Directed / Written by: Autuer Danny Boyle. Academy award winner. Directed
Trainspotting and Slumdog millionaire. Written by Richard Curtis. Based on a 2012
screenplay by Jack Barth, but Richard Curtis took all the credit. Both names are prominent on
the poster and are used as a marketing point eg. The poster ‘from the academy award winner..’
Year of release: 4 May 2019 (Tribeca) 28 June 2019 (United Kingdom & United States)
Budget: 25m, 10m on Beatles rights alone! $75m marketing spend. Ended up postponing the
release to avoid a rights case with Paul McCartney
Box office: Worldwide: $154m International: $81m Domestic: $73m China: 172k
Box office multiple: 6.1 Shown in 2,603 theaters
Commercial success: 10/10
Stars - 10/10 Includes stars like Lily James, James Corden, Ana de Armas and Kate MvKinnon. Ed
Sheeran had an important role (Coldplay's Chris Martin turned it down)
Genre/s comedy 10/10 romance 10/10 Musical 10/10 Fantasy 10/10
BBFC: PG-13; BBFC 12 'infrequent strong language, drug references, moderate sex references'
commercial prospects 10/10
Franchise or IP: used Beatles songs as soundtrack. commercial prospects 10/10 as they are
famous world wide
Significant festivals: Tribeca Film Festival boost 10/10
Significant awards: 2 awards and 19 nominations. No big 5 festival nominations 5/10
Notable marketing aspects Patel performed “Yesterday” on “Kimmel” along with a chat about
the movie. James showed up on “The Late Late Show” to similarly discuss the movie and The
Beatles. They used the fact that it was written by Richard Curtis as a major marketing point.
9/10
Year of release: 4 May 2019 (Tribeca)
28 June 2019 (United Kingdom & United
States) Key holiday periods, has maximal
potential to make money
Budget: 25m, 10m on Beatles rights
alone! $75m marketing spend. Ended up
postponing the release to avoid a rights
case with Paul McCartney
Box office: Worldwide: $154m
International: $81m Domestic: $73m
China: 172k
Box office multiple: 6.1 Shown in 2,603
theaters
Commercial success: 10/10
Stars - 10/10 Includes stars like Lily James,
Box office: Worldwide:
$154m International: $81m
USA: $73m UK: £13m China:
172k. Box office multiple:
6.1 Shown in 2,755 theatres
in the US
Commercial success: 8/10
Stars - 10/10 Includes stars
like Lily James, James
Corden, Ana de Armas and
Kate MvKinnon. Ed Sheeran
had an important role
(Coldplay's Chris Martin
turned it down)
Genre/s comedy 10/10
romance 10/10 Musical
10/10 Fantasy 10/10
BBFC: PG-13; BBFC 12
BBFC: PG-13 BFFC 12
commercial prospects
10/10
Franchise or IP: used
Beatles songs as
soundtrack. commercial
prospects 10/10 as they
are famous world wide
Significant festivals:
Tribeca Film Festival boost
10/10
Franchise or IP: used
Beatles songs as
soundtrack. Cost 10 million
Famous world wide!
Significant festivals: Tribeca
Film Festival boost 10/10
Significant awards: 2
awards and 19
nominations. No big 5
festival nominations 5/10
Notable marketing aspects
Patel performed
“Yesterday” on “Kimmel”
along with a chat about the
movie. James showed up on
“The Late Late Show” to
similarly discuss the movie
and The Beatles. They used
the fact that it was written
by Richard Curtis as a major
marketing point. 9/10
Significant festivals: Tribeca Film Festival boost
Significant awards: 2 awards and 19 nominations. No
big 5 festival nominations 5/10
Notable marketing aspects
Patel performed “Yesterday” on “Kimmel” along with a
chat about the movie. James showed up on “The Late
Late Show” to similarly discuss the movie and The
Beatles. They used the fact that it was written by
Richard Curtis as a major marketing point. 9/10
Yesterday
(2019)
()
Danny Boyle on the left and
Richard Curtis on the right.
Genre/s 9/10: Takes a hybrid approach fusing rom-com
(where the comedy aspect already seeks to boost a secondary
male appeal) with a zeitgeisty theme of the music industry (A
Star is Born, Bohemian Rhapsody etc).
commercial prospects 10/10
Franchise or IP: used Beatles songs as soundtrack.
commercial prospects 10/10 as they are famous world wide
Significant festivals: Tribeca Film Festival boost 10/10
Significant awards: 2 awards and 19 nominations. No big 5
festival nominations 5/10
Notable marketing aspects Patel performed “Yesterday” on
“Kimmel” along with a chat about the movie. James showed
up on “The Late Late Show” to similarly discuss the movie and
The Beatles. They used the fact that it was written by Richard
Curtis as a major marketing point. 9/10
Richard Curtis’s brand sells
well as it is linked to other
major WT rom coms like
Notting Hill (1999).
infrequent strong
language, drug
references, moderate
sex references

Budget: 25m,
10m on Beatles rights alone! $75m marketing spend.
Ended up postponing the release to avoid a rights case
with Paul McCartney.
$4m was spent on prints; $23m on distribution fees, and
a whopping $75m on marketing spend. It had a summer
holidays release which certainly boosted box office.
Stars – Iincludes A-list stars like Lily
James, James Corden and Ana de
Armas. Cast: Sanjeev Bhaskar, Kate
McKinnon and Sanjeev Bhaskar.
Very unusual for WT to cast a person
of colour as the protagonist of their
film… Especially for Richard Curtis.
Ed Sheeran had an important role
(Coldplay’s Chris Martin turned it
down)
Genre/s comedy 10/10 romance
10/10 Musical 10/10 Fantasy 10/10
BBFC: PG-13; BBFC 12 'infrequent
strong language, drug references,
moderate sex references'
commercial prospects 10/10
Franchise or IP: used Beatles songs as
soundtrack. commercial prospects
10/10 as they are famous world wide
Significant festivals: Tribeca Film
Festival boost 10/10
Significant awards: 2 awards and 19
nominations. No big 5 festival
nominations 5/10
Notable marketing aspects Patel
performed “Yesterday” on “Kimmel”
along with a chat about the movie.
James showed up on “The Late Late
Show” to similarly discuss the movie
and The Beatles. They used the fact
that it was written by Richard Curtis as
a major marketing point. 9/10
As of May 2020, it has been estimated that the film will
have generated $68 million in global television revenue,
in addition to $10.4 million in net revenue for home video
and streaming. This adds up to a total estimated home
media revenue of $78.4 million. (from Wiki)
British but American…
The protagonist is a humble Londoner who ends up in America
after signing with a powerful American record executive.
However, instead of achieving his dream of success in the US
he returns to the UK.
We expect the UK appeal to be stronger that the US
The escapist nature of the film was judges ideal for the covid context.
Why so many poster variations?
On the poster on the right, you can see them use the uses and gratifications theory to
personally identify with the viewer. The also use the iconic Abbey Road Beatles cover to
further denote the Beatles’ significance in the film.
In the main poster we can see Patel is framed infront of Lily James. Her character in the
film had a very passive role, she served as a tool in James’s self-discovery and fit into the
propian archetype of the princess.