Movie: 65 Film

The released 2023 American science fiction action thriller movie “65” is an original production of Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, featuring the lead actors Adam Driver and Ariana Greenblatt. The film is a joint venture of Columbia Pictures, Bron Creative, Raimi Productions, TSG Entertainment, and Beck/Woods. The storyline revolves around a pilot who crash-lands on an unfamiliar planet and finds out that it’s actually Earth, but in the Cretaceous period.

The protagonist fights for survival in the perilous prehistoric surroundings. “65” had its release in the United States on March 10, 2023, through Sony Pictures Releasing. The film garnered mixed reviews from the critics but managed to earn a worldwide gross of $55 million.

What Is the Plot of the Movie 65?

In a time long before recorded human history, the skilled pilot Mills from the advanced planet of Somaris persuades his wife to let him embark on a two-year space expedition to earn the money needed to treat their daughter Nevine’s illness. But on the return journey to Somaris, his spaceship collides with a cluster of asteroids, causing it to crash-land on an unknown planet.

The passengers are killed, and the ship is split in half, with Mills’ half severely damaged. He considers taking his own life until he finds the sole survivor, a young girl named Koa, and decides to take care of her. The two struggle to communicate, and it’s soon revealed that the planet is actually Earth, 65 million years in the past, during the Cretaceous period.

Mills discovers a functioning escape shuttle on the other half of the ship and sends a distress signal for rescue. He lies to Koa about her parents being alive to encourage her to come with him to the shuttle, and they begin a perilous journey through the prehistoric landscape. As they bond, Mills protects Koa from the dangerous creatures that roam the planet.

Koa discovers video messages from Nevine while they rest by a cave opening, but they’re interrupted by an attack from a massive theropod that they wound before hiding in the cave.

A rockfall separates them, and Mills battles a cave-dwelling dinosaur, while Koa fights off a raptor-like creature that she traps in a fallen tree log, using bombs given to her by Mills before they were separated. They both survive and reunite after Mills falls into quicksand and Koa helps him escape.

Mills realizes that an asteroid is going to hit the planet in less than 12 hours, causing a catastrophic extinction event. They make their way to the escape shuttle, but Koa is angry when she discovers that Mills lied to her.

He explains that Nevine died while he was away, and he promises to protect Koa. While escaping, they face challenges from two large Tyrannosaurus rex and the injured theropod, but they manage to fend them off.

As they blast off towards rescue, the asteroid collides with Earth, causing 70% of all life to become extinct. The credits show the aftermath of the extinction, depicting the evolution of the world. You may also like:

Who Composed the Music?

According to an announcement made in February 2021, Danny Elfman was set to compose the score for the film. This is not the first time that Elfman collaborated with Raimi on his directed projects. However, in March 2023, it was revealed that Chris Bacon, who frequently works with Elfman, had actually composed a new score earlier in the year.

While both composers were initially set to receive credit, Bacon ultimately received sole credit, and Elfman was labeled as a co-composer on select tracks. In addition to Bacon’s work, Michael Giacchino served as a “score consultant”, and Gad Emile Zeitune was credited with “additional music”.

What Was the Release Date For the Movie?

Sony Pictures Releasing made an announcement in February 2023 stating that 65 would have a theatrical release in the United States on March 10, 2023. The film had been previously scheduled for release on various dates, including May 13, 2022, April 29, 2022, April 14, 2023, April 28, 2023, and March 17, 2023, with longer intervals between the announcement and the release dates.

How and Who Produced The Movie?

Adam Driver signed on to star in the film in September 2020. The film was produced, written and directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, with Sam Raimi co-producing with Zainab Azizi and Debbie Liebling. Ariana Greenblatt joined the cast two months later in November 2020, followed by Chloe Coleman in December 2020.

Principal photography was initially set to begin on November 16, 2020, in New Orleans but eventually began on December 7, 2020. Filming took place in the Kisatchie National Forest in Vernon Parish, Louisiana, in January 2021, and was halfway through production by January 16. Filming wrapped up on February 21, 2021. Several locations in Oregon were also used for filming.

The visual effects were created by Framestore and Ghost VFX with Chris Harvey serving as a visual effects supervisor. The film was shot with a budget of $91 million, but after tax rebates, the final cost of the film was $45 million.

How Was the Reception?

On the movie review website Rotten Tomatoes, the film 65 has received a low approval rating of 34% from 109 critics, with an average rating of 4.8 out of 10. The consensus among reviewers is that the science-fiction movie is poorly executed and fails to deliver despite its premise of Adam Driver battling dinosaurs. The website’s summary reads: “65 is a damp, unexciting sci-fi movie that is a far cry from what it could have been.”

Similarly, Metacritic, another review aggregator site that assigns weighted scores, gave the movie a rating of 40 out of 100, based on 27 critic reviews, indicating mixed or average reviews. In terms of audience reception, CinemaScore’s survey reports that the film earned a “C+” rating on an A+ to F scale, while PostTrak’s analysis showed that 54% of moviegoers had a positive experience, and 37% would be likely to recommend it to others. Below is the trailer for the movie 65.

How Much Did the Movie Gross at the Box Office?

As of April 9th, 2023, 65 has amassed a total of $55.7 million in worldwide box office receipts. In the domestic market of the United States and Canada, the film was released alongside Scream VI and Champions, and was expected to make between $7-9 million from its opening weekend release in 3,350 theaters.

The movie’s debut day saw it collect $4.4 million, which includes $1.22 million from Thursday night previews. The final opening weekend haul of $12.3 million saw the movie over-perform modestly, resulting in a third place finish at the box office. In its second weekend, the movie dropped slightly, earning $5.8 million and once again landing in third place.

What Is the Main Cast?