How Everything Everywhere All at Once broke a big box office record boils down to the vision of writer-director duo Daniel Scheinert and Dan Kwan (known collectively as Daniels), who forever changed how audiences see the multiverse. The film, starring Michelle Yeoh, Stephanie Hsu, and Ke Huy Quan, premiered at the 2022 SXSW Film Festival and opened on only ten theater screens on March 25, 2022 before expanding to more theaters across North America. All three actors have since been nominated for Oscar awards for their individual performances — the first for their respective careers. Moreover, that's just three of the 11 Oscar Awards that Everything Everywhere All At Once is nominated for this year, which includes the Oscars for Best Motion Picture, Best Achievement in Directing, Best Original Screenplay, and many more.
The overwhelmingly positive reviews of Everything Everywhere All at Once make its impressive run of Oscar nominations somewhat surprising. Its box-office success is a different story, as the Daniels’ film proved audiences still hunger for inventive low-budget dramas. Everything Everywhere All at Once broke A24’s own box office record, beating 2018's Hereditary by earning $72 million domestically — nearly thrice its $25 million budget — and still counting. Including the global box office, Everything Everywhere All at Once has amassed over $106 million worldwide. Previously, the A24 record for highest-grossing theatrical release belonged to the Adam Sandler-starring movie Uncut Gems, which made $50 million at the domestic box office versus a budget of $19 million. Here's everything else viewers need to know about how the Daniels broke their in-house box office record.
Everything Everywhere All At Once's Box Office Success Explained
Everything Everywhere All at Once's commercial success isn’t simply due to it being a high-concept film about the multiverse — there are plenty of those being offered by Marvel Studios and DC Comics adaptations. Rather, Everything Everywhere All At Once stands out precisely because it subverts viewers' expectations of what the multiverse is supposed to be, while simultaneously telling a feel-good family story that's actually original — an astounding feat in the reboot-heavy 2020s. The Daniels’ blending of genres and heart caters to audiences of all ages, and the movie's darker plot points are balanced by visually stunning symbolism, clever humor, relatable characters, and Everything Everywhere All At Once ending on a life-affirming note.
Everything Everywhere All at Once opened with half a million dollars despite an incredibly limited domestic theatrical release. In addition to grossing over four times its $25 million budget at the global box office by the time its 11 Oscar nominations were announced, Everything Everywhere All at Once has a 95% score on Rotten Tomatoes with 368 reviews, and an audience score of 88% from over 2,500 verified ratings. Following the announcement that the movie has been nominated for a total of 11 Academy Awards, Everything Everywhere All at Once recently returned to theaters, which likely means a couple million more will be added to its box office earnings. Finally, while the Daniels revealed what's possible with the multiverse, they also left enough mystery to keep audiences debating about the real meaning of Everything Everywhere All At Once, which certainly also contributed to the Oscar buzz around the already award-winning movie.
From The Box Office To The Academy — All 11 EEAAO Oscar Nominations
For their respective roles as Everything Everywhere All At Once's Evelyn and Waymond Wang, Michelle Yeoh and Ke Huy Quan not only bagged the 2023 Golden Globe Awards for best lead actress and best ing actor, but are also nominated for the equivalent Oscar awards. Meanwhile, Stephanie Hsu who plays Joy/Jobu Tupaki and Jamie Lee Curtis who plays Deirdre Beaubeirdra are both in the running for the 2023 Oscar for best ing actress. As for the Daniels, they're collectively nominated for best original screenplay and best director — on top of the movie itself getting nominated for best picture.
Apart from the directors and the of the Everything Everywhere All at Once cast, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences also nominated the movie for best original score, original song, editing, and costume design. Save for the legendary singer-songwriter David Byrne, who is featured in the movie's song "This is a Life," these are the first Oscar nominations for everyone else in the cast and crew. With a total of 11 Oscar nominations and global box office earnings that are over $100 million and counting, Everything Everywhere All At Once might not be done breaking records this year.
