Ready Player One Turns Virtual Adventure into Box Office Victory
Jaws, Raider of the Lost Ark, Jurassic Park, Minority Report. The list goes on for Steven Spielberg blockbusters, and now there’s a certified addition to that elite group. Spielberg dominated the box office again this weekend with Ready Player One. The virtual adventure commanded audiences to the tune of $53.2 million in the US with $128 million more overseas.
Spielberg has a legendary history of displaying a mastery over mega movies. Even Jaws, Spielberg’s breakout hit, was a major undertaking of practical effects. Spielberg is also a daring storyteller picking out ambitious plots that are always told in a satisfying way. Not to mention, the visuals in his films are always breathtaking and push the limits of contemporary VFX.
Ready Player One is a spectacle that gains grandeur on larger screens. It’s currently available for IMAX viewing. Spielberg also transcends generations tying 80s nostalgia to modern fantasy. Ready Player One is a kind of industrial twist on Avatar for a new generation. The characters inhabit a virtual reality world and compete for mastery of the game.
The movie is based on the 2011 novel by first time author Ernest Cline. Spielberg called Cline an “authority on popular culture” and there are dozens of hidden references in the film. Cline is working on a sequel to the novel, which could be good news for fans hoping to see more of the story come to life on screen.
Picking up a first-time author and lesser known actors was a gamble, but this could be the beginning of a successful franchise. Star Tye Sheridan had a few credits to his name including Mud and X-Men: Apocalypse. Costar Olivia Cooke previously appeared in Me and Earl and the Dying Girl and horror film Ouija. The young actors are surely going to launch to a much higher profile from the film’s success.
Few directors have a career that is as lengthy and successful as Spielberg. At 71, the accomplished director proves he still has the golden touch.
Ready Player One is in theaters now.
Featured Image: BEN MENDELSOHN as Nolan Sorrento in Warner Bros. Pictures’, Amblin Entertainment’s and Village Roadshow Pictures’ action adventure “READY PLAYER ONE,” a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Courtesy: Warner Bros. Pictures
