Summary
- Beau Is Afraid was unique and inventive, despite financial struggles, showcasing Aster's singular vision and ambition.
- Eddington, Aster's next project, will feature a star-studded cast including Phoenix, Emma Stone,Austin Butler, Pedro Pascal, and Luke Grimes.
- Eddington marks Aster's first Western with hints of horror and dark comedy, continuing his trademark strangeness with A-list stars.
While Ari Aster's best movies.
2023's Beau Is Afraid, however, saw Aster's box office dominance come to a sudden end. A trippy blend of horror, comedy, fantasy, and satire, Beau Is Afraid mostly impressed critics thanks to Aster's singular vision. Unfortunately, the three-hour epic made only $11 million in theaters (via Beau Is Afraid's estimated $35 million budget, resulting in the first real commercial failure of Aster's career. An update regarding the director's next project proves that Beau Is Afraid's financial struggles have not dimmed his ambition, judging by the movie's starry cast list.
Beau Is Afraid Ending Explained
Ari Aster's Beau is Afraid has a wild ending that will surely be discussed for a while. We break down the film's ending, who was really dead & more.
Eddington Reunites Joaquin Phoenix & Ari Aster After Beau Is Afraid Flopped
Beau Is Afraid's box office failure didn’t stop Aster and Phoenix from reuniting
Despite their last collaboration struggling at the box office, Joaquin Phoenix will play another Ari Aster protagonist in the Eddington. Not a lot is known about the movie, although Phoenix is far from the only big name in the project's cast. Emma Stone, Austin Butler, Pedro Pascal, and Yellowstone's Luke Grimes all play undisclosed roles. Aster’s forthcoming Eddington is cryptically described as a story about a "Small-town New Mexico sheriff with higher aspirations." Judging by Aster's earlier efforts, this contemporary Western will likely involve elements of horror and dark comedy in its twisty, unpredictable plot.
Movie |
Box office (via BoxOfficeMojo) |
|---|---|
Hereditary |
$80 million |
Midsommar |
$48 million |
Beau Is Afraid |
$11 million |
While it lost a lot of money, Beau Is Afraid was unique, inventive, and undeniably original. Eddington will be the director's first foray into Westerns, but the cast of Aster’s new movie proves he is as ambitious as ever, despite his recent flop. Eddington will also be produced by A24, the production company that has backed all of Aster’s earlier projects. Since Beau Is Afraid’s reviews were surprisingly solid given its unwieldy runtime and surreal sensibility, the continued combination of Ari Aster's trademark strangeness and Joaquin Phoenix's mesmeric acting means that Eddington remains an exciting proposition.
Ari Aster’s New Movie Has His Most Famous Cast Yet
Eddington’s cast includes Emma Stone, Austin Butler, and Pedro Pascal
Eddington's lineup is arguably the biggest cast that Aster has worked with so far, as Beau Is Afraid included few A-listers aside from Phoenix. This was no bad thing, since the movie gave underrated ing stars like Richard Kind, Nathan Lane, and Parker Posey a chance to shine. Hereditary, meanwhile, boasted an astounding central turn from Toni Collette, but Gabriel Byrne was its only other major star. Similarly, Midsommar mostly relied on Florence Pugh’s career-best performance, with Will Poulter, Jack Reynor, and William Jackson Harper providing . In contrast, Ari Aster's Beau Is Afraid follow-up is full of major A-list stars.
Sources: BoxOfficeMojo
Beau Is Afraid (formerly known as Disappointment Blvd.) is a new supernatural horror/comedy film from Ari Aster (Hereditary, Midsommar.) Joaquin Phoenix stars as the titular Beau in his older years, as a young man with a strained relationship with his mother. After her death, his return home is marked by strange supernatural occurrences.
- Cast
- Joaquin Phoenix, Nathan Lane, Patti LuPone, Amy Ryan, Kylie Rogers, Parker Posey, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Hayley Squires
- Runtime
- 179 minutes
- Director
- Ari Aster
- Writers
- Ari Aster
- Studio(s)
- A24
- Budget
- $35 million
