Release: The Beat Goes On

 

The Beat Goes On

Genre: Drama/Musical

Director: Ryan Coogler

Writer: Chad Taylor

Cast: Will Smith, Robert Downey Jr., Zendaya, Paul Mescal, Rihanna, Renee Elise Goldsberry, Paul Giamatti, Donald Glover, Questlove, William Fichtner

Budget: $92,000,000

Domestic Box Office: $155,042,584

Foreign Box Office: $100,777,734

Total Profit: $33,480,235

Reaction: The Beat Goes On has just become the highest grossing original musical in LRF history by a large margin (and the 5th highest overall in the genre), so it is clearly a success for the studio. The high-priced talents obviously cut into the profits a bit, but it may not have grossed as much without them.

"Ryan Coogler and Chad Taylor have created an absolute epic of a jukebox musical that celebrates some of the greatest American pop music trends and star archetypes of the 20th century. For me, this one is right up there with Robert Altman's Nashville and Paul Thomas Anderson's Boogie Nights in its ability to capture an industry and culture in a film lens. Every performer steps up their usual game. I've never really been impressed by Will Smith as an actual dramatic actor, but he pulled it off as Bill Swift. Robert Downey Jr. also deserves tons of kudos for absolutely stealing the entire movie in just a few scenes." - Dave Manning, Ridgefield Press

"Despite what I would consider one of the best soundtracks in LRF history, I couldn't find much to all of the characters other than what was on the surface. I think Chad Taylor's script is well conceived, and it's directed adequately under a very game Ryan Coogler, who finds interesting way to portray each decade passing in the film. I didn't hate the film, but I found myself losing interest as it continued." - Dave Wentz, The Messenger

"The Beat Goes On manages the story of Will Smith’s Bill Swift, with such care that I could never look away from the screen. Although it jumped from time to time, I never felt like I was taken out of the film. The performances all across the board were fantastic. It is often said that Will Smith often plays the same character, or version of himself, while he does this here to an extent, it works. This is probably my favourite Smith performance since Pursuit of Happyness. Taylor and Coogler, did a great job in filling out this ensemble cast with great names that just add to the film." - Sam Nestera, The Daily Telegraph

Rated PG-13 for language, sexual content and thematic elements