The Boys in the Boat had its world premiere in Los Angeles on December 11, 2023, and was theatrically released by Amazon MGM Studios Distribution in the United States on December 25. It has grossed $49 million and received mixed reviews from critics.
The film's plot centres on the University of Washington crew that represented the United States in the men's eight at the 1936 Summer Olympic games in Berlin, including the coaches, boatbuilder George Pocock, and the working-class student athletes involved (especially rower Joe Rantz, who was in effect abandoned by his family and left to fend for himself at a young age).[7]
In the United States and Canada, The Boys in the Boat was released alongside Ferrari and The Color Purple, and was projected to gross $2–3 million from 2,557 theaters on its first day.[29] It ended up making $5.7 million, finishing fourth at the box office.[30] The following weekend the film made $8.3 million, finishing sixth at the box office and totaling $21.9 million over its first week of release.[4] In the film's second weekend it made $6 million, finishing sixth.[31]
Critical response
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 56% of 148 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.8/10. The website's consensus reads: "The Boys in the Boat tells its inspirational true story with heart and solid craftsmanship, but director George Clooney's solidly traditional approach prevents it from leaving much of an impact."[32]Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 54 out of 100, based on 35 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[33] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale, while PostTrak reported 86% filmgoers gave it a positive score.[30]
Sheri Linden of The Hollywood Reporter wrote, "At times The Boys in the Boat could have used more of an edge. But like the Huskies, it gets the job done, stumbling sometimes but mostly assured."[34] Bilge Ebiri of Vulture called the film "an unshowy but slick underdog sports picture, fluidly told and elegantly mounted."[35]The Messenger's Jordan Hoffman gave the film a score of 6.2/10, writing, "'It's a bit old fashioned' is the primary takeaway most have from The Boys in the Boat, and what that really means is low-stakes, relaxing and predictable, but also basically good."[36]
CNN's Brian Lowry wrote, "the movie can't really escape the whirlpool-like drag of its earnest familiarity, paddling around in a middle lane that doesn't rival the most stirring practitioners of this well-worn genre."[37]The Guardian's Peter Bradshaw gave the film 2/5 stars, writing, "Clooney is capable of putting much more on the scoreboard; this feels like an animatronic museum display."[38]
