By Jay Franks

Why did Ex Machina succeed at the box office?

There are many reasons why Ex Machina, a low budget British film, succeeded at the box office. The statistic that Ex Machina accumulated a gross profit of $25,440,971, in its self, implies that Ex Machina succeeded. But there are other factors that would have implemented the final outcome of why the Sci-Fi film did noticeably well at the box office, which I am going to explain in the following document.

Firstly, the genre of the film and the release date. As it is a Sci-Fi/Drama/Mystery/Romance type of film, it engages a variety of audiences which increases the number of viewers the film gets. This is an influential factor from the offset in a film in being able to succeed at the box office. As typically Sci-Fi films do well at the box office because they are unique. However, the main reason this is a valid point is because in America, there was only one other Sci-Fi film that was released in April, which was the release month of Ex Machina. Because the film, Monsters: Dark Continent, was not a mainstream film and critics rated it badly(which is suggested from the 19% liked score on Rotten Tomatoes, compared to Ex Machina’s 92%), indicates that Ex Machina was the only good watch for an audience that enjoys this film category for the whole of April. This would have been a contributing factor to why Ex Machina was successful. Because if there was a mainstream Sci-Fi film that was released in April, then Ex Machina wouldn’t have got as much money from the film than what they have done because many people would have gone to watch the other film instead of Ex Machina. But even for other audiences that wouldn’t normally watch a Sci-Fi film, because of its good ratings, and that there was only one mainstream film released in April, which was furious 7(April 3rd), it would have gained a lot of viewers because of this. Also, furious 7 were released on the 3rd, and Ex Machina was released on the 10th of April. So a mass of viewers would have already seen furious 7, therefore this wouldn’t have affected Ex Machina’s views drastically, which would have contributed to Ex Machina’s gross profit.

Moreover, Ex Machina was released on the 10th of April in the US and was only shown on four screens, but by the 24th of April, it was shown on 1,255 Screens, and had earned $5,349,500 by then. This is good marketing technique by the production team for Ex Machina, because they released it on its opening weekend on only four screens to see if the critics rated the film well. Then they released it on much more larger scale, which got Ex Machina a lot more viewers, which results in more money because of “word of mouth” that Ex Machina is a good film and is indicated by the ratings and reviews on the film from websites online. Also, another reason why it was only shown on four screens on its opening weekend is because they might not have predicted the film was going to be such a success. This limited screening would have gave them an indication of what the audience felt about the film, and by the good ratings by critics, they then released it on more screens. Therefore this implies that Ex Machina was a success for the production company as they did not estimate that a low budget British film would be rated as highly as it was, so it succeeded because of their marketing strategy.

On the other hand, in the UK, Ex Machina was released on the 21st of January. This was a big month for the film industry in 2015. Because it featured mainstream films such as: The Theory of everything which was released on the 1st of January , Fox catcher on the 9th of January ,Taken 3 on the 9th January, The Wedding Ringer on the 16th of January, Paddington on the 16th of January, American Sniper on the 16th January, The Boy next door on the 23rd of January and the Kingsman on the 24th of January. This list provides valid evidence to show that in January in the UK, it included films that involved a number of A list actors, which would have made these films persuading to watch instead of Ex Mahcina. As they are normally a good film if it includes a famous actor. So for Ex Machina, being a low budget British film to be released in this month (21st of January), and to still make an astonishing gross profit of $25,440,971, is good evidence to imply that Ex Machina was clearly a good success the box office.

Furthermore, another reason why Ex Machina was a success at the box office was because of the production companies involved in the film, which were DNA films and Film 4 productions. This is because they are both mainstream companies that have produced a lot of films that have previously been a success at the box office, so they clearly know how to create a film that has the elements involved to be a success at the box office. For example, DNA films have produced films such as: Dredd, 28 days later, Sunshine and 28 weeks later which are the well-known films that this particular production company has produced. Whereas Film 4 productions are a

By Jay Franks

well-known company for various areas of the media industry. But they have produced famous films such as: Slum dog Millionaire, Trainspotting, Mr Turner and Slow West which are their most recent films that they have produced. But Film 4 productions go back to 1982 when their first film was produced (Walter). This provides good evidence to show that a reason why Ex Machina was a success at the box office was because that they have had production companies involved in the production of the film with experience in the film industry. This would have been a factor that would have influenced the amount of the success that Ex Machina got, as they have the know-how on how to get the most out of films because of their experience. But also because of the prodcuers aswell. Andrew Mcdonlad and allon recih are both well-known producers because of some of the work they have worked on in the past. Examples include Trainspotting (1996), 28 days later (2002) and 28 weeks later (2007) for Andrew Mcdonald. For Allon Reich, The Last king of Scotland (2006), 28 weeks later (2007) and Dredd (2012). Therefore this shows that these two producers have worked previously before on the film 28 weeks later, and therefore like how each other work and decided to make another film together in Ex Machina. This could be another factor why Ex machina has been a success at the box office. Because the proroducers involved in the film have previously worked together. Therefore they understandd how each other work, and can implenet there success in other films, together in Ex Mahcina.

Another reason why Ex Machina succeeded at the box office was because of their marketing techniques. I have already touched on the idea of releasing it on only four screens which is a good marketing technique. But this paragraph focuses on the actually marketing distribution of the film. They published various types of marketing that would have attracted audiences which is crucial for a low budget film that doesn’t really star any A - list actors. They used teaser trailers/trailers that didn’t give too much of what was the conclusion of the film but engaged the audience as it showed off Ex Machina’s original idea of a human AI (which is another reason it succeeded at the box office because of the originality of the idea for a film that hasn’t been created before, and was something that attracted people to watch it to see what a human AI would be like. The special affects used made the AI look realistic and was another factor why it succeeded. Because if it didn’t look like a human then people would have got bored and lost interest in the film), they also released interesting posters that made the audience wonder what would happen in the film and get excited by it. The following quotes were used on the posters – “What will happen to me if I fail your test”, this quotes makes you think what is included in the test, what could happen to her if she failed the test and creates anticipation over the film. Also, the quote “There is nothing more human than the will to survive”, this indicates an element of danger and is ironic that the AI is trying to be as human as possible as then it is realistic to a normal human. The word “survive” creates tension for the film, and that is going to gripping throughout. Meaning that it will interest the audience for the whole film and is a persuading factor or the audience to watch it.

My final reason why I believe Ex Machina succeeded at the box office was because of the actors they used in the film. Firstly, the main actors in the film were Domnhall Gleeson, Oscar Isaac and Alicia Vikander. They might not be the most well-known actors, but they sure will be in the future because of the future films they are going to be in. Especially Domnhall Gleeson and Oscar Issac, as they are featuring in the new Star wars mobie coming out on the 17th of December 2015. This oculd be areason why Ex Mahcina had success, because as Star Wars is a massive mainstream movie, people would like to see these actors in other films. Therofer, this would have attracted people to watch Ex Machina to see how they perform in the movie. Ex MAhcina would have gained profit from this at the box office. But mianly because the actors are top professionals and have previous experirece in top movies. For example, Domnhall Gleeson - About Time (2013), Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011) and Unbroken (2014). Oscar Isaac - Inside Llweyn Davis (2013), Drive (2011) and A Most violent Year (2014). Alicia Vikander – A Royal Affair (2012), The Man from U.N.C.L.E (2015) and Seventh Son (2014). This provides good evidence to show that these actors, event hough they may not be well known, have experirecne in the film industry, and form my opinion all played fantastic roles in Ex Mahcina, which was a contributying factor to its success at the box office.

To conclude, I feel this document has provided valid points and evidence for why Ex Machina succeeded at the box office. I simply feel it succeeded because of the originality of the ideas for the film and the futuristic element for the film that made me interested to think what it could be like in the future. It got me engaged with the film and interested throughout. This is a good reason for me to like the film, which I do. Therefore I feel many other people feel the same way, which is why it suceeed at the box office.