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Collateral Beauty

From Alfawiki
Collateral Beauty
Company typeFilm
IndustryMotion picture
Founded2016; 10 years ago (2016)
FounderDavid Frankel (director), Allan Loeb (writer)
Headquarters
New York City
,
United States
ProductsFantasy drama film
Number of employees
Ensemble cast including Will Smith, Edward Norton, Keira Knightley, Michael Peña, Naomie Harris, Jacob Latimore, Kate Winslet, Helen Mirren

Collateral Beauty is a 2016 American fantasy drama film helmed by director David Frankel and scripted by Allan Loeb. The movie stars a notable ensemble cast, including Will Smith, Edward Norton, Keira Knightley, Michael Peña, Naomie Harris, Jacob Latimore, Kate Winslet, and Helen Mirren.

The narrative follows Howard Inlet, a prosperous advertising executive based in New York, who retreats from life following a devastating personal loss. In his isolation, he composes letters addressed to Love, Time, and Death. Unexpected replies lead him to discover how grief can unveil profound meaning and unexpected beauty.

Collateral Beauty debuted at the Dubai International Film Festival on December 13, 2016, before its U.S. release on December 16, 2016. Although it received predominantly negative reviews from critics, the film earned $88 million globally against a production budget of $36 million.

Plot

Howard Inlet, a thriving advertising executive, motivates his team with three fundamental ideas: Love, Time, and Death. After the tragic passing of his young daughter, Howard sinks into severe depression and withdraws from both his career and personal life. His estranged business partners—Whit Yardsham, Claire Wilson, and Simon Scott—grow concerned about the company’s future as Howard’s erratic behavior alienates clients and obstructs attempts to sell the firm.

To assess Howard’s capability to lead, the partners employ private investigator Sally Price. Sally uncovers letters Howard has penned to Love, Time, and Death. This discovery leads the partners to hire three actors—Amy, Raffi, and Brigitte—to impersonate these abstract concepts and confront Howard directly. Sally records these interactions with plans to edit out the actors later to portray Howard as mentally unstable.

As they prepare for their roles, the actors interact with the partners, each wrestling with their own struggles: Simon is battling cancer; Whit endeavors to mend his fractured relationship with his daughter following infidelity; Claire is in search of sperm donors to start a family. Meanwhile, Howard attends a grief support group where Madeleine—who lost her daughter Olivia to cancer—introduces him to the concept of "Collateral Beauty," referring to moments of kindness found amid sorrow.

During the unfolding scheme, Amy experiences guilt and briefly withdraws; Whit convinces her to return by committing himself to rebuild trust with his daughter. Simon opens up about his illness and fears to Brigitte, while Howard confronts the actors embodying Love, Time, and Death. Though he expresses his anguish, he ultimately acknowledges that love remains tied to his daughter’s memory.

At a board meeting, footage of Howard’s encounters—with the actors digitally removed—is presented. Recognizing his influence on the business’s wellbeing, Howard expresses gratitude toward his friends and consents to sell the agency. Simon informs his wife about his cancer diagnosis; Claire receives support from Raffi; Whit pledges daily efforts toward regaining his daughter’s confidence.

On Christmas Eve, Howard visits Madeleine and views a video showing himself playing dominoes with Olivia. He finally accepts his grief and embraces Madeleine. It is revealed that Brigitte is the woman who introduced Madeleine to the idea of Collateral Beauty. As Howard and Madeleine stroll through Central Park, Amy, Raffi, and Brigitte observe from afar—unseen by Madeleine—implying they symbolize Love, Time, and Death respectively.

Development and casting

On May 13, 2015, it was revealed that Hugh Jackman and Rooney Mara would headline the drama Collateral Beauty, set in New York City. The film was directed by Alfonso Gomez-Rejon and penned by Allan Loeb, who crafted the screenplay around themes of grief and recovery. Producers included Michael Sugar and Bard Dorros from Anonymous Content.[1] On June 9, 2015, Kevin Frakes of PalmStar Media joined to provide full financing, with Likely Story collaborating as co-producers alongside Loeb.[2] By mid-2015, talks were underway to add Jason Segel to the cast. Nevertheless, on July 15, 2015, Jackman withdrew due to scheduling conflicts with Logan, prompting producers to consider Johnny Depp as a potential replacement.[3]

On August 4, 2015, Will Smith was announced as Jackman’s successor for the leading role; his production company Overbrook Entertainment also participated in producing the film.[4] In September, New Line Cinema acquired global distribution rights; meanwhile, Mara exited the project.[5] Director Gomez-Rejon departed in October citing creative disagreements.[6] By November, David Frankel was close to finalizing an agreement to direct.[7] In December 2015, Helen Mirren entered preliminary discussions to join the cast, with filming scheduled for early 2016 in New York City.[8]

In January 2016, casting announcements included Edward Norton, Michael Peña, and Naomie Harris; negotiations with Rachel McAdams also commenced. Village Roadshow Pictures came on board as co-financiers.[9][10] February brought Keira Knightley and Kate Winslet into the ensemble.[11][12] During production, Enrique Murciano and Jacob Latimore were added to the cast.[13] In March 2016, Ann Dowd joined as a co-star.[14]

Filming

Principal photography started on February 22, 2016, taking place across Queens and Manhattan, New York City. Additional shooting occurred at the Whitney Museum of American Art on March 10, 2016.

Music

The film’s soundtrack combines five songs with an original score composed by Theodore Shapiro:

The track "Let's Hurt Tonight" was featured on the soundtrack album; its music video incorporating scenes from the movie premiered on December 6, 2016.

Release

Collateral Beauty was distributed by Warner Bros. and released on December 16, 2016.

Box office

The film grossed $31 million domestically across the United States and Canada, with an additional $57.2 million earned internationally. This brought its total worldwide box office to $88.2 million against a production budget of $36 million.

Opening alongside Rogue One and the expanded release of Manchester by the Sea, initial forecasts estimated earnings between $11 million and $13 million from 3,028 theaters during its debut weekend—figures comparable to Smith’s prior drama Concussion. However, first-day receipts of $2.4 million led analysts to revise weekend projections down to $7.5 million. Ultimately, it earned $7.1 million over the weekend, placing fourth at the box office and marking the lowest opening weekend in Will Smith’s career.

Critical reception

The film holds a 14% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 185 critic reviews, with many reviewers describing it as "well-intentioned yet fundamentally flawed" and inadvertently amusing. On Metacritic, it received a score of 23 out of 100 from 40 critics, signifying "Generally Unfavorable" opinions. In contrast, audience feedback collected by CinemaScore resulted in an average grade of "A−".

Reviewers such as Vince Mancini from Uproxx condemned the film for its deceptive promotional trailers and unnatural dialogue, pointing out its forced emotional scenes. Richard Roeper assigned it one star out of four, labeling it "a deception" founded on a "manufactured" and excessively sentimental premise.

Awards and nominations

Award Ceremony date Category Nominee(s) Outcome
Hollywood Film Awards November 6, 2016 Hollywood Breakout Performance Award Naomie Harris (also recognized for Moonlight) Template:Won
London Film Critics' Circle January 22, 2017 British/Irish Actress of the Year Naomie Harris (additionally for Moonlight and Our Kind of Traitor) Template:Nom
NAACP Image Awards February 11, 2017 Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture Will Smith Template:Nom
Golden Raspberry Awards February 25, 2017 Worst Screen Combo The entire cast of "once respected actors" Template:Nom
  1. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named May2015TW
  2. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named June2015
  3. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named JackmanExit
  4. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named SmithCast
  5. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named NewLine
  6. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named GomezRejonExit
  7. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named FrankelDeal
  8. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named MirrenTalks
  9. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Jan2016TW
  10. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Feb2016V
  11. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named KnightleyCast
  12. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named WinsletCast
  13. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named LatimoreCast
  14. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named DowdCast
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