Jump to content

The Maze Runner (film): Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
Fixed typo
Tags: Mobile edit Mobile app edit
Fixed typo
Tags: Mobile edit Mobile app edit
Line 69: Line 69:
===Box office===
===Box office===
The film debuted at five foreign markets a week earlier, earning $8.3 million.<ref>{{cite web|last=Lang |first=Brent |title=‘Maze Runner’ Off to Fast Start at Foreign Box Office |url=http://variety.com/2014/film/news/the-maze-runner-foreign-box-office-1201305496/ |publisher=Variety.com |date=September 15, 2014 |accessdate=September 15, 2014}}</ref>
The film debuted at five foreign markets a week earlier, earning $8.3 million.<ref>{{cite web|last=Lang |first=Brent |title=‘Maze Runner’ Off to Fast Start at Foreign Box Office |url=http://variety.com/2014/film/news/the-maze-runner-foreign-box-office-1201305496/ |publisher=Variety.com |date=September 15, 2014 |accessdate=September 15, 2014}}</ref>

;North America
The film was released on September 19, 2014 in the United States in 3,500 locations and over 350 [[IMAX]] theatres.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://variety.com/2014/film/news/box-office-maze-runner-will-outrace-walk-among-the-tombstones-1201307683/ | title = Box Office: ‘Maze Runner’ Will Outrace ‘Walk Among the Tombstones’ | author = Brent Lang | publisher = ''[[Variety]]'' | date = September 17, 2014 | accessdate = September 19, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = http://deadline.com/2014/09/box-office-preview-maze-runner-to-put-tombstones-in-ground-this-is-where-i-leave-you-debuts-836131/ | title = Box Office Preview: ‘Maze Runner’ To Put ‘Tombstones’ In Ground; ‘This Is Where I Leave You’ Debuts | author = Anita Busch | publisher = Deadline.com | date = September 18, 2014 | accessdate = September 19, 2014}}</ref>
The film earned $1.1 million from 2,200 theatres from Thursday night.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://m.hollywoodreporter.com/entry/view/id/609288?utm_source=twitter | title = Box Office: 'Maze Runner' Scares Up $1.1 Million Thursday Night | author = Pamela McClintock | publisher = ''[[The Hollywood Reporter]]'' | date = September 19, 2014 | accessdate = September 18, 2014}}</ref>


;North America
;North America

Revision as of 16:02, 19 September 2014

The Maze Runner
Theatrical release poster
Theatrical release poster
Directed byWes Ball
Written byNoah Oppenheim
Grant Pierce Myers
T.S. Nowlin
Produced byEllen Goldsmith-Vein
Wyck Godfrey
Marty Bowen
Lee Stollman
StarringDylan O'Brien
Kaya Scodelario
Thomas Brodie-Sangster
Will Poulter
Ki-hong Lee
CinematographyEnrique Chediak
Edited byDan Zimmerman
Music byJohn Paesano
Production
companies
Distributed by20th Century Fox
Release dates
  • September 11, 2014 (2014-09-11) (Mexico)
  • September 19, 2014 (2014-09-19) (United States)
Running time
113 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$34 million[1][2]
Box office$8,276,000[1]

The Maze Runner is a 2014 American science fiction action thriller film directed by Wes Ball, based on James Dashner's 2009 book of the same name. The film is the first installment in The Maze Runner film series and was produced by Ellen Goldsmith-Vein, Wyck Godfrey, Marty Bowen, and Lee Stollman with a screenplay by Noah Oppenheim, Grant Pierce Myers and T.S. Nowlin. The film stars Dylan O'Brien, Kaya Scodelario, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, and Will Poulter.

The story follows sixteen-year-old Thomas, portrayed by O'Brien, who awakens in a rusty elevator with no memory of who he is, only to learn he's been delivered to the middle of an intricate maze, along with a slew of other boys, who have been trying to find their way out of the ever-changing labyrinth — all while establishing a functioning society in what they call The Glade. Principal photography began in Baton Rouge, Louisiana on May 13, 2013 and officially concluded on July 12, 2013.

The Maze Runner was released on September 19, 2014 in the United States by 20th Century Fox.[3]

Plot

When Thomas wakes up trapped in a massive maze with a group of other boys, he has no memory of the outside world other than strange dreams about a mysterious organization known as W.I.C.K.E.D. (World In Chaos Killzone Experiment Department). Only by piecing together fragments of his past with clues he discovers in the maze can Thomas hope to uncover his true purpose and a way to escape.

Cast

Production

Filming

Filming started in Baton Rouge, Louisiana on May 13, 2013,[13] and officially ended July 12, 2013.[14]

Post-production

Creature designer Ken Barthelmey created concept designs for the film.[15] The film was completed in June 2014.

Marketing

Kaya Scodelario and Dylan O'Brien at a panel for the film at San Diego Comic-Con International in July 2014

The film released eleven character cards for the film in July 2013. Starting in January 2014, Director Wes Ball released one image from the film once a week, leading up to the film's first trailer release on March 17, 2014.[16] A viral marketing campaign launched by 20th Century Fox began on April 16, 2014. The campaign is a website featuring the main characters while focusing on W.C.K.D, an organisation in Dashner's novel series of the same name. The website has the domain wckdisgood.com[17]

On June 26, 2014, Dylan O'Brien tweeted that the original The Maze Runner book would be re-released with a new book cover based on the film's poster.[18] On July 29, 2014, the second trailer for the film was released exclusively on Yahoo! Movies.[19]

Release

The film was originally set to be released on February 14, 2014.[20] On October 5, 2013, the film was pushed back from February 2014, until September 19, 2014.[21] IMAX theaters released the film on September 19.[22]

Reception

Box office

The film debuted at five foreign markets a week earlier, earning $8.3 million.[23]

North America

The film was released on September 19, 2014 in the United States in 3,500 locations and over 350 IMAX theatres.[24][25] The film earned $1.1 million from 2,200 theatres from Thursday night.[26]

North America

The film was released on September 19, 2014 in the United States in 3,500 locations and over 350 IMAX theatres.[27][28] The film earned $1.1 million from 2,200 theatres from Thursday night.[29]

Critical response

The Maze Runner received mostly mixed to positive reviews from critics, with acclaim going to the cast's performances, intriguing premise, and dark tone.[30][31] Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a rating of 63%, based on reviews from 62 critics, with an average score of 6/10. The site's consensus states: "With strong acting, a solid premise, and a refreshingly dark approach to its dystopian setting, The Maze Runner stands out from the crowded field of YA sci-fi adventures."[32] Metacritic gives the film a score of 57 out of 100, based on 24 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[33]

Rafer Guzman of Newsday gave the film a three out of four and dubbed it as, "solid, well crafted and entertaining".[34] Christy Lemire of RogerEbert.com said she found the film intriguing writing that, "it tells us a story we think we've heard countless times before but with a refreshingly different tone and degree of detail".[35] Seattle Times's Soren Anderson said the film was, "vastly superior to the book that inspired it", give it a score of 3/4.[36] Tony Hicks of San Jose Mercury News was, "hooked by the combination of fine acting, intriguing premise and riveting scenery".[37] Matthew Toomey of ABC Radio Brisbane gave the film a grade of A-, giving praise to its intriguing premise saying that, "it held my attention for its full two hour running time".[38] Justin Lowe of Hollywood Reporter said it was, "consistently engaging",[39] and Ella Taylor of Variety said, "as world-creation YA pictures go, "The Maze Runner" feels refreshingly low-tech and properly story-driven".[40]

Michael O'Sullivan of Washington Post said, "The Maze Runner unravels a few mysteries, but it spins even more", giving it a 3/4.[41] Stephen Whitty of Newark Star-Ledger said, "it does leave you wanting to see the next installment. And that's one special effect that very few YA movies ever pull off".[42] Matthew Lickona of San Diego Reader was impressed with the film saying that, "everything looks great, from the cast, to the setting, to the beasties, and the pacing gives the characters room to live and breathe".[43] Rick Bentley of Fresno Bee praised Wes Ball's direction, saying that he has, "created balance between a thin but solid script and first-rate action -- and he doesn't waste a frame doing it".[44] Bill Zwecker of Chicago Sun-Times called it, "a well-acted and intelligent thriller/futuristic sci-fi romp".[45]

Kristian Harloff of Schmoes Know gave the film a negative review saying that, "the acting is solid, but inevtiably "The Maze Runner" doesn't feel that satisying to complete".[46] Matthew Pejkovic of Matt's Movie Reviews felt that the film was cliche saying, "another young adult sci-fi tale of survival is played out to sparsely thrilling and all too familiar results, proving the popular genre has run its course".[47] Claudia Puig of USA Today said, "a sci-fi thriller set in a vaguely post-apocalyptic future must create a fully drawn universe to thoroughly captivate the viewer. But Maze Runner feels only partially formed", giving it a score of 2/4.[48]

Sequel

On September 11, 2013, it was reported that Fox had acquired the rights to the second book, The Scorch Trials. A screenplay will be written by T. S. Nowlin, with director Wes Ball supervising the scriptwriting.[49] On July 25, 2014, Ball announced at San Diego Comic-Con International that filming for the sequel would commence in Fall 2014, should The Maze Runner become a success when it hits the theaters.[50] However, two weeks prior to the film's release 20th Century Fox decided to move ahead with the sequel and pre-production began in early September 2014 in New Mexico.[51]

References

  1. ^ a b "The Maze Runner (2014) - Box Office Mojo". September 19, 2014. Retrieved 18 September 2014.
  2. ^ Lindsey Bahr (September 18, 2014). "Box office preview: 'Maze Runner' teens prepare to battle Liam Neeson". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved September 19, 2014. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  3. ^ "'Teen Wolf' star Dylan O'Brien to star in 'The Maze Runner' movie". hypable.com. Retrieved May 7, 2013.
  4. ^ "'Teen Wolf' Actor Nabs 'Maze Runner' Lead". Retrieved April 18, 2013.
  5. ^ "Movie Casting Round-Up: Thomas Brodie-Sangster Joins 'Maze Runner'; Scott Glenn Added To 'Trigger'". deadline.com. Retrieved March 13, 2013.
  6. ^ "Kaya Scodelario Joins The Maze Runner". empireonline.com. Retrieved April 8, 2013.
  7. ^ "'Kidulthood' Actor Joins Fox's 'Maze Runner'". hollywoodreporter.com. Retrieved March 13, 2013.
  8. ^ "Tweets Lead Blake Cooper to 'Maze Runner' Role". deadline.com. Retrieved April 23, 2013.
  9. ^ "Jacob Latimore Lands New Movie Role in 'Maze Runner'". singersroom.com. Retrieved May 7, 2013.
  10. ^ Ball, Wes (May 12, 2013). "Maze runners. Say hi to @ChrisShef. Ben. Poor, poor Ben". Twitter. Retrieved June 23, 2013.
  11. ^ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm4776586/?ref_=tt_cl_t14
  12. ^ Teresa (June 18, 2013). "Patricia Clarkson Joins 'The Maze Runner' Cast". TheMazeRunner.net. Retrieved June 23, 2013.
  13. ^ "Maze Runner Movie Set". jamesdashner.com. Retrieved September 12, 2014.
  14. ^ "The Maze Runner Movie Release Date, News, and Updates: 2 New Clips Released in Anticipation of The Premiere". hallels.com. Retrieved September 12, 2014.
  15. ^ http://theartofken.com/viewblog.php?blogID=the-maze-runner-news-80
  16. ^ Zalben, Alex (17 March 2014). "'The Maze Runner': Watch The Full Trailer Now". mtv.com. Retrieved 19 March 2014.
  17. ^ http://www.wckdisgood.com/#!/thomas
  18. ^ "Congratulations @jamesdashner on the new book cover! Thank you for creating this story brother". @dylanobrien. Retrieved September 13, 2014.
  19. ^ "Check Out the Exclusive New Trailer for 'The Maze Runner'". Retrieved July 29, 2014.
  20. ^ "Jacob Latimore Lands New Movie Role in 'Maze Runner'". singersroom.com. Retrieved May 7, 2013.
  21. ^ http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=109817
  22. ^ Vlessing, Etan (August 26, 2014). "Imax to Release Fox's 'The Maze Runner'". hollywoodreporter.com. Retrieved August 27, 2014.
  23. ^ Lang, Brent (September 15, 2014). "'Maze Runner' Off to Fast Start at Foreign Box Office". Variety.com. Retrieved September 15, 2014.
  24. ^ Brent Lang (September 17, 2014). "Box Office: 'Maze Runner' Will Outrace 'Walk Among the Tombstones'". Variety. Retrieved September 19, 2014. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  25. ^ Anita Busch (September 18, 2014). "Box Office Preview: 'Maze Runner' To Put 'Tombstones' In Ground; 'This Is Where I Leave You' Debuts". Deadline.com. Retrieved September 19, 2014.
  26. ^ Pamela McClintock (September 19, 2014). "Box Office: 'Maze Runner' Scares Up $1.1 Million Thursday Night". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 18, 2014. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  27. ^ Brent Lang (September 17, 2014). "Box Office: 'Maze Runner' Will Outrace 'Walk Among the Tombstones'". Variety. Retrieved September 19, 2014. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  28. ^ Anita Busch (September 18, 2014). "Box Office Preview: 'Maze Runner' To Put 'Tombstones' In Ground; 'This Is Where I Leave You' Debuts". Deadline.com. Retrieved September 19, 2014.
  29. ^ Pamela McClintock (September 19, 2014). "Box Office: 'Maze Runner' Scares Up $1.1 Million Thursday Night". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 18, 2014. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  30. ^ "Review: 'The Maze Runner' perks up tired YA action formula". Retrieved September 18, 2014.
  31. ^ "Review: 'Maze Runner' gives a strong young cast plenty of room to shine". Retrieved September 18, 2014.
  32. ^ "The Maze Runner". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. Retrieved September 18, 2014.
  33. ^ "The Maze Runner: Reviews (2014)". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved September 18, 2014.
  34. ^ "'The Maze Runner' review: 'The Hunger Games' for boys". Retrieved September 18, 2014.
  35. ^ "THE MAZE RUNNER: Review". Retrieved September 18, 2014.
  36. ^ "'The Maze Runner': Well-cast thriller outpaces the book". Retrieved September 18, 2014.
  37. ^ "Review: 'The Maze Runner' perks up tired YA action formula". Retrieved September 18, 2014.
  38. ^ "Review: The Maze Runner". Retrieved September 18, 2014.
  39. ^ "'The Maze Runner': Film Review". Retrieved September 18, 2014.
  40. ^ "Film Review: 'The Maze Runner'". Retrieved September 18, 2014.
  41. ^ "'The Maze Runner' movie review: There's no escaping a thrilling cliffhanger". Retrieved September 18, 2014.
  42. ^ "'The Maze Runner' review: Escaping the YA labyrinth". Retrieved September 18, 2014.
  43. ^ "THE MAZE RUNNER IMAX". Retrieved September 18, 2014.
  44. ^ "Action carries 'The Maze Runner'". Retrieved September 18, 2014.
  45. ^ "'THE MAZE RUNNER': A SATISFYING SCI-FI RIDE". Retrieved September 18, 2014.
  46. ^ "THE MAZE RUNNER Review (By the Schmoes)". Retrieved September 18, 2014.
  47. ^ "THE MAZE RUNNER (2014)". Retrieved September 18, 2014.
  48. ^ "'Maze Runner' puzzles, and not in a good way". Retrieved September 18, 2014.
  49. ^ Chitwood, Adam (October 11, 2013). "Fox Hires Writer to Start Work on MAZE RUNNER Sequel THE SCORCH TRIALS". Collider. Retrieved October 11, 2013.
  50. ^ Sciretta, Peter (July 25, 2014). "The Maze Runner Sequel The Scorch Trials Concept Art Revealed [Comic Con 2014]". slashfilm.com. Retrieved July 26, 2014.
  51. ^ Jarett Wieselman (September 4, 2014). "A "Maze Runner" Sequel Is Already In Pre-Production". Retrieved September 6, 2014.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Maze_Runner_(film)&oldid=626223743"