Sunshine Superman (2015)
86%RT Audience Score: 77%
Awards & Nominations: 3 wins & 2 nominations
Sunshine Superman shines a light on a fascinating life with copious amounts of incredible, thrilling footage
Sunshine Superman” is the perfect movie for adrenaline junkies and those who love a good tribute to a unique individual. The film may have some distracting reenactments, but the spectacular archival footage of jumps dating back to the 1960s will leave you on the edge of your seat. Plus, who doesn’t love a camera mounted on a helmet capturing death-defying feats? Jean Boenish is the real hero of this film, and his unabashed freedom and high spirits will leave you feeling inspired. Just be prepared for a brutally sobering ending.
Production Company(ies)
Pakula-Mulligan Brentwood Productions,
Distributor
Magnolia Pictures
Release Type
Streaming, Theatrical, Theatrical (Limited)
Filming Location(s)
Norway
MPAA / Certificate
Rated PG for thematic elements, some language, smoking, and a brief nude image
Year of Release
2015
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby
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Aspect ratio:NA
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Runtime:1h 40m
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United Kingdom
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): May 22, 2015 Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 1, 2016
Genre(s)
Documentary
Keyword(s)
Sunshine Superman, documentary, Carl Boenish, BASE jumping, PG, Marah Strauch, Eric Bruggemann, Lars L Maroy, Jarle Bjørknes, Lars Løge, Josh Braun, reviewed by Tom Long, Josh Kupecki, Bruce DeMara, Bruce Kirkland, Peter Keough, Marsha Lederman, Michael J Casey, Morgan Rojas, Pat Padua, Sherilyn Connelly, Karen Martin, Magnolia Pictures, $87.9K, English, smoking, brief nude image, some language, thematic elements, John Long, Allison McCulloch, Cecilie Bull, Jake Suffian, Jean Boenish
Worldwide gross: $96,715
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $120,726
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 3,008
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 13,165
US/Canada gross: $88,097
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $109,969
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,655
US/Canada opening weekend: $8,991
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $11,223
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,678
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Allison McCulloch – Screening Party Attendee
Cecilie Bull – Screening Party Attendee
Marah Strauch – Jean Boenish
Carl Boenish – Self
Jake Suffian – Screening Party Attendee
Director(s)
Marah Strauch
Writer(s)
Marah Strauch
Producer(s)
Eric Bruggemann, Lars L. Maroy, Jarle Bjørknes, Lars Løge, Josh Braun, Marah Strauch
Film Festivals
Toronto
Awards & Nominations
3 wins & 2 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (60) | Top Critics (33) | Fresh (55) | Rotten (5)
You may find “Sunshine Superman” exhilarating or you may find “Sunshine Superman” terrifying, but you almost surely will not find it boring.
July 28, 2015 | Rating: B
Tom Long
Detroit News
TOP CRITIC
Sunshine Superman is at times a bit too reverent with the material, and there are distracting reenactments ( la The Jinx and Man on Wire), some of which seem extraneous, but overall, the film is a sun-kissed tribute to a singular individual.
June 11, 2015 | Rating: 3/5
Josh Kupecki
Austin Chronicle
TOP CRITIC
Engrossing, tension-filled and utterly fascinating.
June 9, 2015 | Rating: 3.5/4
Bruce DeMara
Toronto Star
TOP CRITIC
While the doc takes a conventional and even pedestrian approach — with multiple talking-head interviews and some re-enactments with actors — there is also plenty of spectacular archival footage showing jumps dating back to the 1960s.
June 8, 2015 | Rating: 3/5
Bruce Kirkland
Toronto Sun
TOP CRITIC
[A] spectacular and affecting portrait.
June 8, 2015 | Rating: 3.5/4
Peter Keough
Boston Globe
TOP CRITIC
Long before there were GoPros, there was Boenish, a camera mounted on his helmet, jumping from Yosemite’s El Capitan or L.A. skyscrapers under construction.
June 4, 2015 | Rating: 3/4
Marsha Lederman
Globe and Mail
TOP CRITIC
The footage is spectacular, and the big screen is the perfect place to convey that majesty.
June 30, 2019
Michael J. Casey
Boulder Weekly
[Director] Marah Strauch captures here not only arresting visuals, she effortlessly sums up emotions, and extremely inspiring ones at that.
November 9, 2018
Morgan Rojas
Cinemacy
Thrilling not just from its subject’s charisma and death-defying feats, but from the inventive and terrifying process of filming a jump.
August 29, 2018
Pat Padua
DCist
In the end, Jean Boenish is the real hero of Sunshine Superman.
August 24, 2017
Sherilyn Connelly
SF Weekly
The unabashed freedom and high spirits of the film are almost overshadowed by the brutally sobering ending.
November 15, 2016 | Rating: 88/100
Karen Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Sunshine Superman is a touch long, and at times pedestrian but it’s still a moving, thrilling story.
May 4, 2016 | Rating: 4/5
Francesca Rudkin
New Zealand Herald…
Plot
A heart-racing documentary portrait of Carl Boenish, the father of the BASE jumping movement, whose early passion for skydiving led him to ever more spectacular -and dangerous- feats of foot-launched human flight.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
The documentary features Carl Boenish, one of the first pioneers of BASE jumping.
Marah-Strauch.jpg
