Dear Evan Hansen (film)

Dear Evan Hansen
Theatrical release poster
Directed byStephen Chbosky
Screenplay bySteven Levenson
Based on
Dear Evan Hansen
by
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyBrandon Trost
Edited byAnne McCabe
Music by
Production
companies
Distributed byUniversal Pictures
Release dates
  • September 9, 2021 (2021-09-09) (TIFF)
  • September 24, 2021 (2021-09-24) (United States)
Running time
137 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$27–28 million[2][3]
Box office$19.1 million[4][5]

Dear Evan Hansen is a 2021 American coming-of-age musical film directed by Stephen Chbosky from a screenplay by Steven Levenson, based on the 2015 stage musical of the same name by Levenson, Benj Pasek and Justin Paul. Ben Platt plays the title role, reprising the performance that he originated on stage six years earlier. The cast also includes Kaitlyn Dever, Amandla Stenberg, Nik Dodani, Colton Ryan, Danny Pino, Julianne Moore, and Amy Adams.

Dear Evan Hansen premiered at the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival on September 9, 2021, as the opening night presentation,[6] and was released in the United States on September 24, 2021, by Universal Pictures. The film underperformed at the box office and received mostly negative reviews from critics, with most criticism aimed at the casting of Ben Platt (who was 27 at the time) as a high school student, which some attributed to nepotism, as his father, Marc Platt, served as a producer on the film.[7][8] Criticism was also aimed at its direction, screenplay, visual style, lack of faithfulness to its source material, and portrayal of mental illness, though the supporting cast's performances received some praise. The film received four nominations at the Golden Raspberry Awards, including a Worst Director nomination for Chbosky, as well as Worst Actor and Worst Supporting Actress nominations for Platt and Adams, respectively.

  1. ^ "Dear Evan Hansen". Toronto International Film Festival. Archived from the original on September 13, 2021. Retrieved August 28, 2021.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference opening was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Rubin, Rebecca (September 22, 2021). "Can 'Dear Evan Hansen' Dethrone Reigning Box Office Champ 'Shang-Chi'?". Variety. Archived from the original on September 26, 2021. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
  4. ^ "Dear Evan Hansen (2021)". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved December 22, 2021.
  5. ^ "Dear Evan Hansen (2021)". The Numbers. Nash Information Services, LLC. Retrieved December 22, 2021.
  6. ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (July 20, 2021). "Toronto Festival Unveils 'Dear Evan Hansen' As Opening-Night Premiere, Zhang Yimou's 'One Second' As Closer; Check Out First Slated Films". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on August 12, 2021. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
  7. ^ "Ben Platt Is Facing Backlash Over His Latest Comments About The "Dear Evan Hansen" Film". BuzzFeed. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
  8. ^ "Dear Evan Hansen: Ben Platt, 27, hits back at 'rando jerks' after he's mocked with memes for portraying a teenager". The Independent. May 19, 2021. Retrieved January 30, 2022.