Within four years, the unrestrained Turkish gangster show "Sifir Bir" ("01" in Turkish, taking its name from the license plate code of the large southern city of Adana where it is set) managed to ascend from a series that uploaded its first two seasons to YouTube to a mainstream film and box office success.

The explosion of the show's popularity that eventually took it to the big screen is likely a result of the void of provocative, challenging content on Turkey's TV channels, thanks to the heightened censorship in recent years that has directed viewers to Netflix and local streaming sites.

The "Sifir Bir" film hit theaters on Jan. 10, and according to the website Box Office Turkiye, “added its signature to a magnificent premiere,” opening second behind an animated children's film that was at the top of the charts for its second week running. "Sifır Bir," which sold 280,000 tickets in its opening weekend, came in just under 15,000 behind the top film, though it was screened at only 325 theaters, in comparison to the 821 showing the No. 1 film.

“The production that put its stamp on this weekend was 'Sifir Bir,'” said Box Office Turkiye, noting that the average number of people in attendance per theater over the weekend was 864, quite an impressive feat in Turkey. “Let us remember the fact that average theater figures exceeding 800, even under the best circumstances, is something we encounter just a few times a year,” the site wrote in its weekend report.