Prior to his upcoming stintdirecting the next generation of James Bond,Denis Villeneuve’s Oscar-nominated 2016 sci-fi dramaArrivalis seeing an unexpected global climb-up in streaming charts. The film is headlined byAmy Adams(DCEU’s Lois Lane)andJeremy Renner(MCU’s Hawkeye)and has quietly climbed into theTop 10 streaming charts across HBO, Amazon Prime, Google, and iTunesin over 30 countries this past week.
The film currently holds a94%Rotten Tomatoescritics score, 82% audience score,and7.9/10 ratings onIMDb, and is a nice combination of grounded emotional storytelling and science fiction. On HBO, the film is trending in nearly all of Latin America, consistently charting in countries like Argentina, Chile, and Mexico. The film has also hit#3 on Amazon Prime in Australia, and appeared onGoogle Play’s Top 10 in 12 countries, including Ukraine, Kuwait, and Tanzania. On iTunes,Arrivalis ranked in Honduras and Mongolia, showing strong niche traction.
This sudden surge likely reflects growing interest in Villeneuve’s body of work after the success ofDuneandDune: Part Two. Add to that Adams and Renner’s dual superhero appeal, andArrivalbecomes a rare film that bridges cerebral storytelling, mainstream star power — basically a sci-fi film that keeps viewers hooked till the end.
Despite Its Quiet Tone, ‘Arrival’ Made a Loud Impact at the Box Office
ThoughArrivalwasn’t built like a traditional blockbuster, it deliveredstrong box office resultsglobally. The film was released in November 2016 and grossed$24 millionduring its U.S. opening weekend. It went on to earn$100.5 million domestically. Internationally, it brought in an additional$103.9 million, pushing itsworldwide lifetime haul to $203 millionagainst a modest production budget of$47 million.
That’s more than four times its budget, a major success for a cerebral sci-fi dramawith no franchise branding or pre-existing IP. Much of that can be credited to Denis Villeneuve’s direction and the powerful cast ensemble, which also includedForest WhitakerandMichael Stuhlbarg, among others. Critics and awards buzz also played a big role.Arrivaldebuted to glowing reviews at film festivals, and word-of-mouth propelled its box office legs far beyond expectations. The film was nominated foreight Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director, and enjoyed a long and steady theatrical run,followed by a re-release in January 2017 after an initial one in November 2016.
Arrivalis currently trending across multiple regions and platforms and is available to stream on HBO and Prime Video. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.
Source:FlixPatrol,Rotten Tomatoes,IMDb
