Mortal Engines (film)

Mortal Engines
Theatrical release poster
Directed byChristian Rivers
Screenplay by
Based onMortal Engines
by Philip Reeve
Produced by
Starring
CinematographySimon Raby
Edited byJonno Woodford-Robinson
Music byTom Holkenborg[1]
Production
companies
Distributed byUniversal Pictures
Release dates
  • November 27, 2018 (2018-11-27) (London)
  • December 6, 2018 (2018-12-06) (New Zealand)
  • December 14, 2018 (2018-12-14) (United States)
Running time
128 minutes[6]
Countries
  • New Zealand
  • United States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$100–150 million[7]
Box office$83.7 million[8]

Mortal Engines is a 2018 post-apocalyptic steampunk film directed by Christian Rivers from a screenplay by Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, and Peter Jackson, based on the 2001 novel of the same name by Philip Reeve. It stars Hera Hilmar, Robert Sheehan, Hugo Weaving, Jihae, Ronan Raftery, Leila George, Patrick Malahide, and Stephen Lang. An American–New Zealand co-production, the film is set in a post-apocalyptic world where entire cities have been mounted on wheels and motorised, and practice municipal Darwinism; its movie universe is different from that of the books.[9]

Jackson purchased the rights to the book in 2009, but the film languished for several years before being officially announced in 2016. Jackson picked Rivers, who won an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects for his work on Jackson's King Kong, to make his feature-length directorial debut with the project, and also brought on several members of his production teams from The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit film trilogies. Filming took place from April to July 2017 in New Zealand.

Mortal Engines had its world premiere on November 27, 2018, in London, was theatrically released in Australia and New Zealand on December 6, 2018, and in the United States on December 14, 2018.[10] The film received negative reviews from critics, with some praising the visual effects and score, but with most criticizing the direction, screenplay and "lack of personality".[11] It is one of the biggest box office bombs of all time,[12] grossing $83.7 million against a production budget of $100–150 million and losing the studio an estimated $175 million.

  1. ^ "Junkie XL Scoring 'Mortal Engines' Movie Adaptation". Film Music Reporter. Archived from the original on June 19, 2018. Retrieved June 18, 2018.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Film releases". Variety Insight. Archived from the original on February 5, 2018. Retrieved May 26, 2017.
  3. ^ "Mortal Engines (2018)". The Numbers. Nash Information Services, LLC. Retrieved August 2, 2023.
  4. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (December 16, 2018). "Spider-Verse Raises $35M+ As 'The Mule' Kicks Up $17M+ In Pre-Christmas Period, But 'Mortal Engines' Breaks Down With $7M+". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved December 16, 2018.
  5. ^ McCarthy, Todd (December 5, 2018). "'Mortal Engines': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 17, 2018.
  6. ^ "MORTAL ENGINES | British Board of Film Classification". www.bbfc.co.uk. Retrieved November 28, 2018.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference preview was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ "Mortal Engines (2018)". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved June 12, 2019.
  9. ^ Leadbeater, Alex (June 5, 2018). "The 7 Biggest Changes Mortal Engines Makes To The Book". Screen Rant. Retrieved October 29, 2019.
  10. ^ "City Promotions, Events and Filming" (PDF). Heart of London. October 21, 2018. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 1, 2018.
  11. ^ James Croot (December 5, 2018). "Mortal Engines lacks 'personality', 'direction' say less-than-impressed critics". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved January 8, 2021.
  12. ^ "Mortal Engines". Box Office Mojo.