The Orphanage (2007)
87%RT Audience Score: 86%
Awards & Nominations: 32 wins & 43 nominations
Deeply unnerving and surprisingly poignant, The Orphanage is an atmospheric, beautifully crafted haunted house horror film that earns scares with a minimum of blood
The Orphanage is the kind of movie that will make you want to sleep with the lights on for a week. It’s a spine-tingling ghost story that will have you on the edge of your seat until the very end. The film is a masterclass in suspense, with director J.A. Bayona expertly building tension through artful technique and a laconic script. The performances are discreet and understated, adding to the film’s power and emotional pitch. If you’re a fan of horror movies, The Orphanage is a must-see. Just don’t watch it alone!
Production Company(ies)
Warner Bros., Malpaso Productions,
Distributor
Picturehouse
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Llanes, Oviedo, Asturias, Spain
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for some disturbing content
Year of Release
2008
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby Digital DTS
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Aspect ratio:2.39 : 1
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Runtime:1h 45m
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Language(s):Spanish
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Country of origin:United States, Germany, Spain
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Jan 11, 2008 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 22, 2008
Genre(s)
Horror/Drama
Keyword(s)
starring Belén Rueda, Fernando Cayo, Geraldine Chaplin, Montserrat Carulla, Mabel Rivera, Andrés Gertrúdix, Roger Príncep, directed by Juan Antonio Bayona, written by Sergio G Sánchez, horror, drama, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Tasha Robinson, Katey Rich, Eric Kohn, Peter Travers, Maria M Delgado, Peter Bradshaw, Matt Brunson, Dann Gire, Kaleem Aftab, Hannah Ryan, Laura Hiros, produced by Mar Targarona, Joaquín Padro, Álvaro Augustin, R MPAA rating, haunted house, ghosts, orphanage, missing child, emotional journey, Spanish language, Dolby SRD, DTS, SDDS, Picturehouse
Worldwide gross: $78,638,987
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $108,322,200
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 975
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 11,812,672
US/Canada gross: $7,161,284
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $9,864,395
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,618
US/Canada opening weekend: $233,323
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $321,394
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,518
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): 3400000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $4,683,370
Production budget ranking: 1,923
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $2,521,995
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $101,116,835
ROI to date (est.): 1,403%
ROI ranking: 76
Fernando Cayo – Carlos
Geraldine Chaplin – Aurora
Montserrat Carulla – Benigna
Mabel Rivera – Pilar
Andrés Gertrúdix – Andrés
Director – Juan Antonio Bayona
Producer – Mar Targarona, Joaquín Padro, Álvaro Augustin
Writer – Sergio G. Sánchez
Director(s)
Juan Antonio Bayona
Writer(s)
Sergio G. Sánchez
Producer(s)
Mar Targarona, Joaquín Padro, Álvaro Augustin
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
32 wins & 43 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (179) | Top Critics (55) | Fresh (156) | Rotten (23)
A skillfully made heartbreaker.
October 20, 2021
Tasha Robinson
Polygon
TOP CRITIC
Though The Orphanage sticks fairly closely to a genre fomat, and the plot twists become a little predictable, the film packs surprises all the way to the end.
October 14, 2014
Katey Rich
CinemaBlend
TOP CRITIC
Let the anticipation of Bayona’s next move begin.
October 14, 2014
Eric Kohn
New York Press
TOP CRITIC
A frightening movie that earns its scares the hard way, generating unbearable tension through artful technique instead of computer.
October 7, 2013
Peter Travers
Rolling Stone
TOP CRITIC
This is a movie whose power and emotional pitch lie in the understated: the discreet performances, the lack of special effects, the laconic script.
July 6, 2010
Maria M. Delgado
Sight & Sound
TOP CRITIC
[A] pungent and scary film.
October 18, 2008 | Rating: 4/5
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian
TOP CRITIC
A deeply absorbing and heavily atmospheric yarn that offers several noteworthy plot spins.
November 8, 2021 | Rating: 3.5/4
Matt Brunson
Film Frenzy
Easily the greatest ghost movie of the 21st century so far.
November 2, 2021
Dann Gire
Chicago Daily Herald
It’s only March but you’re unlikely to see a better ghost story at the cinema this year than The Orphanage.
November 4, 2018 | Rating: 4/5
Kaleem Aftab
The List
El Orfanato is as haunting and it is haunted. Somehow the horror movie clichés ( a medium, a seance, night vision, the subverting of childhood games into something sinister) come across as natural instead of contrived.
August 24, 2018
Hannah Ryan
Screen Queens
… an intelligent combination of small details, coincidences and scenes of chilling realism. [Full review in Spanish]
March 19, 2018 | Rating: 4/5
Laura Hiros
Rincón de cine
Bayona never resorts to gore and prefers an approach based on the carefully built up suspense found in classic Hitchcock films; and much like Hitchcock, the story is based on a very viable Freudian premise.
February 29, 2016
Emine Yildirim
Today’s Zaman (Turkey)…
Plot
Laura, a former orphan, raises her adopted son Simón together with her husband Carlos in an old house and former orphanage where she was raised. While at the orphanage Simón tells Laura that he has five invisible friends which she believes are a product of his active imagination. Laura decides to reopen the orphanage to cater for disabled children and throws a party. During the party Simón tries to persuade Laura to go and take a look at his friends cabin but she’s too busy. Later on she sees a mysterious masked boy and realizes that Simón has also disappeared. Laura feels the presence of other people in the house and months later Laura invites a team of parapsychologists to try to unravel the mystery.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Nothing to add here about The Orphanage.
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