Kon-Tiki expedition was able to cross the Pacific Ocean on the balsa raft from Peru to Polynesia. A French seafarer, Éric de Bisschop, committed himself in a project he had had for some years: he built a Polynesian raft in order to cross the eastern Pacific Ocean from Tahiti to Chile (contrary to Thor Heyerdahl's crossing); the "Tahiti-Nui" left Papeete with a crew of five on November 8, 1956. When near the Juan Fernández Islands (Chile) in May 1957, the raft was in a very poor state and they asked for a towing, but it was damaged during the operation and had
Kon-Tiki (2012 film) 40th Norwegian International Film Festival in Haugesund. A North American screening took place at the Toronto International Film Festival. The Weinstein Company acquired the distribution rights for North America and Italy in November 2012. "Kon-Tiki" opened in Norway on 24 August 2012, setting a weekend national box office record. It became the highest-grossing of 2012 in Norway, earning $14,111,514, and overtaking the film "", also by directors Rønning and Sandberg. "Kon-Tiki" opened in the United States on 26 April 2013 in a limited release, and was screened in three cinemas. On 3 May 2013, the film expanded to screen in