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, 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.

Black or White
Theatrical release poster
Directed byMike Binder
Produced byKevin Costner
Mike Binder
Todd Lewis
Written byMike Binder
StarringKevin Costner
Octavia Spencer
Jillian Estell
Bill Burr
Jennifer Ehle
Andre Holland
Gillian Jacobs
Anthony Mackie
Music byTerence Blanchard
CinematographyRuss T. Alsobrook
Edited byRoger Nygard
Production
company
Sunlight Productions
Treehouse Films
Treehouse Productions
Venture Forth
Distributed byRelativity Media
IM Global
Release date
  • 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. Elliot raises his granddaughter Eloise as he struggles with his grief by binge-drinking. Elliot's world is turned upside-down when the child's black grandmother, Rowena, demands that Eloise be brought under the care of her father, Rowena's son, Reggie, 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.[3] On October 17, Relativity Media acquired the US rights to the film.[4]

Post production

Principal photography of the film began on July 15, 2013 in New Orleans[5] with the filming lasting for five weeks.[6][7]

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.[8] The limited release was scrapped, however, in favor of an immediate wide release.

Home media

Black or White was released on Blu-ray and DVD on May 5, 2015.[9]

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.[10]

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."[11] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 45 out of 100, based on 30 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[12] According to CinemaScore, audiences gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale.[13]

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 May 9, 2015.
  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 Jr, Mike (October 17, 2014). "Relativity Buys Kevin Costner-Starrer 'Black Or White'". deadline.com. Retrieved October 18, 2014.
  5. "Kevin Costner's 'Black and White' Ready to Start Shooting". mxdwn.com. 12 July 2013. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
  6. "'Black and White,' starring Kevin Costner and Octavia Spencer, begins production in New Orleans". nola.com. 15 July 2013. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
  7. "Kevin Costner, Octavia Spencer & Andre Holland shooting 'Black and White' in New Orleans". onlocationvacations.com. 23 July 2013. Retrieved 24 July 2013.
  8. Austin Siegemund-Broka. "Kevin Costner-Octavia Spencer Drama 'Black and White' Gets Oscar-Qualifying Run". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 6 November 2014.
  9. "Black or White". Dvdsreleasedates.com. 2015.
  10. "Black or White daily gross". boxofficemojo.com. IMDB. Retrieved February 18, 2015.
  11. "Black or White". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. Retrieved 10 May 2019.
  12. "Black or White Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved February 3, 2015.
  13. "CinemaScore". CinemaScore. Retrieved 2015-07-15.
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