Peter Jackson’s $94 Million Supernatural Drama With 31% RT Rating Turns into a Success on Netflix

Peter Jackson is well acknowledged for his gorgeous work on The Lord of the Rings trilogy and its spinoff prequel, The Hobbit. Nevertheless, the filmmaker additionally had a film that was not as universally praised.

In 2009, he directed the supernatural drama The Beautiful Bones. The star-studded movie was based mostly on Alice Sebold’s 2002 novel of the identical identify, starring Saoirse Ronan in the principle function as Susie Salmon, within the aftermath of her success in 2007’s Atonement. Following a disappointing field workplace run and adverse reception, The Beautiful Bones discovered success on Netflix, debuting at quantity 5 within the international High 10, with 3.3 million views and 4.6 million hours seen, Tudum experiences.

The film just isn’t out there to stream on Netflix within the U.S. however reached the High 10 in 20 international locations in its debut week on the platform. The Beautiful Bones follows 14-year-old woman Susie, who’s killed by her neighbor Harvey. She refuses to maneuver on and sticks round, hoping her killer is caught and will get justice. The supernatural drama additionally stars Stanley Tucci, who performed her killer, George Harvey, who obtained an Academy Award for Finest Supporting Actor for the function.

Mark Wahlberg, Rachel Weisz, Susan Sarandon, and Michael Imperioli rounded up the solid. Jackson directed the film and co-wrote it along with his frequent collaborators, Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens. He produced with Walsh, Aimee Peyronnet, and Carolynne Cunningham, with Steven Spielberg, Tessa Ross, Ken Kamins, and James Wilson as govt producers.

The film was not an enormous hit, holding a “rotten” 31% ranking on Rotten Tomatoes from the critics, and a barely greater one from the viewers – although 52% continues to be not sufficient for a constructive badge. The film had a $65 million funds and solely grossed $94.8 million worldwide, including $14.6 million from bodily media (by way of The Numbers), however it was not sufficient to make a revenue.

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Ryan Gosling Was Initially Set to Play Susie’s Father

Though the function of Susie’s father went to Mark Wahlberg on the final minute, Ryan Gosling was initially tapped to play the character. Nevertheless, he was recast on account of “inventive variations” after gaining 60 kilos earlier than manufacturing began. The actor defined in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter in 2010 that he believed the character needs to be heavier.

“We had a unique thought of how the character ought to look,” Gosling defined. “I actually believed he needs to be 210 kilos.” To realize weight, the actor began ingesting melted Häagen-Dazs ice cream each time he was thirsty. He continued, “It was an enormous film, and there’s so many issues to cope with, and he couldn’t cope with the actors individually. I simply confirmed up on set, and I had gotten it flawed. Then I used to be fats and unemployed.”

Ronan addressed Gosling’s firing in a October 2024 interview with the Joyful Unhappy Confused podcast. “I simply cherished Ryan. And his canine, George,” she mentioned across the 30:10 mark. She famous they did not shoot something earlier than his firing, however the two acquired shut throughout pre-production. “I was simply unhappy that he wasn’t gonna be round. However I feel the the reason why they parted have been completely legitimate.”

“And I’ve spoken to each now, and — it occurs. You already know what I imply? It’s not private, essentially. It’s simply generally you’re not on the identical web page.” Ronan added there was a silver lining with Wahlberg, who “was a father, he was a father to a few youngsters, and he most likely had an expertise with that Ryan felt like he did not. Ryan was like 27.”

The Beautiful Bones is out there to stream on Paramount+ and MGM+.

Supply: Tudum, The Hollywood Reporter, Joyful Unhappy Confused, The Numbers

The Beautiful Bones

Launch Date

December 11, 2009

Runtime

135 minutes

Director

Peter Jackson