Who says adults don’t go to the movies?
Well, the numbers don’t exactly lie: films aimed at older audiences are struggling at the box office in COVID times. Most of the time they don’t go to the cinema. But Sony’s A Man Called Otto, a straight-up drama starring Tom Hanks as a cranky widower, has seemingly defied all odds with its $12.6 million debut in 3,802 North American theaters. It is expected to hit $15 million during Martin Luther King Jr.’s holiday frame, bringing its domestic tally to $21.2 million after two weeks of limited play. That’s a better than expected result, at least in times of the pandemic.
Will the $50M budgeted ‘Otto’ remain a theater magnet for the rest of the winter? This is anything but a foregone conclusion. But already box office watchers are optimistic about Hanks’ latest big screen adventure.
David A. Gross, who runs film consultancy Franchise Entertainment Research, ranked the opening weekend as “above average” for the genre. “This is a very good opening for a character driven comedy-drama with excellent participation from older viewers,” he says. “When these types of films connect, they can walk — and that’s starting to happen.”
Just a handful of adult movies, like Where the Crawdads Sing ($17 million on debut), “Elvis” ($31 million on debut), The Woman King ($19 million on debut) and Don’t Worry Darling” ($19.3 million on debut) is available at the box office as of March 2020.
This reality has resulted in a lower bar of success than Hanks is used to at the box office. In a different era was the actor’s name — in films ranging from wartime stories like Saving Private Ryan and Bridge of Spies to touching dramas like Forrest Gump and Philadelphia, to romantic comedies like Sleepless in Seattle ‘ and ‘You’ve Got Mail’, the animated ‘Toy Story’ franchise and dozens of other memorable films in between – totaled hundreds of millions in worldwide box office. These days, it’s hard to imagine any studio greenlighting a more whimsical adventure like Forrest Gump, let alone skyrocketing its ticket sales to $678 million worldwide. Indeed, times and tastes have changed dramatically.
Given the limitations a film like Otto faces, Exhibitor Relations analyst Jeff Bock believes it “won the adult lottery.”
“Looking back, Sony probably left money on the table. With the ‘Babylon’ bombing, there was certainly room for a grown-up dramedy beyond the holiday framework,” says Bock, referring to Paramount’s big-budget Hollywood epic, which made a spectacular comeback this holiday season and has grossed just $14 million to date . “That said, audiences will usually show up when a well-received film — especially in a genre that’s been overlooked for far too long — launches in a sluggish market.”
Sony originally planned to release A Man Called Otto nationally around Christmas, which has traditionally been a premier feel-good movie slot. But the studio changed its mind a few times, pushing its debut to December 14 before scrapping the nationwide launch entirely. Instead, “Otto” opened in select theaters on December 30 before expanding its presence across the country on January 13. By waiting until January, a slower time at the box office, the film avoided getting lost in the rush of Christmas releases.
With its platform release, “Otto” became one of the rare pandemic-era films that catered to an adult audience to effectively keep the momentum going. Despite positive reviews and possible Oscar glory, Steven Spielberg’s coming-of-age tale The Fabelmans, Cate Blanchett-led psychological drama Tár, and Sarah Polley’s timely parable Women Talking grossed more than $15 million at the domestic box office – were some recent films that didn’t bring older audiences (or any at all) to theaters.
Sony took a non-traditional approach to the crowd-pleaser Otto, which is more mainstream and less of a prestige art-house play. The studio nevertheless opened the film in the traditional four locations of New York City and Los Angeles, which is standard for platform releases. But in its second weekend, Sony focused heavily on heartland theaters as it brought the film to 637 venues, believing the heartfelt story would resonate across the country, not just on the coasts. As of this Sunday, “Otto” had earned $3.76 million and ranked fourth on the domestic box office charts, despite playing in significantly fewer theaters than its competitors. Ticket sales were particularly strong in Dallas, Chicago, Phoenix, Salt Like City, Columbus, Minneapolis, Nashville and Milwaukee.
“It played across the country, a reflection of how universally attractive Tom Hanks is as a star,” says Comscore analyst Paul Dergarabedian. “And the tone of the film has great appeal for audiences across the board.”
Audiences liked the film compared to reviewers, resulting in an “A” CinemaScore from ticket buyers and a 68% average from critics on Rotten Tomatoes.
Marc Forster directed A Man Called Otto, the second adaptation of Fredrik Backman’s 2012 novel A Man Called Ove, based on the 2015 Swedish film of the same name. Hanks plays Otto Anderson, a grumpy man who dies after the death of his woman falling into depression. But his attitude begins to change after he forms an unlikely and life-changing friendship with a young family moving in next door. SF Studios and TSG co-financed the film.
Variety’s chief film critic Owen Gleiberman wasn’t thrilled with “A Man Called Otto,” although he praised the casting of Hanks. “We’ve seen this type of curmudgeon many times,” he wrote. “But with the right actor and the right script, it’s a formula […] that the audience never tires – and Hanks, make no mistake, is the right actor for the role.”
Now cinema owners are hoping he’s still the right actor to fill the seats.