The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

UK release poster
Directed by John Madden
Produced by Graham Broadbent
Peter Czernin
Written by Ol Parker
Starring Judi Dench
Maggie Smith
Bill Nighy
Dev Patel
Celia Imrie
Penelope Wilton
Ronald Pickup
David Strathairn
Richard Gere
Music by Thomas Newman
Cinematography Ben Smithard
Edited by John Madden
Production
company
Blueprint Pictures
Participant Media
Distributed by Fox Searchlight Pictures
Release dates
  • 26 February 2015 (United Kingdom)
Running time
 122 minutes[1]
Country United Kingdom
Language English
Budget $10 million[2]
Box office $81 million[3]

The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel is a 2015 British comedy-drama film directed by John Madden and written by Ol Parker. It is the sequel to the 2012 sleeper hit film The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and features an ensemble cast consisting of stars Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Bill Nighy, Celia Imrie, Penelope Wilton, Ronald Pickup, Diana Hardcastle, Tamsin Greig, Tena Desae, Dev Patel, Lillete Dubey, David Strathairn and Richard Gere.

Plot

Muriel Donnelly and Sonny Kapoor travel to San Diego, California to propose a plan to hotel magnate Ty Burley for buying and opening a second hotel in India as a companion to the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. They are told that a company inspector will anonymously visit India to evaluate the project.

Back in Jaipur, Evelyn Greenslade is offered a job as a fabric buyer. She is concerned that at age 79, the job will require many responsibilities and considerable travel. Douglas Ainslie, who is in love with Evelyn, is worried about losing time with her as well, and also eager to introduce her to his daughter.

Sonny's life becomes complicated by plans for his upcoming wedding to Sunaina, plus a possible rival for her affections and in his business interests. He also is desperate to impress American visitor Guy Chambers, whom he immediately identifies as the American hotel chain's anonymous inspector. Noting the immediate interest Guy has taken in Sonny's mother, he encourages a romantic relationship between them at first, then angrily resents it when he concludes Guy is not the inspector after all.

Madge Hardcastle's dilemma is deciding between two suitors from India and which to wed. Norman Cousins becomes frantic when he believes a local taxi driver mistakenly assumed Norman wanted a fatal accident to befall his current sweetheart, Carol. And the estranged wife of Douglas turns up, seeking a divorce so that she can remarry.

Muriel, having possibly received bad news from a medical appointment, struggles to keep Sonny from ruining his wedding, his business and his future, having become quite fond of him. Decisions come to a head for all during the colorful wedding of Sonny and Sunaina.

Cast

Production

On 29 October 2012, Vulture reported that screenwriter Ol Parker was consulted to deliver a treatment to Fox Searchlight Pictures executives for a sequel titled The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel 2. Most of the cast agreed to come back.[6] On October 28, 2013, Radio Times revealed that the cast would be flying to India to shoot the sequel film in January 2014.[4]

Casting

On 2 December 2012, Showbiz411 stated that Colin Firth and Helen Mirren may join the ensemble cast of the film (they ultimately did not).[7] On 28 October 2013 Radio Times stated that Penelope Wilton confirmed the cast, including Judi Dench, Bill Nighy, Maggie Smith, Ronald Pickup and Celia Imrie, would return for the sequel, set to start filming in January 2014.[4] On 30 October, Deadline reported that Richard Gere was in talks to join the ensemble cast of the sequel.[8] Later on 10 January 2014, Gere confirmed his new role in the film; other newcomers added to the film include Tamsin Greig and David Strathairn.[5]

Filming

Principal photography began on 10 January 2014 in Jaipur, India.[9]

Marketing

The first trailer was released on 7 August 2014, with the title The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel announced.[10]

Release

The film was released in the United States on March 6, 2015.[11]

Reception

Box office

As of April 25, 2015, The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel has grossed $32.2 million in North America and $47.7 million in other territories for a total gross of $80 million, against a budget of $10 million.[12]

The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel topped the UK box office during its first week, earning £3.8 million.[13] It stayed top of the UK box office chart for a second week, grossing over £1.9 million[14] and continues to hold on to the top spot for the third week in a row, fended off competition from latest Liam Neeson actioner, Run All Night, and claimed £1.4 million in total.[15] In the United States, the India-set comedy opened strong at number three at the US box office with an estimated $8.6 million in its first weekend of release. India-themed films rarely climb this high on the U.S. box office charts. Even Hollywood studio films such as Life of Pi, The Hundred Foot Journey, and Million Dollar Arm never made it to the top three at any time during their runs despite playing in more theaters than Marigold. During its opening weekend, the film also scored the highest average gross of any film in wide release, averaging $5,467 from 1,573 theaters.[16]

Critical reception

The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel has received mixed to positive reviews from critics. The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 62% approval rating, based on 145 reviews, with an average rating of 6/10. The site's consensus reads, "The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel is about as original as its title—but with a cast this talented and effortlessly charming, that hardly matters."[17] On Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating, the film has a score of 51 out of 100, based on 36 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[18]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "THE SECOND BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL (PG)". British Board of Film Classification. 23 December 2014. Retrieved 24 December 2014.
  2. ↑ "Box Office Preview: ‘Chappie’ Edging Out ‘Unfinished Business’ in Slow Weekend". Variety. Retrieved March 19, 2015.
  3. ↑ "The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2015)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved April 28, 2015.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 Dowell, Ben (28 October 2013). "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel 2 to start filming in January". radiotimes.com. Retrieved 12 January 2014.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Fleming Jr, Mike (10 January 2014). "Richard Gere Checks Into ‘Best Exotic Marigold Hotel 2′". deadline.com. Retrieved 12 January 2014.
  6. ↑ Brodesser-Akner, Claude (30 October 2012). "Best Exotic Marigold Hotel Sequel Script on Way: Hollywood Now Drawn to Senior Set". vulture.com. Retrieved 12 January 2014.
  7. ↑ Friedman, Roger (2 December 2012). "Helen Mirren, Colin Firth Will Join “Exotic Marigold” Sequel". showbiz411.com. Retrieved 12 January 2014.
  8. ↑ Fleming Jr, Mike (30 October 2013). "Richard Gere Courted For ‘Best Exotic Marigold Hotel 2′". deadline.com. Retrieved 12 January 2014.
  9. ↑ Bhaskaran, Gautaman (11 January 2014). "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel sequel begins shoot in Jaipur". hindustantimes.com. Retrieved 11 January 2014.
  10. ↑ Anderton, Ethan (7 August 2014). "Richard Gere Arrives in 'Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel' Trailer". firstshowing.net. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
  11. ↑ "The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel gets 2015 release date". The Independent. 8 August 2014. Retrieved 8 August 2014.
  12. ↑ "The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2015)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved April 1, 2015.
  13. ↑ "Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel beats Fifty Shades at UK box office". Digital Spy. Retrieved March 13, 2015.
  14. ↑ "Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel stays top of UK box office chart". Digital Spy. Retrieved March 13, 2015.
  15. ↑ "Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel wins UK box office again". Digital Spice. Retrieved March 18, 2015.
  16. ↑ "The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel Opens at #3 at US Box Office". Bolly Spice. Retrieved March 13, 2015.
  17. ↑ "The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. Retrieved April 9, 2015.
  18. ↑ "The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved March 9, 2015.

External links