· Mandela movie smashes South African records

A movie depicting the life of Nelson Mandela was South Africa’s highest grossing picture in the week before the death of the South African freedom leader.

The film, Long Walk to Freedom, has already earned $US427,000 ($A471,380) in its opening week, according to Videovision Entertainment.

The movie stars British actor Idris Elba as Mandela, the 95-year-old anti-apartheid icon. It’s based on his autobiography with the same title.

The British-South African co-production opened just over a week ago in South Africa, followed by a limited engagement in New York and Los Angeles.

“I visited a few cinemas over the weekend and experienced the emotional response to the film with audiences leaving the cinemas completely satisfied,” said producer Anant Singh.

“For me as a filmmaker, this is really fulfilling.”

The movie traces Mandela’s life from his childhood in a remote rural part of South Africa, through his years struggling against apartheid, to his 27 years imprisonment and his election as the country’s first black president in 1994.

Long Walk to Freedom will be released in Australia in February.