Production Budget Analysis

The production budget for Me and Earl and the Dying Girl (2015) has not been publicly disclosed.

CAST: Olivia Cooke, Thomas Mann, RJ Cyler, Connie Britton, Nick Offerman, Molly Shannon DIRECTOR: Alfonso Gomez-Rejon CINEMATOGRAPHY: Chung Chung-hoon MUSIC: Nico Muhly, Brian Eno PRODUCTION: Indian Paintbrush, Rhode Island Ave. Productions

Box Office Performance

Theatrical box office data is not publicly available for Me and Earl and the Dying Girl (2015). This may indicate a limited release, direct-to-streaming, or a release predating modern box office tracking.

Profitability Assessment

Insufficient publicly available data to assess profitability.

INDUSTRY IMPACT

PRODUCTION NOTES

▸ Production

Screenwriter Dan Fogelman decided to produce the film after reading a manuscript of the 2012 novel Me and Earl and the Dying Girl. The production company Indian Paintbrush and producers Steven Rales and Jeremy Dawson then got involved. Having never read or written a script before, Jesse Andrews adapted his own New York Times best-selling novel. Andrews' screenplay appeared on the 2012 Black List of Hollywood's best unproduced screenplays.

The film was shot over a four-week period for an estimated budget of under $5 million. Principal photography began on June 13, 2014, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; they started filming high school scenes on June 16. Cinematographer Chung-hoon Chung shot the film digitally using Arri Alexa cameras with prime and anamorphic lenses in a widescreen 2.35:1 aspect ratio. A Pittsburgh native, writer Jesse Andrews' family home in Point Breeze was used as Greg's house in the film. Rachel's house was located in Squirrel Hill, and Earl's house was in Braddock. The Criterion Collection lent its library of classic films for use in the book-and-DVD store in the film.

Brian Eno scored the film using a combination of previously unreleased recordings and a few original compositions; Filmmakers Edward Bursch and Nathan O. Marsh made 21 stop-motion animated and live-action short films to represent Greg and Earl's classic film parodies, including the final short film made for Rachel set to Brian Eno's "The Big Ship". Differing from the novel, director Gomez-Rejon felt the final film should reflect Greg's artistic growth and express his love for Rachel in an abstract way, using color, texture, and shapes, similar to the work of Stan Brakhage.

AWARDS & RECOGNITION

Awards Won: ★ Sundance Film Festival U.S. Dramatic Grand Jury Prize Award ★ Sundance Audience Award: U.S. Dramatic

! scope="row"| Casting Society of America

! rowspan="3" scope="row"| Empire Awards

! scope="row"| Georgia Film Critics Association

! scope="row"| Phoenix Film Critics Society

! rowspan="2" scope="row"| San Diego Film Critics Awards

! rowspan="2" scope="row"| Sundance Film Festival

! rowspan="3" scope="row"| Teen Choice Awards

CRITICAL RECEPTION

The film received positive reviews from critics. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 81% based on 213 reviews, with an average of 7.60/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Beautifully scripted and perfectly cast, Me & Earl & the Dying Girl is a coming-of-age movie with uncommon charm and insight." weighted average, assigned the film a score of 74 out of 100 on Metacritic, based on 40 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.

IndieWire gave the film a grade of A−, describing it as "a beautifully charming, captivating knock-out". Peter Debruge of Variety wrote that the film "is destined not only to connect with young audiences in a big way, but also to endure as a touchstone for its generation". Pamela McClintock of The Hollywood Reporter later noted that the film had failed to crossover and connect with mainstream audiences, having grossed just $6.2 million in the 6 weeks after its release.