Deepwater Horizon (film)
Deepwater Horizon is a 2016 American biographical disaster film based on the Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Peter Berg directed it from a screenplay by Matthew Michael Carnahan and Matthew Sand. It stars Mark Wahlberg, Kurt Russell, John Malkovich, Gina Rodriguez, Dylan O'Brien, and Kate Hudson. It is adapted from "Deepwater Horizon's Final Hours", a December 25, 2010 article in The New York Times written by David Barstow, David Rohde, and Stephanie Saul.[4]
Deepwater Horizon
- Matthew Michael Carnahan
- Matthew Sand
Matthew Sand
by
- Lorenzo di Bonaventura
- Mark Vahradian
- Mark Wahlberg
- Stephen Levinson
- David Womark
- Colby Parker Jr.
- Gabriel Fleming
- Summit Entertainment
- Participant Media
- Di Bonaventura Pictures
- Closest to the Hole Productions
- Leverage Entertainment
- September 13, 2016 (TIFF)
- September 30, 2016 (United States)
107 minutes[2]
United States
English
$121.8 million[1]
Principal photography began on April 27, 2015, in New Orleans, Louisiana. The film premiered at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival[5] and was theatrically released in the United States on September 30, 2016. It received generally positive reviews, but was a box-office bomb, grossing slightly less than $122 million worldwide against a budget of $110 million, resulting in a loss of $60–112 million for the studio. The film was nominated for two Oscars at the 89th Academy Awards: Best Sound Editing and Best Visual Effects, and a BAFTA Award for Best Sound at the 70th British Academy Film Awards.
Production[edit]
Development and writing[edit]
On March 8, 2011, it was announced[7][8] that Summit Entertainment, Participant Media, and Image Nation had acquired the film rights to The New York Times' article "Deepwater Horizon's Final Hours",[4][9] written by David Barstow, David S. Rohde, and Stephanie Saul, and published on December 25, 2010, about the 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion and subsequent oil spill. Matthew Sand was set to write the screenplay, while Lorenzo di Bonaventura was in talks to produce the film under his Di Bonaventura Pictures banner.[7] Summit and Participant Media/Imagination would also finance the film. On acquiring the article to develop into a film, the president of Participant Media, Ricky Strauss said,
Release[edit]
Deepwater Horizon had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, on September 13, where it received a standing ovation from audiences after the screening.[25] It opened in theaters on September 30, 2016, distributed by Summit Entertainment in the United States and Canada, and by Lionsgate Entertainment internationally.[13]
Reception[edit]
Box office[edit]
Deepwater Horizon grossed $61.4 million in the United States and Canada and $60.4 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $121.8 million, against a net production budget of around $110 million.[1] The Hollywood Reporter judged it one of 2016's fourteen biggest box-office bombs.[26]
In the United States and Canada, Deepwater Horizon was projected to gross $16–20 million from 3,259 theaters in its opening weekend, although some publications noted Wahlberg's films tend to outperform box office projections.[27][28] The film made $860,000 from its Thursday night previews at 2,400 theaters, and $7.1 million on its first day.[29] In total, the film earned $20.2 million during its opening weekend, debuting at number two at the box office behind Tim Burton's Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children.[30] The film was released at a time when the marketplace was already dominated by two other adult-skewing pictures, The Magnificent Seven and Sully.[31] The film over-performed in the Gulf Coast region, and also did well in IMAX, which earned $2.7 million of the film's total opening weekend.[31]
The film's opening weekend was regarded as underwhelming and a disappointment, given its hefty production budget, but dramas released during the fall, and Wahlberg's films, tend to have box office legs.[31][32] Forbes called the opening "good, but not great", especially considering the solid reviews.[33] While most adult-skewing films would generally be made on a conservative budget in order to protect themselves financially, Deepwater Horizon was produced for $110–120 million (after tax rebates). Box office analyst Jeff Block said the film was "a hard sell. This should have been a $60 million film. The budget was out of control." Recent real-life drama films such as Sully ($60 million budget), Bridge of Spies ($40 million) and Captain Phillips ($55 million) were made for more moderate amounts. The Hollywood Reporter noted that when Hollywood spends north of $100 million on a film, it is intended for a much broader audience, but that was not the case for Deepwater Horizon, as the main demographics were adults, with 67% of the total ticket buyers during its opening weekend being over the age of 35.[3] Another possible reason for the film's mediocre debut was its marketing miss, which was also a subject of criticism; from the outset, Lionsgate marketed the film as a heroic tale versus an issues-oriented movie. The name "Deepwater Horizon" itself is more associated with the aftermath of the spill than the heroics of the men who survived and helped their fellow workers.[3] The Hollywood Reporter estimated the film lost at least $60 million, when factoring together all expenses and revenues.[34]
Outside North America, Deepwater Horizon opened simultaneously in 52 markets, and grossed $12.4 million, of which IMAX made up $1 million 119 IMAX screens.[35] The U.K. was the top earning market, with $2.6 million, followed by the Middle East ($1.5 million), Taiwan ($1.4 million), Australia ($1.3 million), and Russia ($1.2 million).[35][36] In China, the film opened on Tuesday, November 15, where it delivered a six-day opening weekend of $7.9 million, debuting in third place, behind local film I Am Not Madame Bovary and the continuation of Doctor Strange. The next major markets to open were Germany (November 24) and Spain (November 25).[37]
Critical response[edit]
Deepwater Horizon received generally positive reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 83% based on 260 reviews with an average rating of 7.00/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Deepwater Horizon makes effective use of its titular man-made disaster to deliver an uncommonly serious – yet still suitably gripping – action thriller."[38] On Metacritic, the film has a score 68 out of 100 based on 52 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[39] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale.[40]
Todd McCarthy of The Hollywood Reporter gave the film a positive review, writing, "ruggedness and resilience counts for far more in the characterizations here than does nuance, and everyone delivers as required. From a craft and technical point of view, the film is all but seamless, a credit to the extra care taken to avoid a CGI look."[41] Mike Ryan of Uproxx praised the film's performances and ability to make audiences angry at BP: "I'll be honest, I didn't think we needed a movie about this subject. I've changed my mind. And, if nothing else, I hope it gets people angry again, because the people who did this to our planet, and killed 11 people in the process, got off too easy."[42] Benjamin Lee of The Guardian praised Berg's direction as "admirably, uncharacteristically restrained...[He] stages the action horribly well, capturing the panic and gruesome mayhem without the film ever feeling exploitative. It's spectacularly constructed, yet it doesn't forget about the loss of life, ensuring that, despite thin characterisation, the impact is felt."[43]
Former crew members started their own crowd-funded documentary project before the film's release, out of frustration with factual liberties taken in the film script and in the media.[44]
Historical accuracy[edit]
The film was praised for staying "remarkably close" to the actual events, though it did take some artistic liberties and did a poor job explaining why the blowout occurred.[55][56]
The movie opens with Mike William's daughter working on a science project and asking for a fossil. Later in the film, Williams gives his daughter a fossilised dinosaur tooth. In real life this never happened and was made up to help explain how the explosion occurred.[57]
Throughout the first half of the movie, gas is seen rupturing and coming out of the concrete at the sea floor, this didn't happen.[55]
In the movie, Donald Vidrine (the BP manager of the rig) disregards the first negative pressure test (saying it was the result of the "bladder effect") and then overrules Transocean after the second test. Actually, Vidrine was confused after the first test and contacted several supervisors and on-shore engineers for other opinions. After the second test, the bladder effect was brought up by a Transocean crew member.[55][58]
In the movie, Williams calls his wife and while in the call he hears the engines revving and his wife sees the lights getting brighter. In real life, he had just hung up when these things happened.[57]
The lifeboats did actually leave Mike Williams, Andrea Fleytas and 7 others on the rig. However, only Williams jumped off the rig. Fleytas jumped onto the life-raft that was deployed to save the remaining 7 people.[57]