The controversial film from the Ex-Machina and Annihilation director became a huge hit for A24 and the audiences at home can soon view the hot-button film.
The hot-button film of the year from Alex Garland would become A24’s biggest opening, with over $25 million made during its opening weekend. According to Box Office Mojo, the modern-day war film currently sits above $108 million at the global box office, which makes it a pretty big hit considering the epic-looking film sported a $50 million dollar price tag for the indie boutique studio. Variety now reports that the film has set a digital release date after the well-received performance at the box office.
Civil War has been scheduled to debut on VOD on May 24. It will be available to rent/purchase on both Prime Video and Apple TV+. The film stars Kirsten Dunst as a reporter in the middle of a crumbling society as a fascist president forces an extra term on the American people and the states have waged war with each other. Dunst states that the movie is naturally going to cause debates. She spoke with Variety in a cover story where she said, “The whole movie is open to interpretation. For me, there were things I just accepted that were unexplained. It allows the audience to fill in their own feelings about what they’re watching.”
The director, Garland, would concur that he purposely left certain aspects up for imagination, “I have my own answers to these questions. And if someone asked me, I’d answer it. But if Kirsten didn’t ask me, I wouldn’t answer.”
Our own Chris Bumbray was really taken with the movie when he reviewed it, saying, “It’ll be interesting to see how general audiences react to Civil War, as it’s controversial by design. It asks us to take a long, hard look at what’s happening around us and demands that we look beyond politics and recognize what we have in common rather than what we don’t. It’s a plea for peace in that, like other movies of this nature, notably the apocalyptic drama The Day After, it dares to show us hell in the hope of keeping it from ever happening.”
About the Author
E.J. is a News Editor at JoBlo, as well as a Video Editor, Writer, and Narrator for some of the movie retrospectives on our JoBlo Originals YouTube channel, including Reel Action, Revisited and some of the Top 10 lists. He is a graduate of the film program at Missouri Western State University with concentrations in performance, writing, editing and directing.