By Jean-Paul Cote, November 22, 2019
This past Sunday (Nov. 17,) Ford Vs Ferrari hit theaters and completely shattered both its competition, and expectations. The thrilling sports drama raked in a whopping 31 million dollars in total revenue opening weekend. To put that in perspective, its closest competition was Midway, which grossed 8.8 million opening weekend. Behind that was Playing With Fire at 8.75 and Charlie’s Angels with 8.7 million. With those numbers coming in after just one weekend, it looks like the film by 20th Century Fox is going to be very financially successful given its 97 million dollar budget.
Ford Vs Ferrari centers around the 1966 24 Hours Of Le Mans. Considered one of the oldest and most respected automobile races in the entire world. The 1966 race was exceptionally significant. In a post-war era, the United States had something to prove, desperately wanting to beat out the Italian motor company: Ferrari. Ferrari was the most dominant winner of the race, with 13 trophies to show for it. They boasted the best cars and the best drivers. Matt Damon plays the character of Carroll Shelby, an American car designer, and Christian Bale plays the character of Ken Miles, a race car driver. In the film, the pair form a team and together they create a groundbreaking car for Ford in the hopes of challenging the racing juggernaut, Ferrari, for the title.
The fact that Ford Vs Ferrari did so well is really surprising based on the new release of the streaming service, Disney Plus. The Release of Disney’s new streaming service coupled with growing popularity for other services like Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon seemed to signify the dawn of a new era in entertainment. An era where instead of going out to the theatres, people stay home and curl up in front of their TV or computer. Another surprising fact about Ford Vs Ferrari’s success is the nature of the film itself. Ford Vs Ferrari is a historical sports drama, released in the age of comic book movies and solidified franchise reboots.
One thing is for certain, the fans of cinema and theatergoers are alive and well, and it seems the age of digital streaming and overplayed concepts has not won out yet. Ford Vs Ferrari is playing in theatres globally.
Comments