Some are wondering if Amazon/MGM did RaMell Ross’ “Nickel Boys.” Did they fail to market it properly to the general public? During its widest expansion yet, the film only earned $297k in 214 screens this weekend. That’s a lousy per theater average of $1238.
It’s come to the point where what looked like an almost-certain Best Picture nomination might not be happening anymore for the film, and no it’s not because of those tepid box-office numbers; the film just isn’t striking the same chord with audiences as it did with critics. Simple as that.
Amazon/MGM did the best they could with a film that was never going to be an easy sell. The majority of “Nickel Boys” is shot in first-person POV, with perspective alternating between the two leads throughout. There are also some sequences of fixed-camera third-person POV shots. The film is in a 4:3 aspect ratio, and there are several sequences of stock footage, recordings of historical events, and even snippets of other films interspersed throughout.
In other words, it definitely earns its street cred, having been described by some as “avant-garde” and “experimental.” The film takes a tragic story, but decides to tell it in the most unconventional of fashion — it should be commended for doing that, and although I thought the narrative risk-taking backfired in bringing much emotional investment to the viewer, this is the type of thing I want to see more of in U.S. cinema, and certainly not less.
“Nickel Boys,” which tells the sad story of a notoriously corrupt Florida reform school in the ‘60s, has been hailed by many critics, especially the NYC crowd, as a major achievement, and even the New York Times went full hyperbole by claiming Ross “has just reinvented the act of seeing.” SPOILER ALERT: No, he hasn’t.
Despite near-empty screenings of “Nickel Boys” over the weekend, I’m curious to hear from some of our readers who finally got the chance to see it. Don’t mind posting your thoughts in the comments below.