Black or White (film)

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

Black or White
Theatrical release poster
Directed byMike Binder
Written byMike Binder
Produced byKevin Costner
Mike Binder
Todd Lewis
Starring
CinematographyRuss T. Alsobrook
Edited byRoger Nygard
Music byTerence Blanchard
Production
companies
Sunlight Productions
Treehouse Films
Treehouse Productions
Venture Forth
Distributed byRelativity Media (United States)
IM Global (International)
Release dates
  • September 6, 2014 (2014-09-06) (TIFF)
  • January 30, 2015 (2015-01-30) (United States)
Running time
121 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$9 million[1]
Box office$21.7 million[2]

Premise

Elliot Anderson is widowed after a car crash leads to the death of his wife. At the funeral, Rowena, his granddaughter Eloise's paternal grandmother, offers to care for Eloise, but Elliot angrily declines. Elliot raises his granddaughter as he struggles with his grief by binge-drinking. Elliot's world is turned upside-down when Rowena demands that Eloise be brought under the care of her father Reggie, Rowena's son, who is addicted to drugs and 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.[3] On October 17, Relativity Media acquired the US rights to the film.[4]

A thousand girls auditioned for the part of Eloise.[5]

Costner financed the film using his own money.[5]

Post production

Principal photography of the film began on July 15, 2013, in New Orleans[6] with the filming lasting for five weeks.[7][8]

Release

Relativity planned to release the film in time to qualify for the Oscar race,[4] starting with a limited release on December 3, 2014, then opening wide on January 30, 2015.[9][10]

Home media

Black or White was released on Blu-ray and DVD on May 5, 2015.[11]

Reception

Box office

Black or White grossed $21.6 million in North America against a budget of $9 million.[2]

In its opening weekend of January 30, 2015, the film made a gross of $2.3 million on Friday, $3 million on Saturday, and $986,312 on Sunday for a weekend total of $6.2 million, playing in 1,823 with a per-theater average of $3,408 and ranking #4.[12]

Critical response

Black or White received mixed reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a 39% rating, based on 102 reviews, with an average rating of 5.19/10. 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."[13] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 45 out of 100, based on 30 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[14] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale.[15]

Jordan Mintzer of The Hollywood Reporter wrote: "Black and White never panders too easily to sentiments, creating characters who are riddled with flaws but likeable all the same."[16] Scott Foundas of Variety praised Costner for his performance calling it "some of the finest, most deeply felt work of his career" but was critical of the film "this well-intentioned family drama never quite shakes free from its didactic, movie-of-the-week dramaturgy and a hand-holding approach to race-relations."[17]

References
  1. Hinds, Julie (December 9, 2014). "Costner-led 'Black or White' gets local release date". Detroit Free Press.
  2. "Black or White (2015)". Box Office Mojo. IMDB. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
  3. 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.
  4. Fleming, Mike Jr. (October 17, 2014). "Relativity Buys Kevin Costner-Starrer 'Black Or White'". deadline.com. Retrieved October 18, 2014.
  5. Hammond, Pete (January 7, 2015). "Oscars: Kevin Costner Put His Heart – And Own Money – Into 'Black Or White'". Deadline Hollywood.
  6. "Kevin Costner's 'Black and White' Ready to Start Shooting". mxdwn.com. July 12, 2013. Retrieved July 18, 2013.
  7. "'Black and White,' starring Kevin Costner and Octavia Spencer, begins production in New Orleans". nola.com. July 15, 2013. Retrieved July 18, 2013.
  8. "Kevin Costner, Octavia Spencer & Andre Holland shooting 'Black and White' in New Orleans". onlocationvacations.com. July 23, 2013. Retrieved July 24, 2013.
  9. Austin Siegemund-Broka. "Kevin Costner-Octavia Spencer Drama 'Black and White' Gets Oscar-Qualifying Run". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 6, 2014. It will run for one week in December, then will receive a platform release on January 23, 2015, and will expand on January 30.
  10. Johnson, Ted (December 7, 2014). "PopPolitics: Kevin Costner on 'Black or White,' Ferguson and the Future (Listen)". Variety. now in limited release
  11. "Black or White". Dvdsreleasedates.com. 2015.
  12. "Black or White daily gross". Box Office Mojo. IMDB. Retrieved February 18, 2015.
  13. "Black or White". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved May 10, 2019.
  14. "Black or White Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved February 3, 2015.
  15. D'Alessandro, Anthony (February 3, 2015). "'American Sniper' Misses Super Bowl Record; Most Top 10 Films Off – Monday B.O. Actuals". Deadline Hollywood. With an A- Cinemascore, the film saw a 32% uptick between Friday and Saturday.
  16. Mintzer, Jordan (September 6, 2014). "'Black and White': Toronto Review". The Hollywood Reporter.
  17. Foundas, Scott (September 12, 2014). "Toronto Film Review: 'Black and White'". Variety.
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