Black or White (film)

Black or White

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Mike Binder
Produced by Kevin Costner
Mike Binder
Todd Lewis
Written by Mike Binder
Starring Kevin Costner
Octavia Spencer
Jillian Estell
Bill Burr
Jennifer Ehle
Andre Holland
Gillian Jacobs
Anthony Mackie
Music by Terence Blanchard
Cinematography Russ T. Alsobrook
Edited by Roger Nygard
Production
company
Sunlight Productions
Treehouse Films
Treehouse Productions
Venture Forth
Distributed by Relativity Media
Release dates
  • September 6, 2014 (TIFF)
  • January 30, 2015 (United States)
Running time
 121 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Budget $9 million[1]
Box office $21.6 million[2]

Black or White is a 2014 American drama film directed and written by Mike Binder. The film stars Kevin Costner, Octavia Spencer, Gillian Jacobs, Jennifer Ehle, Anthony Mackie and Bill Burr. The film premiered at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival and was released in the United States on January 30, 2015.

Synopsis

Elliot Anderson (Kevin Costner) is widowered after a car crash leads to the death of his wife. Elliot has raised his granddaughter, Eloise, since his daughter died in childbirth. As he struggles with his grief, Elliot's world is turned upside-down when the child's black grandmother, Rowena (Octavia Spencer), demands that Eloise be brought under the care of her father, Rowena's son, Reggie (Andre Holland), a drug addict whom Elliot blames for the negligence that led to the death of his own daughter. Elliot finds himself deeply entrenched in a custody battle and will stop at nothing to keep his granddaughter from coming under the watch of her reckless father.

Cast

Production

On September 25, 2014, Open Road Films was in talks to acquire the US distribution rights to the film.[7] On October 17, Relativity Media acquired the US rights to the film.[8]

Post production

Principal photography of the film began on July 15, 2013 in New Orleans[9] with the filming lasting for five weeks.[10][11]

Release

Relativity planned to release the film in time to qualify for the Oscar race,[8] starting with a limited release on December 3, 2014 then opening wide on January 30, 2015.[12] The limited release was scrapped, however, in favor of an immediate wide release.

Home media

Black or White will be released on Blu-ray and DVD on May 5, 2015.[13]

Reception

Box office

As of February 18, 2015, Black or White grossed $17,882,673 in North America against a budget of $9 million.[2]

In its opening three day weekend of January 30, 2015, the film made a gross of $2,250,667 on Friday, $2,976,383 on Saturday, and $986,312 on Sunday for a weekend total of $6,213,362 playing in 1,823 with a per-theatre average of $3,408 and ranking #4.[14]

CinemaScore Polls conducted during the opening weekend, cinema audiences gave Black or White an average grade of "A-" (on an A+ to F scale.)[15]

Critical response

Black or White received mixed reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a 37% rating, based on 82 reviews, with an average rating of 5.2/10. The website's consensus reads: "Black or White has more on its mind than your average family drama, but the film's approach to its thought-provoking themes too often lives down to its title."[16] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 45 out of 100, based on 30 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[17]

References

  1. ↑ Hinds, Julie (December 9, 2014). "Costner-led 'Black or White' gets local release date". Detroit Free Press.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Black or White (2015)". Box Office Mojo. IMDB. Retrieved April 20, 2015.
  3. ↑ "Kevin Costner Signs on for Black and White". movieweb.com. 29 April 2013. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
  4. ↑ "Octavia Spencer Will Battle Kevin Costner For Custody In Drama 'Black And White'". indiewire.com. 8 May 2013. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 "Kevin Costner-Mike Binder Drama ‘Black And White’ Adds Jennifer Ehle, Andre Holland & Bill Burr". deadline.com. 12 July 2013. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
  6. ↑ "'Community' Star Gillian Jacobs Joins Kevin Costner in 'Black and White'". hollywoodreporter.com. 17 July 2013. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
  7. ↑ Siegel, Tatiana (September 25, 2014). "Toronto: Open Road in Talks to Acquire Kevin Costner, Octavia Spencer's 'Black and White'". hollywoodreporter.com. Retrieved September 26, 2014.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Fleming Jr, Mike (October 17, 2014). "Relativity Buys Kevin Costner-Starrer ‘Black Or White’". deadline.com. Retrieved October 18, 2014.
  9. ↑ "Kevin Costner’s ‘Black and White’ Ready to Start Shooting". mxdwn.com. 12 July 2013. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
  10. ↑ "'Black and White,' starring Kevin Costner and Octavia Spencer, begins production in New Orleans". nola.com. 15 July 2013. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
  11. ↑ "Kevin Costner, Octavia Spencer & Andre Holland shooting ‘Black and White’ in New Orleans". onlocationvacations.com. 23 July 2013. Retrieved 24 July 2013.
  12. ↑ Austin Siegemund-Broka. "Kevin Costner-Octavia Spencer Drama 'Black and White' Gets Oscar-Qualifying Run". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 6 November 2014.
  13. ↑ http://www.dvdsreleasedates.com/movies/7320/black-or-white
  14. ↑ "Black or White daily gross". boxofficemojo.com. IMDB. Retrieved February 18, 2015.
  15. ↑ "CinemaScore". cinemascore.com. Retrieved February 2, 2015.
  16. ↑ "Black or White". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. Retrieved March 30, 2015.
  17. ↑ "Black or White Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved February 3, 2015.

External links