Taglines: Left with nothing. Capable of anything.
Harry Rawlings, a renowned thief, is killed alongside his partners Carlos, Florek, and Jimmy during a botched robbery. His widow, Veronica, is threatened by crime boss Jamal Manning, from whom Harry and his partners robbed $2 million. Jamal needs the money to finance his electoral campaign for alderman of a South Side precinct, where he is running against Jack Mulligan, the next-in-line of the Mulligan political family who have historically dominated the alderman position.
Veronica discovers Harry’s notebook, which contains a detailed plan for a heist worth $5 million. She decides to carry out the plan to repay her debt to Jamal, and recruits two of the other widows, Alice and Linda, to assist her. The fourth widow, Amanda, does not show at their initial meeting; when Veronica visits Amanda and learns she has a newborn child, she opts not to mention the heist plan to her. Alice buys the getaway car and guns, while Linda is tasked with deciphering a blueprint in Harry’s plan. Alice uses David, a real estate executive with whom she is in a transnational relationship, to identify the blueprint as a safe in Jack Mulligan’s home.
Widows is a 2018 heist film directed by Steve McQueen from a screenplay by McQueen and Gillian Flynn, based upon the 1983 ITV series of the same name. A British-American co-production, the film features an ensemble cast consisting of Viola Davis, Michelle Rodriguez, Elizabeth Debicki, Cynthia Erivo, Colin Farrell, Brian Tyree Henry, Daniel Kaluuya, Jacki Weaver, Carrie Coon, Robert Duvall, and Liam Neeson.
The plot follows a group of women who attempt a heist in order to pay back a crime boss after their criminal husbands are killed on a botched job. The film was announced in March 2015, with Davis joining the cast in September 2016. The rest of the cast was added in the next several months, and filming began in Chicago in May 2017.
Widows premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 8, 2018, and was theatrically released in the United Kingdom on November 6, 2018 and in the United States on November 16, by 20th Century Fox. The film has grossed over $75 million worldwide and received praise for its direction, screenplay and performances (particularly Davis, Debicki and Kaluuya), with critics crediting it for blending “dramatic themes with popcorn thrills.” It received several award nominations, including BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for Davis.
As of January 17, 2019, Widows has grossed $42.3 million in the United States and Canada, and $33.1 million in other territories, for a total worldwide gross of $75.4 million, against a production budget of $42 million. In the United States and Canada, Widows was released alongside Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald and Instant Family, and was projected to gross $12–18 million from 2,803 theaters in its opening weekend.
It grossed $4.2 million on its first day, including $600,000 from Thursday night previews. It ended up making $12.3 million over the weekend, finishing fifth at the box office. Deadline Hollywood stated that the low debut was because of a “lack of urgency” in the advertising, and that the studio should not have relied on the good reviews alone to sell the film.
Other publications, including Business Insider, said the film should have been released outside the busy November frame, and that the perceived marketing toward specifically African-American audiences, and its R-rating, limited the film’s appeal. In its second weekend, the film dropped 33% to $8.2 million (and $10.5 million total over the five-day Thanksgiving frame), finishing eighth.
Widows (2018)
Directed by: Steve McQueen
Starring: Viola Davis, Michelle Rodriguez, Elizabeth Debicki, Cynthia Erivo, Colin Farrell, Brian Tyree Henry, Daniel Kaluuya, Jacki Weaver, Carrie Coon, Robert Duvall, Liam Neeson
Screenplay by: Gillian Flynn, Steve McQueen
Production Design by: Adam Stockhausen
Cinematography by: Sean Bobbitt
Film Editing by: Joe Walker
Costume Design by: Jenny Eagan
Set Decoration by: Elizabeth Keenan
Art Direction by: Gregory S. Hooper, Heather Ratliff
Music by: Hans Zimmer
MPAA Rating: R for violence, language throughout, and some sexual content / nudity.
Distributed by: 20th Century Fox
Release Date: November 16, 2018
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