Three Thousand Years of Longing movie storyline. In her quest to find the common truths behind humankind’s stories, British narratologist Dr Alithea Binnie finds herself in Istanbul. When Alithea stumbles upon an intriguing, hand-blown crystal bottle, the curious academic unleashes the supernatural force living in the peculiar glass container: the Djinn, or the Genie in the bottle.
As the otherworldly entity enthrals Alithea with extraordinary stories spanning three millennia, the shocked professor has three wishes to fulfil her heart’s desires. However, Alithea already knows that there’s no story about wishing that is not a cautionary tale. After all, trickster Djinns love to manipulate humans’ intimate longings to serve their own selfish ends. And that’s the problem. What happens if Alithea makes no wish at all?
Three Thousand Years of Longing is a 2022 fantasy romantic drama film directed and produced by George Miller. Written by Miller and Augusta Gore, it is based on the short story “The Djinn in the Nightingale’s Eye” by A. S. Byatt and stars Idris Elba as a djinn who is unleashed from a bottle by a professor (Tilda Swinton) and tells her stories from his thousands of years of existence. The film is dedicated to Miller’s mother Angela, as well as Rena Mitchell, relative of producer Doug Mitchell.
The film premiered out of competition at the 75th Cannes Film Festival on May 20, 2022, where it received a six-minute standing ovation. It was released theatrically in the United States on August 26, 2022, by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (via United Artists Releasing), and in Australia on September 1, 2022, by Roadshow Entertainment. It received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised its visuals and performances, but was a box-office bomb, grossing $20.3 million against a budget of $60 million.
Three Thousand Years of Longing grossed $8.3 million in the United States and Canada, and $12 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $20.3 million, against a production budget of $60 million. In the United States and Canada, it was released alongside The Invitation and Breaking. It made $1.4 million on its first day and went on to debut with $2.9 million from 2,436 theaters on its opening weekend.
Variety called it “a terrible result for a movie that’s playing in thousands of theaters across the country”, and noted that it would be one of the biggest box office bombs of 2022, with industry experts blaming lack of marketing and the wide-release strategy. TheWrap, while acknowledging its box office underperformance, noted the film could still turn a profit for MGM after it went to streaming, as the company spent only $6 million on domestic distribution rights. In its second weekend, the film made $1.5 million (and a total of $1.9 million over the four-day Labor Day frame), dropping 47.1% and finishing 13th.
Three Thousand Years of Longing (2022)
Directed by: George Miller
Starring: Idris Elba, Tilda Swinton, Jason Jago, David Collins, Alyla Browne, Nicolas Mouawad, Kaan Guldur, Angie Tricker, Hayley Gia Hughes, Berk Ozturk, Shakriya Tarinyawat
Screenplay by: George Miller
Production Design by: Roger Ford
Cinematography by: John Seale
Film Editing by: Margaret Sixel
Costume Design by: Kym Barrett
Set Decoration by: Virginia Mesiti, Lisa Thompson
Art Direction by: Nicholas Dare, Sophie Nash
Music by: Tom Holkenborg
MPAA Rating: R for some sexual content, graphic nudity and brief violence.
Distributed by: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, United Artists Releasing
Release Date: May 20, 2022 (Cannes), August 26, 2022 (United States), September 1, 2022 (Australia)
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