364/produit/films/film-live/asterix-et-obelix-contre-cesar-1999/)
3. [Asterix & Obelix Take on Caesar (1999), The Movie Database](https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/9564-asterix-obelix-contre-cesar)
4. [Le Monde, 3 February 1999 (production dossier)](https://scholar.lib.vt.edu/InterNews/LeMonde/issues/1999/lm990203.pdf)
5. [Astérix et Obélix contre César, L'Officiel des spectacles](https://www.offi.fr/cinema/evenement/asterix-et-obelix-contre-cesar-2148.html)
6. [Box-office français d'Astérix et Obélix contre César](https://voyage-en-liberte.fr/boxoffice/Asterix1.php)
7. [Astérix et Obélix contre César : Les vraies galères d'Obélix racontées par Claude Zidi, Première](https://www.premiere.fr/node/306066)
8. [Asterix & Obelix vs. Caesar, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/asterix-et-obelix-contre-cesar-asterix-and-obelix-vs-caesar)
9. [Astérix and Obélix Take on Caesar (1999), MobyGames](https://www.mobygames.com/game/4850/asterix-and-obelix-take-on-caesar/)
10. [Mémoire sur l'adaptation d'Astérix au cinéma, La Fémis](https://www.femis.fr/IMG/pdf/fonteilles_lauriane_me_moire_version_corrige_e.pdf)
11. [Astérix et Obélix contre César, Larousse, Dictionnaire mondial des films](https://www.larousse.fr/encyclopedie/film/Ast%C3%A9rix_et_Ob%C3%A9lix_contre_C%C3%A9sar/832)
12. [Producing Popularity (thesis), Virginia Tech](https://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/bitstreams/54c9bfec-b77b-409b-b38b-3442cab8532f/download)
13. [Kim, dissertation on Astérix adaptations, University of Pittsburgh](https://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/46418/7/Kim%20-%20ETD%20-%20Final.pdf)
14. [Asterix and Obelix vs. Caesar (1999), Box Office Mojo](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0133385/)
15. [Cinéma : Astérix et Obélix contre César, L'Orient-Le Jour](https://www.lorientlejour.com/article/304286/Cinema_-_Asterix_et_Obelix_contre_Cesar_La_potion_magique_reste_sans_effet%28photo%29.html)
16. [Astérix et Obélix contre César, ARTE Boutique](https://boutique.arte.tv/detail/asterix-et-obelix-contre-cesar)
17. [Astérix & Obélix The Middle Kingdom - Les productions du Trésor](https://www.tresorprod.com/films/asterix-et-obelix-the-middle-kingdom/?lang=en)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Franchise and series entries as standalone works › Superhero and comic-franchise film entries › Comic films before 2000*
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