Australia Box Office for Can You Ever Forgive Me? (2018)

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Can You Ever Forgive Me?
Theatrical Performance (US$)
Australia Box Office $473,854Details
Worldwide Box Office $12,517,379Details
Home Market Performance
North America DVD Sales $641,673 Details
North America Blu-ray Sales $97,235 Details
Total North America Video Sales $738,908
Further financial details...

  1. Summary
  2. News
  3. Box Office
  4. Worldwide
  5. Full Financials
  6. Cast & Crew
  7. Trailer

Synopsis

The true story of best-selling celebrity biographer (and friend to cats) Lee Israel who made her living in the 1970’s and 80’s profiling the likes of Katharine Hepburn, Tallulah Bankhead, Estee Lauder and journalist Dorothy Kilgallen. When Lee is no longer able to get published because she has fallen out of step with current tastes, she turns her art form to deception, abetted by her loyal friend Jack.

Metrics

Movie Details

Production Budget:$10,000,000
Australia Releases: December 7th, 2018 (Wide)
Video Release: February 5th, 2019 by Fox Home Entertainment
MPAA Rating: R for language including some sexual references, and brief drug use.
(Rating bulletin 2491 (Cert #51219), 8/30/2017)
Running Time: 106 minutes
Keywords: 1970s, 1980s, Publishing Industry, Writing and Writers, Biographical Drama, Forgery, Money Troubles
Source:Based on Real Life Events
Genre:Drama
Production Method:Live Action
Creative Type:Dramatization
Production/Financing Companies: Fox Searchlight Pictures, Archer Gray Productions
Production Countries: United States
Languages: English

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2018 Awards Season: Oscars Nominations: Final Look

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It’s Oscar Day, and we will be live blogging the show. Before that, let’s take a last look at the nominations with a few annotations. in Italics are those that have received the most votes from our readers so far in our Oscar contest (which is open to new entries until noon, Pacific, today—enter now!). Bold films are those films I think will win. Meanwhile, those that are Underlined are those I want to win. Not all categories have underlined nominees, because not all categories have someone I’m cheering for, or because there are two nominees I couldn’t pick between. For example, I would be happy with half of the Best Picture nominees winning. More...

Home Market Releases for February 19th, 2019

February 20th, 2019

Can You Ever Forgive Me?

The fall smash hits and the Oscar contenders are starting to come out in full force, making it a great time on the home market. This week, we have one of the biggest hits of the fall, A Star is Born; one of the best movies of the year, Can You Ever Forgive Me?; and the Anime that arguably solidified Moe as powerhouse genre, K-ON: Complete Collection Premium Box Set. Of the three, I like K-ON the most, but I admit that price will scare away a lot of people, so Can You Ever Forgive Me? is the better choice for Pick of the Week. More...

2018 Awards Season: Oscar Highlight: Best Adapted Screenplay

February 19th, 2019

BlacKkKlansman

With our annual Oscar Prediction contest underway, now is the best time to look at the nominees and try and figure out who the favorites are and which films should just feel honored to be nominated. Today we look at the two Screenwriting Categories, starting with Best Adapted Screenplay, which is not among the most competitive categories, but it isn’t inconceivable that there will be an upset. More...

2018 - Awards Season: WGA - Winners

February 18th, 2019

Eighth Grade

The Writers Guild of America announced their winners last night and I don’t know what to say. None of the favorites won and two of the winners were not even nominated for Oscars. More...

2018 Awards Season: Oscar Highlight: Best Leading Actress

February 14th, 2019

The Wife

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2018 Awards Season: Oscar Highlight: Best Supporting Actor

February 12th, 2019

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Home Market Releases for February 5th, 2019

February 5th, 2019

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We are finally getting to the massive fall hits on the home market, as Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch hits the home market this week. It is the biggest release, but not the best. The Pick of the Week was a coin toss between Maquia: When The Promised Flower Blooms and Widows. In the end, the latter won, but both are worth buying. More...

2018 Awards Season: Oscar Nominations

January 23rd, 2019

The Favourite

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2018 - Awards Season: BAFTA - Nominations

January 12th, 2019

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The BAFTA nominations were announced and The Favorite led the way with 12 nominations. Sometimes the BAFTAs are a really good indicator for who will do well on Oscar night. Other times their bias to British films is too much. I think this year will be an example of the latter and I don't think The Favourite is suddenly an Oscar favorite. That said, there’s still some things you can learn here. More...

2018 - Awards Season: WGA - Nominations

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Black Panther

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2018 - Awards Season: SAG - Nominations

December 12th, 2018

A Star is Born

The Screen Actors Guild were the third group to announce their nominations for this awards season. There’s not a lot of surprises on this week’s list. A Star is Born led the way with four nominations, while The Favourite was right behind with three. More...

2018 - Awards Season: Golden Globes - Nominations

December 6th, 2018

Vice

The Golden Globes nominations are the second major Awards Season set to come out. It is still very early in the year and the predictive value of the Golden Globes is a little suspect, but there are still some things to learn here. For example Vice led the way with six nominations, so its Oscar chances have gone up, but don’t expect it to lead the way when the Oscars nominations are announced. More...

Theater Averages: The Favourite Lives Up to Its Name

November 29th, 2018

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Theater Averages: Gate Begins Eternity on Top

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November 17th, 2018

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Theater Averages: Chef is in Like Flynn

November 14th, 2018

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Theater Averages: Boy Erased Writes its Way to the Top

November 7th, 2018

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Boy Erased led the way on the theater average chart earning an average of $41,411 in five theaters. This was nearly three times the second place film, A Private War, which earned an average of $15,123 in four theaters. The only other film in the $10,000 club was the overall box office leader, Bohemian Rhapsody, with an average of $12,765. More...

Theater Averages: Suspiria Surprises with Yearly Best Average

October 31st, 2018

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Theater Averages: Mid90s Kickflips to the Top

October 25th, 2018

Mid90s

Mid90s had a much better than expected start earning an average of $64,539 in four theaters. This is the third highest theater average of 2018 behind just Free Solo ($73,572 in four theaters) and Eighth Grade ($65,949 also in four theaters). On the other hand, its reviews are good, but not great, so it could struggle to expand wide. That said, I would be absolutely shocked if the film didn’t earn some measure of mainstream success after this start. Can You Ever Forgive Me? opened in second place with an average of $32,302 in five theaters. Its reviews are award-worthy, so it should have very long legs and if it actually picks up some major award nominations, it could expand truly wide. Wildlife also rode amazing reviews to an average of $26,147 in four theaters. The overall box office leader, Halloween, was next with an average of $19,405. The Price of Everything opened with $16,817 in one theater, while the re-release of Wings of Desire managed $12,885, also in one theater. More...

Weekend Estimates: Halloween Scores Franchise-Best Start, Second-Best October Debut

October 21st, 2018

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According to Universal’s numbers, Halloween is going to debut with $77.75 million over the weekend. This is by far the biggest opening in the franchise; in fact, it is the biggest worldwide hit in the franchise after just three days at the domestic box office. Its reviews are 80% positive, while it earned a B plus from CinemaScore, and both of those suggest better-than-average legs, for a horror film. Plus, with actual Halloween just 10 days away, it could hold better next weekend than it otherwise would. I don’t expect it to get to $200 million domestically, but it will become Universal’s second-biggest hit of 2018, at least so far. Internationally, the film looks to pull in $14.3 million in 23 markets. It wasn’t able to match its opening here in any major market, which isn’t surprising given its start here. It will come the closest in Mexico, as it is estimated to make $4.99 million over the weekend. It only managed second place in the U.K. with a projected $3.61 million over the weekend, which is equivalent to a $20 million opening here. More...

Friday Estimates: Halloween Closing in on Venom’s October Record

October 20th, 2018

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Before the weekend began, people were asking if Halloween would top The Nun for biggest opening weekend for a horror film released this year. After Friday, no one is asking that question anymore, because the answer is obviously going to be yes. The film pulled in $33.34 million during its opening day, meaning it is within striking distance of Venom’s record for biggest October weekend. Venom earned $32.50 million during its opening day. Additionally, Halloween has 81% positive reviews and a B plus from CinemaScore, which is great for a horror film. On the other hand, horror films do tend to have shorter legs than comic book movies, so Halloween is essentially a coin-toss to break the record. Universal is going with $80.3 million, so we likely won’t know the answer until Monday when the final numbers show up. More...

Limited and VOD Releases: Missing these Limited Releases is Unforgivable

October 19th, 2018

Can You Ever Forgive Me?

It’s an excellent week for limited releases with a trio of amazing films that have great star power as well. Can You Ever Forgive Me?, What They Had, and Wildlife all have a shot at box office success. Not to mention several documentaries, like On Her Shoulders, Sharkwater Extinction, Transformer, that could do well in limited release. More...

Can You Ever Forgive Me? Trailer

March 19th, 2018

Real-life crime caper starring Melissa McCarthy and Richard E. Grant opens October 19 ... Full Movie Details.

The true story of best-selling celebrity biographer (and friend to cats) Lee Israel who made her living in the 1970’s and 80’s profiling the likes of Katharine Hepburn, Tallulah Bankhead, Estee Lauder and journalist Dorothy Kilgallen. When Lee is no longer able to get published because she has fallen out of step with current tastes, she turns her art form to deception, abetted by her loyal friend Jack. More...

Because some of our sources provide box office data in their local currency, while we use USD in the graph above and table below, exchange rate fluctuations can have effect on the data causing stronger increases or even decreases of the cumulative box office.

Weekend Box Office Performance

DateRankGross% ChangeScreensPer ScreenTotal GrossWeek
2018/12/07 13 $99,857   56 $1,783   $99,857 1
2018/12/14 16 $80,072 -20% 58 $1,381   $227,137 2
2018/12/21 17 $45,416 -43% 48 $946   $309,418 3
2018/12/28 21 $31,729 -30% 26 $1,220   $352,822 4
2019/01/04 25 $21,670 -32% 22 $985   $392,459 5
2019/01/11 - $16,024 -26% 24 $668   $423,109 6
2019/01/18 - $3,389 -79% 15 $226   $432,525 7
2019/01/25 23 $38,671 +1,041% 10 $3,867   $473,854 8

Box Office Summary Per Territory

Territory Release
Date
Opening
Weekend
Opening
Weekend
Screens
Maximum
Screens
Theatrical
Engagements
Total
Box Office
Report
Date
Australia 12/7/2018 $99,857 56 58 259 $473,854 1/31/2019
France 8/2/2019 $282,589 176 180 691 $757,996 8/31/2019
Italy 2/21/2019 $243,530 0 27 70 $508,330 8/11/2019
Netherlands 2/22/2019 $56,735 33 34 132 $256,816 3/19/2019
North America 10/19/2018 $161,510 5 555 3,224 $8,803,865
Spain 2/22/2019 $98,244 65 71 136 $202,720 3/8/2019
United Kingdom 2/1/2019 $678,578 256 256 508 $1,513,798 2/13/2019
 
Worldwide Total$12,517,379 8/31/2019

Full financial estimates for this film, including domestic and international box office, video sales, video rentals, TV and ancillary revenue are available through our research services. For more information, please contact us at research@the-numbers.com.

Leading Cast

Melissa McCarthy    Lee Israel

Supporting Cast

Richard E. Grant    Jack
Jane Curtin    Marjorie
Dolly Wells    Anna
Anna Deavere Smith   
Jennifer Westfeldt   
Ben Falcone    Alan Schmidt
Stephen Spinella   
Julie Ann Emery   
Christian Navarro   

For a description of the different acting role types we use to categorize acting perfomances, see our Glossary.

Production and Technical Credits

Marielle Heller    Director
Nicole Holofcener    Screenwriter
Jeff Whitty    Screenwriter
Lee Israel    Story based on the book by
Anne Carey    Producer
Amy Nauiokas    Producer
David Yarnell    Producer
Jawal Nga    Executive Producer
Pamela Hirsch    Executive Producer
Bob Balaban    Executive Producer
Brandon Trost    Director of Photography
Stephen Carter    Production Designer
Anne McCabe    Editor
Nate Heller    Composer
Howard Paar    Music Supervisor