Highly Anticipated Film from The Greatest Showman Director Sets Official Release Date
After its initial announcement back in February 2021, fans can now mark their calendars as the next movie from The Greatest Showman director has finally received its official release date. Get ready for an exciting cinematic experience!
Director Michael Gracey's latest film, Better Man, now has an official release date. Following the success of The Greatest Showman in 2017, Gracey's only other directorial project has been the 2021 music documentary P!nk: All I Know So Far. Better Man is a musical biopic featuring English pop star Robbie Williams, who was previously rumored to be portrayed as a CGI monkey.
According to Deadline, Paramount Pictures has announced the release date for Better Man. The film will have a limited awards-qualifying run starting on December 25, followed by a wide theatrical release on January 17, 2025. This news comes after the project was first revealed in February 2021 and principal photography began in mid-2022.
How Will Better Man Compare To The Greatest Showman?
Hugh Jackman as P.T. Barnum in The Greatest Showman. - How Will Better Man Compare To The Greatest Showman?
As the director's musical follow-up to The Greatest Showman, Better Man has big shoes to fill. The Hugh Jackman movie opened slow with a meager $8.8 million debut weekend, but it became a sleeper hit over the 2017 holiday season and through the new year, eventually going on to earn a whopping total of $435 million worldwide and becoming the 21st highest-grossing movie of the year. Though it has every opportunity to exceed The Greatest Showman's mediocre Rotten Tomatoes score of 56%, Gracey's new movie may not have that kind of box office might.
Deadline’s report suggests that Paramount has increased confidence in Better Man following the recent success of the Mean Girls and Bob Marley: One Love box office. However, it remains to be seen if worldwide audiences will respond to the new movie in the same way that they have to the Bob Marley biopic, which is the more comparable title of the pair. Both Marley and Williams are among the best-selling artists of all time with more than 75 million records sold apiece, but Williams' success has been more isolated to Europe than Marley's.
Robbie Williams, in addition to his successful solo career, was a former member of the popular English pop group Take That.
While Bob Marley has achieved multiple No. 1 albums on the U.S. reggae chart, Robbie Williams has yet to have a Top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S., with only two singles making appearances on the chart. The interest in Williams' new release, Better Man, from domestic and non-European audiences remains to be seen compared to the success of One Love. The connection of the film to The Greatest Showman and its potential strong performance in the 2025 awards season could provide the necessary boost for Better Man.
Source: Deadline
Editor's P/S:
The announcement of the release date for "Better Man" has sparked a mix of excitement and anticipation. As a follow-up to the highly successful "The Greatest Showman," the musical biopic on Robbie Williams has the potential to captivate audiences with its blend of music and storytelling. The film's connection to the acclaimed "The Greatest Showman" and the award-winning "Bob Marley: One Love" suggests that it could garner critical acclaim and commercial success. However, the limited European appeal of Robbie Williams compared to Bob Marley raises questions about its global box office performance.
Despite the challenges, the film's release during the holiday season and the subsequent awards-qualifying run provide an opportunity to build momentum and generate buzz. The talent of Michael Gracey and the star power of Robbie Williams give reason for optimism. Ultimately, "Better Man" has the potential to be a compelling and entertaining musical experience that resonates with fans of the genre and beyond.
