Release: Starlight

 

Starlight

Genre: Drama

Director: Todd Haynes

Writer: Chad Taylor

Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Sydney Sweeney, Chris Evans, Jeff Goldblum, Cristin Milioti, Parker Posey, Greg Kinnear, Kyle McLachlan, Will Patton, Giovanni Ribisi, Pamela Anderson

Budget: $56,000,000

Domestic Box Office: $90,243,797

Foreign Box Office: $30,104,495

Total Profit: $10,449,060

Reaction: $120 million is a good gross for a period drama - a box office figure no doubt boosted by the film's star power. While it didn't earn a ton of profits - a $10 million profit on an adult-oriented drama is nothing to sneeze at.

"Todd Haynes’ Starlight is a smoky, velvet-lined valentine to the broken hearts behind Hollywood glamor, with Jennifer Lawrence delivering her most layered work in years. As Linda Rose, she smolders with repressed rage and brittle grace, while Sydney Sweeney’s Jane quietly steals scenes with wide-eyed sincerity. Sure, the plot zigzags like a studio exec on his fifth martini, but by the final act, it’s pure movie magic." - Libby Gaines, Scene & Heard

"Like a scandalous tell-all wrapped in Oscar bait, Starlight basks in its own backstage drama while offering sharp insights into aging, ambition, and sisterhood under the spotlight. Lawrence and Sweeney are sensational, and Chris Evans plays against type with greasy ease. The film could lose ten minutes and still hit just as hard—but it’s hard to argue with that ending." - Troy Maclin, The Boston Observer

"Starlight is a rich, melancholic drama about fame, family, and identity in old Hollywood. Anchored by a fierce performance from Jennifer Lawrence and a quietly powerful turn from Sydney Sweeney, the film explores the double lives of women under the studio system. The script is dense, perhaps overly so, but filled with sharp dialogue and layered character work. While its ambition sometimes outweighs its focus, the emotional core remains strong. “Starlight” isn’t perfect, but it lingers. It’s a story about women fighting for space in a world built to shrink them, and in that fight, it shines." - Roger Taggart, Chicago Tribune

Rated R for sexual content, language, and thematic material.