Release: Sam

 

Sam

Genre: Biography/Musical

Director: Gina Prince-Bythewood

Writer: Chad Taylor

Cast: Kelvin Harrison Jr., Keke Palmer, Yara Shahidi, Courtney B. Vance, Jonah Hill, Kedar Williams-Stirling, Trammell Tillman, Eva Noblezada, Loretta Devine, Eric Allan Kramer

Budget: $30,000,000

Domestic Box Office: $48,390,331

Foreign Box Office: $22,391,032

Total Profit: $17,045,756

Reaction: Musical biopics have a long track record in LRF, with most being a success like Sam was here. Given his short career, Sam Cooke doesn't quite have the same long career as other biopic topics like Frank Sinatra or The Beatles, but we're still happy with the result.

"Sam doesn't reinvent the (musician biopic) wheel, but it does give a good glimpse at the life of Sam Cooke, whose stage persona was in stark contrast to how he acted off-stage. Kelvin Harrison Jr. gives a star-making performance as Sam, doing a good job of pulling off the different facets of Cooke's life." - Janet Donnelly, Empire Magazine

"Chad Taylor's script does a good job of presenting Sam Cooke's career in an easily digestible film package. The circumstances surrounding his death at a young age are pulled off in a way that doesn't deny any of the mystery that has surrounded it over the years by leaving things cloudy. I really liked this approach as it kept things interesting and provided a bit of extra energy in the third act." - Charles Yost, Oregonian

"I like how Chad Taylor has worked to avoid typical traps musical biopics typically fall for, like a safety net. SAM is another movie about a black singer facing the suppressing system he works for. I wouldn't hold the film against this as the film does follow historical accuracies. The soundtrack is one of love making me want to buy a copy, and Harrison Jr. might be just a dark horse for best actor." - Quinine Rothenberg, Slant Magazine

Rated R for language, some violence and sexual content