Tag: Sarita Choudhury

Oscar Watch: The Green Knight

David Lowery has had the critics on his side for years with efforts including Ain’t Them Bodies Saints, A Ghost Story, and The Old Man & the Gun. His filmography has been called out by critics associations, but his pictures have yet to garner any Oscar attention.

Could that change with The Green Knight? Coming out Friday, the medieval fantasy had its embargo lifted today and the results are encouraging. Sporting a 93% Rotten Tomatoes score, it’s being called an epic experience with lush visuals. The lead performance of Dev Patel is also highly praised.

It will be interesting to see if distributor A24 mounts a major campaign. They could be preoccupied with The Tragedy of Macbeth from Joel Coen which is out this autumn.

Patel could be in the mix though I suspect he’s a bit of a long shot. He’s been nominated once before for Lion in supporting and drew some chatter that never panned out for The Personal History of David Copperfield. Costar Alicia Vikander (2015 Supporting Actress winner for The Danish Girl) might see a more serious campaign for Blue Bayou.

My hunch is that Knight could succeed in being Lowery’s first feature to get a nomination or two and that it could be in tech races. Visual Effects and Costume Design spring to mind. The Score is also getting kudos. I would also add that it’s highly possible Knight could be ignored altogether.

Bottom line: The Green Knight will need to sustain momentum over the season to be a competitor. Strong reviews could help the cause. My Oscar Watch posts will continue…

The Green Knight Box Office Prediction

Blogger’s Update (07/28): The theater count has been put out at approximately 2500, which is higher than I expected. Therefore I am revising my estimate up from $2.2M to $3.4M

David Lowery has become a favorite indie director of the critics with pics like Ain’t Them Bodies Saints and A Ghost Story. This Friday, he goes the bigger Arthurian medieval fantasy route with The Green Knight. Originally scheduled for May 2020 before its COVID delay, Knight stars Dev Patel, Alicia Vikander, Joel Edgerton, Sarita Choudhury, Sean Harris, Kate Dickie, Barry Keoghan, and Ralph Ineson.

A24 is handling distribution duties and early word of mouth is positive (as has been the case with the filmmaker’s previous efforts). How this translates to box office business is certainly questionable.

I have yet to see a theater count and that could alter my forecast, but my feeling is that this starts quite low as it struggles to find an audience.

The Green Knight opening weekend prediction: $3.4 million

For my Jungle Cruise prediction, click here:

Jungle Cruise Box Office Prediction

For my Stillwater prediction, click here:

Stillwater Box Office Prediction

Oscar Watch: After Yang

South Korean filmmaker Kogonada became a critical darling in 2017 with the release of his debut Columbus. The romance earned plenty of mentions on the top ten lists of critics, but only garnered awards nods with the independent ceremonies.

The Cannes Film Festival marks the premiere of his sophomore effort After Yang. The sci-fi drama stars Colin Farrell, Jodie Turner-Smith (of Queen & Slim), Haley Lu Richardson, Justin H. Min, Sarita Choudhury, and Clifton Collins Jr. Some of the reviews indicate this could also pop up on some end of year best of countdowns.

2015’s Ex Machina is being mentioned frequently a comparison in terms of quality and the fact that androids are prominently featured. That Alex Garland effort scored an Oscar nod in Original Screenplay and victory for its Visual Effects. With an early 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, could After Yang also come before the minds of voters?

First things first – it is uncertain at the moment when Yang will be released. However, the positive buzz likely means A24 will get it out before year’s end. If so, Adapted Screenplay seems to be the biggest possibility. And just perhaps its acclaim could lead to a shot at the big dance. My Oscar Watch posts will continue…