Eighth Grade (2018)
91%RT Audience Score: 82%
Awards & Nominations: 60 wins & 94 nominations
Eighth Grade takes a look at its titular time period that offers a rare and resounding ring of truth while heralding breakthroughs for writer-director Bo Burnham and captivating star Elsie Fisher.
Eighth Grade is like reliving the worst time of your life, but in a good way. It’s a coming-of-age movie that will make you cringe, laugh, and cry all at the same time. Bo Burnham’s direction is spot-on, capturing the awkwardness and anxiety of being a teenager. Elsie Fisher’s performance as Kayla is nothing short of amazing, making you feel like you’re right there with her as she navigates through the ups and downs of middle school. If you’re looking for a movie that will make you feel all the feels, Eighth Grade is definitely worth a watch. Just maybe don’t watch it with your parents.
Production Company(ies)
Red Crown Productions, The Princess Grace Foundation Participant
Distributor
A24
Release Type
Theatrical, Theatrical (Limited)
Filming Location(s)
White Plains, New York, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for language and some sexual material
Year of Release
2018
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby Digital
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:1h 33m
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Aug 3, 2018 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 9, 2018
Genre(s)
Comedy/Drama
Keyword(s)
Eighth Grade, Comedy, Drama, Bo Burnham, Elsie Fisher, Scott Rudin, Eli Bush, Lila Yacoub, Christopher Storer, R, Box Office, Budget, Reviewed by J.R Jones, Charlotte O’Sullivan, Mark Kermode, Ed Potton, Cath Clarke, Brian Eggert, Cory Woodroof, Jason Adams, Taylor Baker, Hosea Rupprecht, Thirteen-year-old, Middle School, Adolescence, Kayla, Riley, Trevor, Aniyah, Aiden, Kennedy, Universal, Realistic, Coming-of-age, Breakthroughs, Captivating, Tidal Wave, Suburban, Last Week, End of Year, English, A24, Flat, 1.85:1
Worldwide gross: $14,347,433
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $16,883,683
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,774
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 1,841,187
US/Canada gross: $13,539,709
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $15,933,174
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,479
US/Canada opening weekend: $263,797
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $310,429
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,530
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $2,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $2,353,548
Production budget ranking: 2,013
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $1,267,385
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $13,262,750
ROI to date (est.): 366%
ROI ranking: 373
Daniel Zolghadri – Riley
Fred Hechinger – Trevor
Imani Lewis – Aniyah
Luke Prael – Aiden
Catherine Oliviere – Kennedy
Director(s)
Bo Burnham
Writer(s)
Bo Burnham
Producer(s)
Scott Rudin, Eli Bush, Lila Yacoub, Christopher Storer
Film Festivals
Sundance, South by Southwest
Awards & Nominations
60 wins & 94 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (320) | Top Critics (85) | Fresh (317) | Rotten (3)
Not since Welcome to the Dollhouse (1995) has a comedy captured so vividly the agony and the ecstasy-well, OK, it’s all agony-of being a… teenage girl. [Full review in Spanish]
March 17, 2020
J. R. Jones
Chicago Reader
TOP CRITIC
Eighth Grade is a masterpiece.
April 28, 2019 | Rating: 5/5
Charlotte O’Sullivan
London Evening Standard
TOP CRITIC
The real genius of Eighth Grade is its universality – an honesty and compassion that cut across generational boundaries.
April 28, 2019 | Rating: 5/5
Mark Kermode
Observer (UK)
TOP CRITIC
There are moments of great darkness…Bo Burnham does a brilliant job of judging just how far to push any particular scene. And there is kindness, and joy, and the lurking underbelly of friendship.
April 26, 2019
Mark Kermode
Kermode & Mayo’s Film Review
TOP CRITIC
It’s just sweet, sad and beautifully observed.
April 26, 2019 | Rating: 4/5
Ed Potton
Times (UK)
TOP CRITIC
This is a film that gets under the skin of Generation X with humour and heartfelt emotion that makes it a genuinely great coming-of-age movie that hooks you by the heart.
April 26, 2019 | Rating: 4/5
Cath Clarke
The Big Issue
TOP CRITIC
Eighth Grade is one of those rare films that speaks to everyone, regardless of its subjective specificity, through universal life lessons that every person must learn and overcome before becoming an adult.
March 11, 2022 | Rating: 4/4
Brian Eggert
Deep Focus Review
Burnham challenges us to look back on our own pasts and give those meme-ready phone surfers a big break.
February 11, 2022
Cory Woodroof
615 Film
A relentlessly incisive and anxiety-inducing dumbo drop into the worst time of our collective lives
January 10, 2022
Jason Adams
My New Plaid Pants
Earnest and sweet, fumbling and awkward.
August 22, 2021 | Rating: 70/100
Taylor Baker
Drink in the Movies
Eighth Grade, the film by first time writer-director Bo Burnham, is not for eighth graders. But if you’re a parent, grandparent, or anyone who cares deeply about the 13 or 14 year-old in your life, this film is for you.
August 13, 2021
Hosea Rupprecht
Pauline Center for Media Studies
Starring the naturally sympathetic young actress Elsie Fisher, it’s a vivid and sometimes quietly heartbreaking reminder of how awkward growing up can be.
May 11, 2021
Nick Levine
NME…
Plot
In his feature film directorial debut, comedian Bo Burnham deftly encapsulates the awkwardness, angst, self-loathing and reinvention that a teenage girl goes through on the cusp of high school. Given that the 27-year-old stand-up comic achieved fame as a teenager himself through YouTube by riffing on his insecurities, he is uniquely capable as the film’s writer and director to tell the story of Kayla, an anxious girl navigating the final days of her eighth grade year, despite creating a protagonist female instead of male. Like Burnham did more than a decade ago, 13-year-old Kayla turns to YouTube to express herself, where she makes advice blogs in which she pretends to have it all together. In reality, Kayla is sullen and silent around her single father and her peers at school, carrying out most of her interactions with her classmates on Instagram and Twitter. Her YouTube videos are a clever narrative tool that provide insight into her inner hopes and dreams, much like an inspirational online diary. One of Eighth Grade’s biggest triumphs is in its realism.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Elsie Fisher’s performance as Kayla is “captivating” and a breakthrough for the young actress.
Bo-Burnham.jpg
