It’s the anti 21st-century movie. The story moves along deliberately with plenty of pregnant pauses in the dialogue. And while there is conflict at the heart of the story, the resolution is reached through a calm and carefully considered process fostered by the film’s hero, Fred Rogers.
“A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood,” in other words, is not typical multiplex movie fare in this age of action cinema.
It opened nationally against blockbusters like “Frozen 2” and “Knives Out.” Despite such formidable obstacles, Forbes Magazine reported that the story of what happens to a cynical magazine writer after he interviews Mister Rogers made $35.7 million in its first 10 days in theaters. The movie took in $17.3 million of that over Thanksgiving weekend.
Here is how the opening weekend of “A Beautiful Day” compares with five other movies filmed at least partially in Pittsburgh since 2010:
- “The Dark Knight Rises” (2012) $161 million
- “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” (2012) $228,000
- “Jack Reacher” (2012) $15 million
- “Foxcatcher” (2014) $271,000
- “Concussion” (2015) $49 million
It remains to be seen whether “A Beautiful Day,” starring Tom Hanks as Fred Rogers and Matthew Rhys as writer Lloyd Vogel, has the legs to carry it through a successful December holiday stretch.
But the film has been receiving favorable reviews from critics and moviegoers and should be generating Oscar buzz, particularly for Hanks, a two-time Academy Award winner who seems a good bet to receive another best actor nomination.
