True Grit becomes Coen brothers most successful film

http://blog.moviefone.com/2011/01/05/true-grit-box-office-coen-bros/

By Peter Martin <http://blog.moviefone.com/bloggers/peter-martin/> (Subscribe
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Posted Jan 5th 2011 1:20PM
Filed under: Movie News <http://blog.moviefone.com/category/movie-news/>,
Cinematical <http://blog.moviefone.com/category/cinematical/>
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 [image: True Grit]

How did 'True Grit'
<http://www.moviefone.com/movie/true-grit/1430122/main>become the most
financially successful movie of the Coen Brothers' career?
"We just outwaited everybody," Ethan
Coen<http://www.moviefone.com/celebrity/ethan-coen/2130876/main>told
The
New York Times<http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/05/movies/awardsseason/05oscar.html?_r=2&ref=movies>
.

So far, 'True Grit' has earned $89 million at the box office (U.S. only),
surpassing their previous high-water mark of $74 million for the Academy
Award-winning 'No Country for Old
Men.'<http://www.moviefone.com/movie/no-country-for-old-men/25145/main>Their
immediate follow-up to that film, 'Burn
After Reading,'<http://www.moviefone.com/movie/burn-after-reading/28109/main>made
$60 million, probably boosted by the presence of Brad Pitt and its
promise of madcap comedy, while 'O Brother, Where Art
Thou?'<http://www.moviefone.com/movie/o-brother-where-art-thou/8154/main>grossed
$45 million about 10 years ago. The latter picture, which re-cast
'The Odyssey' with escaped convicts in the 1930s accompanied by a jaunty
musical score, connected the Coens with a broader audience than ever before,
even more than the devoted fans who had previously made 'Fargo' ($24
million), 'Raising Arizona' (nearly $23 million) and 'Blood Simple' ($3.8
million for their 1985 debut, with limited distribution and a tiny budget)
modest success stories. The Coens also did pretty well with 'The
Ladykillers' ($39 million) and 'Intolerable Cruelty' ($35 million).

What, exactly, makes 'True Grit' so much more popular than their other
films?

Have audiences finally caught on, or changed, so that their dark, quirky
flicks are now firmly in the mainstream? In their brief interview, the Coens
suggested other, more pragmatic reasons, such as the PG-13 rating.
Joel Coen<http://www.moviefone.com/celebrity/joel-coen/2130877/main>said:
"We knew we wanted it to be a movie younger people could watch."

Indeed, 'O Brother,' 'Raising Arizona' and 'Intolerable Cruelty' all sported
PG-13 ratings. Yet 'No Country,' 'Burn After Reading,' 'The Ladykillers' and
'Fargo' did as well or better with R-rated content.

We could talk about any number of other factors, such as familiarity with
the title, the crossover benefits of Jeff
Bridges<http://www.moviefone.com/celebrity/jeff-bridges/1044686/main>also
starring in (and promoting) 'Tron: Legacy,' the presence of a fearless
teen heroine in newcomer Hailee
Steinfeld<http://www.moviefone.com/celebrity/hailee-steinfeld/10024681/main>,
Matt Damon <http://www.moviefone.com/celebrity/matt-damon/1435473/main> as a
Texas Ranger, Josh
Brolin<http://www.moviefone.com/celebrity/josh-brolin/1780083/main>as
a villain, or the enduring appeal of Westerns.

Or, maybe it all goes back to what our own Erik
Davis<http://blog.moviefone.com/2010/12/01/true-grit-review/>wrote in
his review: "'True
Grit' <http://www.moviefone.com/movie/true-grit/1430122/main> isn't quite
the masterpiece some were expecting, but it's so much fun to watch that many
will leave the theater thirsting for more ... of everything."

Johne Cook
| http://raygunrevival.com | http://authorculture.blogspot.com |

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