The Mauritanian
Synopsis
Based on the NY Times best-selling memoir "Guantánamo Diary" by Mohamedou Ould Slahi, this is the true story of Slahi's fight for freedom after being detained and imprisoned without charge by the U.S. Government for years. Alone and afraid, Slahi finds allies in defense attorney Nancy Hollander and her associate Teri Duncan who battle the U.S. government in a fight for justice that tests their commitment to the law and their client at every turn. Their controversial advocacy, along with evidence uncovered by a formidable military prosecutor, Lt. Colonel Stuart Couch, uncovers shocking truths and ultimately proves that the human spirit cannot be locked up.
Production Budget Analysis
The production budget for The Mauritanian (2021) has not been publicly disclosed.
CAST: Tahar Rahim, Jodie Foster, Benedict Cumberbatch, Shailene Woodley, Zachary Levi, Langley Kirkwood DIRECTOR: Kevin Macdonald CINEMATOGRAPHY: Alwin H. Küchler MUSIC: Tom Hodge PRODUCTION: 30WEST, Topic Studios, STXfilms, SunnyMarch, BBC Film, Shadowplay Features
Box Office Performance
The Mauritanian earned $836,536 domestically and $6,690,494 internationally, for a worldwide total of $7,527,030. International markets drove the majority of revenue (89%), indicating strong global appeal.
Detailed Box Office Notes
As of 1 April 2021, the film had made $835,724 domestically and $2,500,000 internationally, for a global total of $3,335,724.
The film was released alongside Judas and the Black Messiah, Land and limited expansion of Willy's Wonderland on 12 February 2021. The Mauritanian made $163,789 from 245 theaters, and $179,778 over the four-day President's Day weekend. In its second weekend of release the film earned $137,072 from 287 theaters. In its third weekend, the film took in $120,192, a decline of 12.3% from the second. In its fourth weekend, the film collected $90,004.
Profitability Assessment
Insufficient publicly available data to assess profitability.
INDUSTRY IMPACT
PRODUCTION NOTES
▸ Production
The film was announced in November 2019. Kevin Macdonald signed on as director, with Benedict Cumberbatch, Jodie Foster, Tahar Rahim and Shailene Woodley cast to star. In December 2019, Zachary Levi joined the cast of the film. Filming began on 2 December 2019 in South Africa.
The film was originally known as Guantánamo Diary in its early development stages, and as Prisoner 760 during production, before being described as untitled in post-production.
AWARDS & RECOGNITION
Summary: Nominated for 5 BAFTA 6 wins & 19 nominations total
Nominations: ○ European Film Award for Best Actor (34th European Film Awards)
Additional Recognition: ! scope="col" |Award ! scope="col" |Date of ceremony ! scope="col" |Category ! scope="col" |Recipient(s) ! scope="col" |Result ! scope="col" class="unsortable" |
CRITICAL RECEPTION
Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 75% of 217 critic reviews were positive, with an average rating of 6.6/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "The Mauritanian takes a frustratingly generic approach to a real-life story that might have been inspirational in other hands, but Tahar Rahim's performance elevates the uneven material." According to Metacritic, which sampled 35 critics and calculated a weighted average score of 53 out of 100, the film received "mixed or average reviews".
Leaf Arbuthnot, writing for Tatler, described the film as "excellent", praising in particular the performances of Foster and Rahim as "impeccable". The Hindu praised the performances of the cast, specifically of Foster, saying "she elevates the legal drama to a whole new level".
Budget Templates
Build your own production budget
Create professional budgets with industry-standard feature film templates. Real-time collaboration, no spreadsheets.
Start Budgeting Free
