The first in a string of movies this year that the distributor A24 hopes will elevate it into the big leagues,Materialistscertainly had the star-power to compete with the best of them. The romantic drama is headlined byDakota Johnson,Chris Evans, andPedro Pascal, and has had a rather solid theatrical run so far, especially considering how uneven the response to the genre has been lately.Materialistsis on track to overtake directorCeline Song’s breakout movie,Past Lives, and should comfortably conclude its run with over $50 million worldwide.
Just last year, a trio of A24 titles —Heretic,Babygirl, andWe Live in Time— had excellent runs at the box office, grossing around $60 million each. ButMaterialistsis a different beast; itcost a reported $20 million to produce, and is setting the stage for bigger A24 titles such asThe Smashing Machine, starringDwayne Johnson, andMarty Supreme, starring Timothée Chalamet. With $30 million domestically and another $7.5 million from overseas markets, the movie’scumulative global haul stands at $37 million so far.
Materialistsopened to mostly positive reviews, and it appears to have settled at a “certified fresh” 81% score on the aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes. However,audience response to the movie has been rather muted; it holds a so-so 67% audience rating on the aggregator website.In his review, Collider’sRoss Bonaimepraised Song’s understanding of modern-day relationships, and hailed her for making “yet another modern romantic classic that shows just how much love and beauty can still exist in the genre.”
Pascal Has a Major New Movie Coming Out
Materialists’ $37 million lifetime global haul puts it ahead of the $36 million that Evans’ 2017 dramaGiftedconcluded its global run with. Directed byMarc Webb, who broke out with(500 Days of Summer),Giftedholds a 73% score onRotten Tomatoes.Materialistswould hope to eventually overtake(500) Days of Summer, which concluded its run with $60 million worldwide, and has since emerged as one of the shining recent examples of the romantic comedy genre. Evans’ last stab at rom-coms was the already forgotten Apple OriginalGhosted, which earned terrible reviews; Pascal, on the other hand, will soon be seen inThe Fantastic Four: First Steps. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.
Materialists
