Skip to footer

Why 'Hidden Figures' nearly caught 'Star Wars' hit film 'Rogue One' at the box office

Historical dramas tend to do well at awards shows but meet lukewarm receptions at the box office. 'Hidden Figures' appears to have broken that mold.

|
Hopper Stone/Twentieth Century Fox/AP
'Hidden Figures' stars Janelle Monáe (l.), Taraji P. Henson (c.), and Octavia Spencer (r.).

The “Star Wars” box office hit “Rogue One” narrowly beat the historical film “Hidden Figures” at the box office this past weekend, showing that historical drama can contend financially with even longstanding action franchises.

“Hidden” stars Octavia Spencer, Taraji P. Henson, and Janelle Monáe as three women who worked at NASA during the 1960s, doing the calculations needed to launch John Glenn into space despite the racism they faced. 

The film has been mostly praised by critics and has been nominated for awards including the Screen Actors Guild Award for best cast and the SAG Award for best supporting actress for Ms. Spencer. Spencer was also nominated for a Golden Globe for best supporting actress but lost to Viola Davis of “Fences.” That level of critical acclaim is common for historical dramas, which frequently score big at awards shows but received lukewarm receptions at the box office.

"Hidden Figures" appears to have broken that mold, with critics and moviegoers turning out for the film.

Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for comScore, told Variety that great marketing and a narrative with wide appeal are part of the reason for the success of “Hidden” so far. The marketing for the film is “a picture-perfect example of how to build awareness of a story that everyone can get behind,” he said.

New York Times writer Brooks Barnes also credits the marketing, especially how it appealed to certain moviegoers, and the publicity from prize nominations. “[The film’s box office performance] was lifted by strong reviews, an aggressive four-month marketing campaign that included a grass-roots appeal to faith audiences, and attention on Hollywood’s annual awards circuit,” Mr. Barnes writes.

"Hidden" finished the weekend with $21.8 million in domestic box office sales, just a hair behind "Rogue One" which brought in $21.97 million domestically, according to the Associated Press. “Hidden” had opened in limited release on Dec. 25 and expanded to more theaters on Jan. 6.

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
What is the Monitor difference? Tackling the tough headlines – with humanity. Listening to sources – with respect. Seeing the story that others are missing by reporting what so often gets overlooked: the values that connect us. That’s Monitor reporting – news that changes how you see the world.
editor@csmonitor.com
Subscribe
Mark Sappenfield
Editor

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

Subscribe to insightful journalism

QR Code to Why 'Hidden Figures' nearly caught 'Star Wars' hit film 'Rogue One' at the box office
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/The-Culture/Movies/2017/0109/Why-Hidden-Figures-nearly-caught-Star-Wars-hit-film-Rogue-One-at-the-box-office
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe