Release: The Champ

 

The Champ

Genre: Drama/Sports

Director: Gavin O'Connor

Writer: APJ

Based on the 1931 and 1979 films

Cast: Ben Affleck, Dakota Johnson, Gabriella Sengos, Chris Messina, Halston Sage, Aldis Hodge, Seth Gilliam, Brett Gelman, Matthew Maher, Marc Menchaca, Judith Hoag

Budget: $55,000,000

Domestic Box Office: $95,483,002

Foreign Box Office: $106,029,452

Total Profit: $52,786,473

Reaction: The Sports genre has always been a bit of a difficult one for LRF, but The Champ now comes in as the second highest grossing Sports film in the studio's history.

“While somewhat your typical boxing drama, The Champ, manages to draw you in with the characters in the story. Affleck delivers a well thought out performance assisted by the ever-competent director Gavin O’Connor. The ending packed a punch. In what might be one of the greatest child performances in film, Gabriella Sengos shines.” - J. Darrell Ellington, Behind the Camera

"The Champ's mostly formulaic story is boosted by Ben Affleck's outstanding work in the main role. He commands the film both with his muscles but also in his subtle shifts of expression. Affleck clearly trusts O'Connor as his director, fully committing to his performance. The supporting cast are all perfectly cast as well." - Katie Barnes, Washington Herald

"Ben Affleck clearly digs deep into his own demons to play The Champ here. He teams up with director Gavin O'Connor once again to subvert the traditional sports drama. While The Champ does follow most of its genre's stereotypes and tropes, the quality of the work on display make up for any and every cliche." - Pearce Chayka, Daily Telegraph

Rated R for violence, language, drug/alcohol content and thematic material