Annihilation (2018)
79%RT Audience Score: 66%
Awards & Nominations: 17 wins & 64 nominations
Annihilation backs up its sci-fi visual wonders and visceral genre thrills with an impressively ambitious — and surprisingly strange — exploration of challenging themes that should leave audiences pondering long after the end credits roll
Annihilation is the kind of movie that makes you want to crawl out of your skin, but in a good way. It’s like if H.P. Lovecraft and Tarkovsky had a baby and then that baby grew up to direct a sci-fi horror masterpiece. The all-female cast brings a fresh dynamic to the genre, and the special effects are so mind-blowing that you’ll wish you saw it on the biggest screen possible. Sure, the plot might be a little disjointed and the dialogue a bit clunky, but who cares when you’re being visually and emotionally annihilated?
Production Company(ies)
Twentieth Century Fox,
Distributor
Paramount Pictures
Release Type
Theatrical, Theatrical (Wide)
Filming Location(s)
Windsor Great Park, Windsor, Berkshire, England, UK
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for violence, bloody images, language and some sexuality
Year of Release
2018
-
Color:Color
-
Sound mix:Dolby Digital Dolby Surround 7.1 Dolby Atmos
-
Aspect ratio:2.39 : 1
-
Runtime:1h 55m
-
Language(s):English
-
Country of origin:United States
-
Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Feb 23, 2018 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 22, 2018
Genre(s)
Adventure
Keyword(s)
starring Natalie Portman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tessa Thompson, Oscar Isaac, Gina Rodriguez, Tuva Novotny, directed by Alex Garland, written by Alex Garland, Adventure, R-rated, box office gross $32.7M, reviewed by Robert Daniels, Kambole Campbell, Wenlei Ma, Lucy Hunter Johnston, Tara Brady, Simran Hans, Brian Eggert, Drew Dietsch, Lauren Bradshaw, Graeme Tuckett, Toussaint Egan, Natalie Portman as Lena, Jennifer Jason Leigh as Dr Ventress, Tessa Thompson as Josie Radek, Gina Rodriguez as Anya Thorensen, Tuva Novotny as Cass Sheppard, Oscar Isaac as Kane, Scott Rudin as producer, Andrew Macdonald as producer, Allon Reich as producer, Eli Bush as producer, Dolby Digital sound mix, Paramount Pictures distributor, mutated landscapes, mutated creatures, American coastline, biologist, former soldier, Area X, sinister phenomenon, challenging themes, sci-fi visual wonders, visceral genre thrills, impressively ambitious, surprisingly strange, pondering long after the end credits roll, exploration, weight of our own mistakes, choices we make, things we can’t change, fundamentally change us, subverts the genre, entirely female dynamic, simplistic group archetypes, effective horror, compelling characters, jaw-dropping visuals, cerebral sci-fi, Hollywood, challenges, sublimity, haunting, mind-blowing reveals, weird journey, dreamlike, suspense, intrigue, mystery, tension, otherworldly look and feel, science fiction themes, interesting concepts
Worldwide gross: $43,070,915
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $50,684,722
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,320
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 5,527,233
US/Canada gross: $32,732,301
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $38,518,513
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,181
US/Canada opening weekend: $11,071,584
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $13,028,750
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 858
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $40,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $47,070,950
Production budget ranking: 838
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $25,347,707
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): -$21,733,935
ROI to date (est.): -30%
ROI ranking: 1,564
Jennifer Jason Leigh – Dr. Ventress
Gina Rodriguez – Anya Thorensen
Tessa Thompson – Josie Radek
Tuva Novotny – Cass Sheppard
Oscar Isaac – Kane
Director(s)
Alex Garland
Writer(s)
Alex Garland
Producer(s)
Scott Rudin, Andrew Macdonald, Allon Reich, Eli Bush
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
17 wins & 64 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (327) | Top Critics (75) | Fresh (288) | Rotten (39)
It’s an exploration of the weight of our own mistakes. How the choices we make, and the things we can’t change, fundamentally change us.
August 27, 2018 | Rating: 3/4
Robert Daniels
812filmreviews
TOP CRITIC
Annihilation is a visceral sensory experience that chills the blood and makes the skin crawl (literally), leading to a bravura conclusion that would make Tarkovsky proud and any jaw drop.
August 25, 2018 | Rating: 5/5
Kambole Campbell
One Room With A View
TOP CRITIC
Absorbing and hypnotic, Annihilation is the best kind of sci-fi film – the kind that challenges and subverts the genre, all the while introducing new ideas that you’ll see in films to come.
March 27, 2018 | Rating: 4/5
Wenlei Ma
News.com.au
TOP CRITIC
It’s certain that the astonishing special effects would have worked better on a larger cinema screen, and it’s a shame to lose their impact. But the dialogue is clunky and the plot disjointed.
March 26, 2018
Lucy Hunter Johnston
London Evening Standard
TOP CRITIC
The more familiar aspects of Annihilation are enlivened by the entirely female dynamic, who seldom conform to simplistic group archetypes.
March 19, 2018 | Rating: 4/5
Tara Brady
Irish Times
TOP CRITIC
An exciting, imperfect genre success.
March 18, 2018 | Rating: 4/5
Simran Hans
Observer (UK)
TOP CRITIC
For every moment of visceral horror, there are several more whose sublimity both haunts and astounds.
March 14, 2022 | Rating: 4/4
Brian Eggert
Deep Focus Review
[Annihilation] balances being cerebral sci-fi with effective horror, compelling characters, and jaw-dropping visuals that will brand themselves into your brain.
December 29, 2021 | Rating: 4.5/5
Drew Dietsch
FANDOM
Annihilation proves writer/director Alex Garland’s exhilarating filmmaking style is a breath of fresh air to the science-fiction genre and Hollywood altogether.
November 21, 2021 | Rating: B+
Lauren Bradshaw
Fangirl Freakout
Comparisons to H.P. Lovecraft’s seminal The Color Out of Space are very valid, but Annihilation has its own story to tell.
October 29, 2021
Graeme Tuckett
Stuff.co.nz
Garland’s film is a taut, terse, and macabre ecological horror thriller.
October 19, 2021
Toussaint Egan
Polygon
Just science fiction at its best. It’s got great performances, great color, good music, and more than a few mind-blowing reveals.
August 14, 2021 | Rating: 8.3/10
Nicholas Oon
Maximum Hype (YouTube)…
Plot
A biologist’s husband disappears. She puts her name forward for an expedition into an environmental disaster zone, but does not find what she’s expecting. The expedition team is made up of the biologist, an anthropologist, a psychologist, a surveyor, and a linguist.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
There is no goofy or funny or odd comment about the film Annihilation on Fresh Kernels.
Alex-Garland.jpg
