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Battle of the Sexes (2017 film)

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Battle of the Sexes
The upper half of the poster shows a sepia toned image, of a man and a woman speaking at before a bank of microphones. Below a tennis ball.
Theatrical release poster
Directed byValerie Faris
Jonathan Dayton
Written bySimon Beaufoy
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyLinus Sandgren
Edited byPamela Martin
Music byNicholas Britell
Production
companies
Distributed byFox Searchlight Pictures
Release dates
  • September 2, 2017 (2017-09-02) (Telluride)
  • September 22, 2017 (2017-09-22) (United States)
  • November 24, 2017 (2017-11-24) (United Kingdom)
Running time
121 minutes[1][2]
Countries
  • United Kingdom
  • United States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$25 million[3]
Box office$18 million[4][5]

Battle of the Sexes is a 2017 sports comedy-drama film directed by Valerie Faris and Jonathan Dayton and written by Simon Beaufoy. The plot is loosely based on the 1973 tennis match between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs. The film stars Emma Stone and Steve Carell as King and Riggs, leading an ensemble cast including Andrea Riseborough, Elisabeth Shue, Austin Stowell, Bill Pullman, Natalie Morales, Eric Christian Olsen, and Sarah Silverman in supporting roles. The film marks the second collaboration between Carell and Stone after Crazy, Stupid, Love and the second collaboration between Riseborough and Stone after Birdman.

The film had its premiere at the 44th Telluride Film Festival on September 2, 2017, and was theatrically released in the United States by Fox Searchlight Pictures on September 22, 2017.[6] It received positive reviews from critics, who praised the performances of Stone and Carell and the direction, with some calling it the best performance of Stone's career. Despite the positive reviews, the picture performed poorly at the box office, grossing $18 million against a $25 million budget.

At the 75th Golden Globe Awards, Stone and Carell received nominations for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy and Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy respectively.[7] Both received Critics Choice Awards nominations in the categories Best Actress in a Comedy and Best Actor in a Comedy. At the 24th Screen Actors Guild Awards, Carell received a nomination for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role.

Plot

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In 1970, pro-tennis player Billie Jean King and her manager, Gladys Heldman, confront promotor Jack Kramer, who has organized a tennis tournament where the top prize for women is one-eighth of the men's prize, despite equal ticket sales. King and Heldman threaten to start their own tour but Kramer won't alter the terms, citing the inferiority of women's tennis. When King, and fellow tennis players Julie Heldman, Valerie Ziegenfuss, Judy Dalton, Kristy Pigeon, Peaches Bartkowicz, Kerry Melville Reid, Nancy Richey, and Rosie Casals sign on as the “Original 9” players of what becomes the WTA Tour, Kramer bans them from tournaments organized by the U.S. Lawn Tennis Association.

While the women's tour struggles during its early days, Billie Jean King begins an affair with Marilyn Barnett, her hairdresser, threatening her marriage to Larry King. Meanwhile, men's pro-tennis player Bobby Riggs's marriage to the wealthy Priscilla Whelan is in trouble because of his addiction to gambling. Thrown out of his house when he can't conceal a Rolls-Royce he won in a tennis bet, he hits upon the idea of a challenge match against the top woman player, boasting that even at age 55 he can beat any woman.

The women's tour has slowly gained a stronger foothold, with the Women's Tennis Association formed in 1973. Riggs continues to pressure King to play him. Eventually, Riggs persuades Margaret Court, who recently overtook King to gain the World No. 1 ranking, to play a match in May 1973. Riggs easily defeats Court and King decides she has to accept his challenge, but demands a final say as to the arrangements. King trains intensely, while Riggs relaxes. King objects to Kramer as a game announcer, threatening to not play unless he withdraws, which he does. After a slow start, King wins the match, changing the future of women's tennis.

A textual epilogue states that King divorced her husband in the 1980s, retired from tennis in 1990, and later became involved in a long-term same-sex relationship while Riggs reunited with his wife but never quit his gambling habit.

Cast

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Production

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The project and its two leads were announced in April 2015.[8] Brie Larson was, for a brief period, set to replace Stone due to scheduling conflicts, but these were cleared up.[9][10] On March 3, 2016, Andrea Riseborough was cast to play Marilyn Barnett, King's hairdresser and lover.[11] Later that month, three more were cast in the film, Elisabeth Shue as Riggs's wife;[12] Austin Stowell as Larry King, Billie Jean's husband;[13] and Sarah Silverman as Gladys Heldman, the founder of World Tennis magazine.[14] Four actors joined the cast in April: Eric Christian Olsen as Lornie Kuhle,[15] Jessica McNamee as tennis player Margaret Court,[16] Alan Cumming as designer Ted Tinling,[17] and Natalie Morales as player Rosie Casals.[18]

Principal photography on the film began in Los Angeles on April 13, 2016, with a budget of more than $25 million.[19][20]

For the tennis match scenes, tennis players Kaitlyn Christian (who portrays “Original 9” member Kerry Melville Reid) and Vince Spadea were the body doubles of Stone and Carell, respectively.[21][22]

The score was composed by Nicholas Britell. He also co-wrote the original song "If I Dare" with Sara Bareilles who also performed it.[23]

Release

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Battle of the Sexes had its world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival on September 2, 2017.[24] It also screened at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 10, 2017,[25] and at the BFI London Film Festival on October 7, 2017.[26] The film began a limited release in the United States on September 22, 2017, before going wide the following week.[27]

Reception

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Box office

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Battle of the Sexes grossed $12.6 million in the United States and Canada, and $5.8 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $18.4 million.[4]

In its opening weekend, the film grossed $515,450 from 21 theaters, an average of $24,545 per theater.[28] The film expanded the following Friday, where it was released alongside the openings of Flatliners, 'Til Death Do Us Part and American Made, and was projected to gross around $6 million from 1,213 theaters over the weekend.[29] It ended up making $3.4 million over the weekend, finishing 6th at the box office. Deadline Hollywood noted the film's weekend gross was disappointing given its cast and positive reviews.[28] The following week the film was added to another 609 theaters and made $2.4 million, dropping just 30%.[30]

Critical response

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On the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 84% based on 316 reviews, with an average rating of 7.2/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Battle of the Sexes turns real-life events into a crowd-pleasing, well-acted dramedy that ably entertains while smartly serving up a volley of present-day parallels."[31] Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 73 out of 100 based on 46 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[32] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale,[33] while PostTrak reported filmgoers gave the film an overall positive score of 74%.[28]

Accolades

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Year Award Category Nominee(s) Result Ref.
2018 AARP's Movies for Grownups Awards Best Actor Steve Carell Nominated [34][35][36]
Best Time Capsule Battle of the Sexes Nominated
2018 Casting Society of America Studio or Independent – Comedy Justine Arteta
and Kim Davis-Wagner 		Nominated [37]
2018 Critics' Choice Movie Awards Best Actor in a Comedy Steve Carell Nominated [38]
Best Actress in a Comedy Emma Stone Nominated
2018 Dorian Awards LGBTQ Film of the Year Battle of the Sexes Nominated [39]
[40]
2018 GLAAD Media Awards Outstanding Film – Wide Release Nominated [41]
2018 Golden Globe Awards Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy Steve Carell Nominated [42]
Best Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical Emma Stone Nominated
2018 Satellite Awards Best Actress – Motion Picture Nominated [43]
2018 Screen Actors Guild Awards Outstanding Actor in a Supporting Role Steve Carell Nominated [44]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Battle of the Sexes". Toronto International Film Festival. Archived from the original on August 5, 2017. Retrieved July 26, 2017.
  2. ^ "BATTLE OF THE SEXES". British Board of Film Classification. Archived from the original on 2018-01-23. Retrieved 2020-04-17. Retrieved September 6, 2017
  3. ^ "Production of Fox Searchlight's Battle of the Sexes Contributed Over $25 Million to the California Economy". MPAA. September 21, 2017. Archived from the original on September 29, 2017. Retrieved September 29, 2017.
  4. ^ a b "Battle of the Sexes (2017)". The Numbers. Archived from the original on October 5, 2017. Retrieved July 2, 2018.
  5. ^ "Battle of the Sexes (2017)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on November 13, 2019. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
  6. ^ Tartaglione, Nancy (2017-08-15). "London Film Festival To Serve 'Battle Of The Sexes' In Gala European Premiere". Deadline. Archived from the original on 2018-01-22. Retrieved 2017-09-25.
  7. ^ Rubin, Rebecca (December 11, 2017). "Golden Globe Nominations: Complete List". Variety. Archived from the original on April 23, 2023. Retrieved December 11, 2017.
  8. ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (April 20, 2015). "Game, Set Match? Searchlight Serves Up 'Battle Of The Sexes;' Dayton & Faris Direct Emma Stone As Billie Jean King, Steve Carell As Bobby Riggs". deadline.com. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved September 20, 2015.
  9. ^ Kroll, Justin (September 18, 2015). "Brie Larson in Talks to Play Billie Jean King in 'Battle of the Sexes' (EXCLUSIVE)". variety.com. Archived from the original on September 20, 2015. Retrieved September 20, 2015.
  10. ^ Kroll, Justin (November 18, 2015). "Emma Stone Set to Star as Billie Jean King in Fox Searchlight's 'Battle of the Sexes' (EXCLUSIVE)". variety.com. Archived from the original on March 29, 2016. Retrieved November 29, 2015.
  11. ^ Kroll, Justin (March 3, 2016). "'Battle of the Sexes' Adds Andrea Riseborough (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Archived from the original on April 14, 2016. Retrieved March 26, 2016.
  12. ^ Kroll, Justin (March 21, 2016). "Elisabeth Shue Joins Emma Stone in Fox Searchlight's 'Battle of the Sexes' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Archived from the original on March 28, 2016. Retrieved March 26, 2016.
  13. ^ A. Lincoln, Ross (March 22, 2016). "Austin Stowell Joins Billie Jean King Biopic 'Battle Of The Sexes' In Key Role". Deadline. Archived from the original on March 24, 2016. Retrieved March 26, 2016.
  14. ^ Hipes, Patrick (March 23, 2016). "Sarah Silverman A Match For 'Battle Of The Sexes'". Deadline. Archived from the original on March 28, 2016. Retrieved March 25, 2016.
  15. ^ Lincoln, Ross A. (April 1, 2016). "Eric Christian Olsen Swings For 'Battle Of The Sexes'; Talitha Bateman Joins 'Vengeance: A Love Story'". Deadline. Archived from the original on April 5, 2016. Retrieved April 14, 2016.
  16. ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (April 7, 2016). "Jessica McNamee Plays Margaret Court In 'Battle Of The Sexes'". Deadline. Archived from the original on November 11, 2019. Retrieved April 14, 2016.
  17. ^ Siegel, Tatiana (April 12, 2016). "Alan Cumming to Co-Star in Fox Searchlight's 'Battle of the Sexes'". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on April 13, 2016. Retrieved April 14, 2016.
  18. ^ Pedersen, Erik (April 13, 2016). "Natalie Morales Game For 'Battle Of The Sexes'; Jimmy Smagula Books 'Rebel In The Rye'". Deadline. Archived from the original on April 14, 2016. Retrieved April 14, 2016.
  19. ^ Evry, Max (April 13, 2016). "First Battle of the Sexes Photo as Filming Begins". ComingSoon.net. Archived from the original on April 16, 2016. Retrieved April 14, 2016.
  20. ^ "PRODUCTION OF FOX SEARCHLIGHT'S BATTLE OF THE SEXES CONTRIBUTED OVER $25 MILLION TO THE CALIFORNIA ECONOMY". MPAA. September 21, 2017. Archived from the original on September 29, 2017. Retrieved September 29, 2017.
  21. ^ Pantic, Nina (26 September 2017). "How Battle of the Sexes Made the Tennis Look Real". Baseline. Archived from the original on 10 September 2018. Retrieved 29 September 2017.
  22. ^ Barnes, Katie (19 September 2017). "How Emma Stone picked up Billie Jean King's game for 'Battle of the Sexes'". ESPN. Archived from the original on 29 September 2017. Retrieved 29 September 2017.
  23. ^ Grobar, Matt (9 January 2018). "'Battle Of The Sexes' Songwriters Sara Bareilles & Nicholas Britell On Percussive, "Fighting" Tribute To Billie Jean King". Retrieved 30 October 2023.
  24. ^ Hammond, Pete (August 31, 2017). "'Darkest Hour', 'Battle Of The Sexes', 'Lady Bird' Among World Premieres In 2017 Lineup – Telluride Film Festival". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on May 29, 2019. Retrieved August 31, 2017.
  25. ^ "Toronto Film Festival 2017 Unveils Strong Slate". Deadline. July 25, 2017. Archived from the original on July 27, 2017. Retrieved July 25, 2017.
  26. ^ Stewart Clarke. (August 15, 2017). "London Film Festival Serves Up 'Battle of the Sexes' Gala Screening". Variety. Archived from the original on 2018-06-25. Retrieved 2017-08-25.
  27. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (March 21, 2017). "'Battle Of The Sexes': Billie Jean King-Bobby Riggs Tennis Pic Sets Fall Date". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on April 1, 2019. Retrieved March 21, 2017.
  28. ^ a b c D'Alessandro, Anthony. "'It' Breaks Three-Way Tie Battle, 'Kingsman' & 'American Made' Fight For Second". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on October 1, 2017. Retrieved October 1, 2017.
  29. ^ Ryan Faughnder (September 27, 2017). "'It' drives record September box office with Tom Cruise's 'American Made' ready to battle 'Kingsman'". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on September 28, 2017. Retrieved September 27, 2017.
  30. ^ "'Blade Runner 2049' Dulls -11% On Saturday; Weekend Opening Now At $31M+: Sunday Postmortem". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on October 9, 2017. Retrieved October 8, 2017.
  31. ^ "Battle of the Sexes (2017)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Archived from the original on November 23, 2017. Retrieved January 31, 2024.
  32. ^ "Battle of the Sexes reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on July 22, 2018. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
  33. ^ Brooks, Brian (September 24, 2017). "'Victoria And Abdul' Reigns With Top PTA; 'Stronger' & 'Battle Of The Sexes' Solid – Specialty Box Office". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on May 31, 2019. Retrieved September 24, 2017.
  34. ^ Lee, Ashley (January 17, 2018). "AARP's Movies for Grownups Awards: 'The Post' Leads Nominees". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on January 31, 2022. Retrieved January 17, 2018.
  35. ^ "Complete List of Winners at the 2018 Movies for Grownups Awards". AARP. Archived from the original on 2018-02-06. Retrieved 2018-02-06.
  36. ^ "Complete List of Winners at the 2018 Movies for Grownups Awards". AARP. Archived from the original on 2018-02-06. Retrieved 2018-02-06.
  37. ^ Ford, Rebecca (January 2, 2018). "Artios Awards: Casting Society Reveals Film Nominees (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on January 11, 2018. Retrieved January 3, 2018.
  38. ^ Hammond, Pete (December 6, 2017). "Critics' Choice Awards Nominations: 'The Shape Of Water' Leads With 14; Netflix Tops TV Contenders". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on April 23, 2023. Retrieved December 9, 2017.
  39. ^ Kilday, Gregg (January 10, 2018). "'Call Me by Your Name' Leads Dorian Award Nominations". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on January 10, 2018. Retrieved January 10, 2018.
  40. ^ Kilday, Gregg (January 31, 2018). "Dorian Awards: 'Call Me by Your Name' Hailed as Film of the Year". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on January 31, 2018. Retrieved January 31, 2018.
  41. ^ Kilday, Gregg (January 19, 2018). "GLAAD Media Awards: The Complete List of Nominees". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on August 23, 2021. Retrieved January 19, 2018.
  42. ^ THR Staff (December 11, 2017). "Golden Globes: 'Shape of Water,' 'Big Little Lies' Top Nominations". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on January 7, 2018. Retrieved December 11, 2017.
  43. ^ Pond, Steve (November 28, 2017). "'Dunkirk,' 'The Shape of Water' Lead Satellite Award Nominations". TheWrap. Archived from the original on April 23, 2023. Retrieved November 29, 2017.
  44. ^ "SAG Award Nominations: The Complete List". The Hollywood Reporter. December 13, 2017. Archived from the original on December 14, 2017. Retrieved December 13, 2017.
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