The Walk (2015)
83%RT Audience Score: 77%
Awards & Nominations: 3 wins & 17 nominations
The Walk attempts a tricky balancing act between thrilling visuals and fact-based drama — and like its wire-walking protagonist, pulls it off with impressive élan
The Walk” is a movie that will have you on the edge of your seat, but not just because of the heights. The story of Philippe Petit’s daring tightrope walk between the Twin Towers is brought to life with stunning visuals and a whimsical charm that will keep you engaged from start to finish. While the climax is undeniably the highlight of the film, the journey to get there is just as fun, filled with surprise allies and last minute escapes. Director Robert Zemeckis may not have made a perfect film, but he certainly made an unforgettable one. Just make sure you have a strong stomach before you watch it in 3D on the largest screen available!
Production Company(ies)
ARTE Bavaria Film International, Corazón International,
Distributor
Sony Pictures Entertainment
Release Type
Theatrical, Theatrical (Limited)
Filming Location(s)
Montréal, Québec, Canada
MPAA / Certificate
Rated PG for thematic elements involving perilous situations, and for some nudity, language, brief drug references and smoking
Year of Release
2015
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:SDDS Datasat Dolby Digital
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Aspect ratio:2.39 : 1
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Runtime:2h 4m
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Language(s):English, French, Czech
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Oct 9, 2015 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 5, 2016
Genre(s)
Biography/Drama
Keyword(s)
starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ben Kingsley, Charlotte Le Bon, James Badge Dale, Clément Sibony, César Domboy, directed by Robert Zemeckis, written by Robert Zemeckis, Christopher Browne, biography, drama, adventure, PG rating, box office performance, budget, reviewed by J Hoberman, Max Weiss, Jason Bailey, Tara Brady, Bilge Ebiri, Alison Willmore, Brian Eggert, Don Shanahan, George Fenwick, Olly Richards, Richard Crouse, high-wire artist, World Trade Center, Philippe Petit, Papa Rudy, Annie, Jean-Pierre, J.P., Jean-Louis, Jeff, Jean-François, Dolby Digital, Scope (2.35:1), Steve Starkey, Robert Zemeckis, Jack Rapke, Sony Pictures Entertainment, fact-based drama, thrilling visuals, impressive élan, balancing act, tightrope, August 7, 1974, death-defying stunt, mentor, physicality, minor event, whimsical, charm, dizzying finale, love story, Twin Towers, obsession
Worldwide gross: $61,181,942
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $76,371,482
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,147
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 8,328,406
US/Canada gross: $10,137,502
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $12,654,323
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,546
US/Canada opening weekend: $1,560,299
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $1,947,672
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,207
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $35,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $43,689,392
Production budget ranking: 884
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $23,526,738
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $9,155,352
ROI to date (est.): 14%
ROI ranking: 1,329
Ben Kingsley – Papa Rudy
Charlotte Le Bon – Annie
James Badge Dale – Jean-Pierre, J.P.
Clément Sibony – Jean-Louis
César Domboy – Jeff, Jean-François
Robert Zemeckis – Director/Writer
Steve Starkey – Producer
Jack Rapke – Producer
Christopher Browne – Writer
Director(s)
Robert Zemeckis
Writer(s)
Robert Zemeckis, Christopher Browne
Producer(s)
Steve Starkey, Robert Zemeckis, Jack Rapke
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
3 wins & 17 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (279) | Top Critics (73) | Fresh (231) | Rotten (48)
The stunt is worth the wait. In a sense it’s something we’ve been waiting for since September 12, 2001.
March 28, 2017
J. Hoberman
The New York Review of Books
TOP CRITIC
Just the mechanics of getting to the roof are fun — filled with surprise allies and strokes of luck and last minute escapes.
June 12, 2016 | Rating: 3/4
Max Weiss
Baltimore Magazine
TOP CRITIC
It’s applause-worthy work, and a killer climax. But a killer climax does not a motion picture make.
May 3, 2016
Jason Bailey
Flavorwire
TOP CRITIC
Robert Zemeckis latest piece of cinematic wizardry is not a good film – but it may be the greatest Imax film ever made.
February 25, 2016 | Rating: 3/5
Tara Brady
Irish Times
TOP CRITIC
There’s something charming about the use of all this technology to depict what was, ultimately, a minor event.
December 7, 2015
Bilge Ebiri
Nashville Scene
TOP CRITIC
The Walk turns what is a relatively straightforward act – albeit a scarily placed one – into something stunning by restoring a sense of physicality to what’s happening onscreen.
November 10, 2015
Alison Willmore
BuzzFeed News
TOP CRITIC
Zemeckis separates the audience from the profundity of what Petit accomplished by allowing his visual components to overshadow the inconceivable real-life story.
May 12, 2022 | Rating: 2.5/4
Brian Eggert
Deep Focus Review
What keeps “The Walk” winning is the uncompromising visual artistry at play.
March 8, 2022 | Rating: 4/5
Don Shanahan
Every Movie Has a Lesson
A fascinating story regardless, and well worth a watch – if you can stomach heights.
June 24, 2021
George Fenwick
Stuff.co.nz
The very-high-wire sequence is genuinely gasp-inducing. See it in 3D on the largest screen available.
April 23, 2021 | Rating: 3/5
Olly Richards
NME
Director Robert Zemeckis takes his time getting to the walk. He treats the story as a procedural, although a whimsical one, that tries to slide by on charm for two thirds of it’s running time.
March 4, 2021 | Rating: 3.5/5
Richard Crouse
Richard Crouse
Though the conclusion – conceived to wrap up personal relationships and pay tribute to the World Trade Center – loses steam, the headlining stunt is exhilaratingly triumphant.
December 4, 2020 | Rating: 7/10
Mike Massie
Gone With The Twins…
Plot
Twelve people have walked on the moon, but only one man – Philippe Petit (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) – has ever, or will ever, walk in the immense void between the World Trade Center towers. Guided by his real-life mentor, Papa Rudy (Ben Kingsley), and aided by an unlikely band of international recruits, Petit and his gang overcome long odds, betrayals, dissension and countless close calls to conceive and execute their mad plan. Robert Zemeckis, the director of such marvels as Forrest Gump, Cast Away, Back to the Future, Polar Express and Flight, again uses cutting edge technology in the service of an emotional, character-driven story. With innovative photorealistic techniques and IMAX 3D wizardry, The Walk is true big-screen cinema, a chance for moviegoers to viscerally experience the feeling of reaching the clouds. The film, a PG-rated, all-audience entertainment for moviegoers 8 to 80, unlike anything audiences have seen before, is a love letter to Paris and New York City in the 1970s, but most of all, to the Towers of the World Trade Center.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
No goofy or funny or odd comments were found in the Fresh Kernels database for The Walk.
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