A Man Called Otto (2023)
80%RT Audience Score:
Awards & Nominations: NA
Check all cynicism at the door and allow A Man Called Otto to tug at your heartstrings with its tried-and-true tune — it just might sing.
With a perfect Tom Hanks in the lead, A Man Called Otto is almost guaranteed to make you laugh and cry.
Production Company(ies)
Playtone, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Stage 6 Films, STXfilms
Distributor
Columbia Pictures
Release Type
Theatrical, Theatrical (Limited), Theatrical (Wide)
Filming Location(s)
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States; Toledo, Ohio, United States; Brecksville, Ohio, United States
MPAA / Certificate
PG-13
Year of Release
2023
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby Digital, Dolby
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:2h 6m
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States, Sweden
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Jan 13, 2023 Wide
Genre(s)
Comedy/Drama
Keyword(s)
Tom Hanks, comedy, drama, mature thematic material, language, suicide attempts, Marc Forster, Fredrik Wikström, Rita Wilson, Gary Goetzman, David Magee, Columbia Pictures, Dolby Digital, Flat (1.85:1), Mack Bayda, Mariana Treviño, Rachel Keller, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Cameron Britton, reviewed by Ed Potton, Rex Reed, Dwight Brown, Tim Cogshell, tt stern-enzi, Dmitry Samarov, Amber Wilkinson, Erik Childress, Nandini Ramnath, Lynn Venhaus, Cory Woodroof, directed by Marc Forster, written by David Magee, produced by Fredrik Wikström, Rita Wilson, Tom Hanks, Gary Goetzman, PG-13, $60.9M, Tom Hanks as Otto Anderson, based on a New York Times bestseller, grumpy widower, criticizing, judging, neighbors, lively young family, quick-witted, pregnant Marisol, unexpected friendship, heartstrings, laugh, cry, audience score 97%, box office gross USA $60.9M, runtime 2h 6m, distributor Columbia Pictures
Worldwide gross: $108,954,467
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): NA
US/Canada gross: $64,154,467
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend: $56,257
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $56,257
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,161
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $50,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $50,000,000
Production budget ranking: 775
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $26,925,000
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Mack Bayda – Malcolm
Mariana Treviño – Marisol
Rachel Keller – Sonya
Manuel Garcia-Rulfo – Tommy
Cameron Britton – Jimmy
Director(s)
Marc Forster
Writer(s)
David Magee
Producer(s)
Fredrik Wikström, Rita Wilson, Tom Hanks, Gary Goetzman
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
NA
Academy Awards
All Critics (196) | Top Critics (44) | Fresh (136) | Rotten (60)
This slice of superior schmaltz has Tom Hanks as a fastidious late-middle-aged grump who hates everyone, from overcharging shop assistants to neighbours who put their recycling in the wrong bin.
February 15, 2023 | Rating: 3/5
Ed Potton
Times (UK)
TOP CRITIC
A follow-the-dots flick with a few moments of charm that aims to be a feel-good crowd pleaser, but lacks enough freshness and insight to make it anything special.
January 19, 2023 | Rating: 3/4
Rex Reed
Observer
TOP CRITIC
Despite the film’s flaws, what audiences will take away is a humanizing experience by a group of misfits who are learning that getting along can also be lifesaving.
January 19, 2023 | Rating: 2.5/4
Dwight Brown
DwightBrownInk.com
TOP CRITIC
If you were to start [this remake and the original] at the exact same moment, I promise it wouldn’t make any difference which one you looked at. But you know why? Because all the scenes were working in the first movie, too.
January 18, 2023
Tim Cogshell
FilmWeek (KPCC – NPR Los Angeles)
TOP CRITIC
I’m just not sure we needed it… [but] I did like it a whole lot more than I thought I was going to.
January 18, 2023 | Rating: B
tt stern-enzi
WXIX-TV (Cincinnati, OH)
TOP CRITIC
I haven’t read the 2012 Swedish book or 2015 film that this is based on, but I can’t imagine either could be half as tone-deaf.
January 14, 2023
Dmitry Samarov
Chicago Reader
TOP CRITIC
Tom Hanks is trying to channel his inner Clint Eastwood for this US adaptation of Fredrik Bachman’s Swedish best-seller – the problem is, he simply isn’t grouchy enough
February 26, 2023 | Rating: 3/5
Amber Wilkinson
Eye for Film
A film that gets by thanks to Hanks’ unwavering watchability though there’s not a beat or a revelation we haven’t seen before and taking its biggest emotional cue directly from She’s Having a Baby is an annoyingly misguided choice.
February 16, 2023 | Rating: 2.5/4
Erik Childress
Movie Madness Podcast
Tom Hanks does his best to look mean, but his inherent affability never fails to shine through. Otto discovers to his disgust that there is no avoiding mushiness.
February 11, 2023
Nandini Ramnath
Scroll.in
With a terrific supporting cast – Mariana Trevino is the MVP of this journey, and she’s a force of nature as the kind neighbor Marisol. Without her as a counterpart, this would be a difficult, one-note story.
February 3, 2023 | Rating: B+
Lynn Venhaus
PopLifeSTL.com…Presents
It’s the kind of schmaltzy, big performance studio drama that used to get a billion Oscar nominations, and darn it, I kind of miss those being in vogue.
February 2, 2023
Cory Woodroof
615 Film
A sweet story of the power of community to bring someone back from the brink of suicide. A film like this depends on the performances – and here there are some weak links and some standout performances.
February 1, 2023 | Rating: 7/10
Julia Swift
My Champlain Valley…
Plot
Otto is a grumpy isolated widower with staunch principles, strict routines, and a short fuse. Just as it seems like he’s finally given up on life, an unlikely and reluctant relationship develops with his new neighbors. Remake of the 2016 Swedish film and based on the novel by Fredrik Backman.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
When Marisol and her husband go out on a date leaving Otto to babysit their girls, they set the house alarm to the “stay” mode. When they come back later, they open the door and get in the house without the alarm going off and without disarming it.
Marc-Forster.jpg
