Battle of the Sexes (2017 film)

Last updated
Battle of the Sexes
Battle of the Sexes (film).png
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Valerie Faris
Jonathan Dayton
Written by Simon Beaufoy
Produced by
Starring
Cinematography Linus Sandgren
Edited by Pamela Martin
Music by Nicholas Britell
Production
companies
Distributed by Fox Searchlight Pictures
Release dates
  • September 2, 2017 (2017-09-02)(Telluride)
  • September 22, 2017 (2017-09-22)(United States)
  • November 24, 2017 (2017-11-24)(United Kingdom)
Running time
121 minutes [1] [2]
Countries
  • United Kingdom
  • United States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$25 million [3]
Box office$18 million [4] [5]

Battle of the Sexes is a 2017 sports comedy-drama film directed by Valerie Faris and Jonathan Dayton and written by Simon Beaufoy. The plot is loosely based on the 1973 tennis match between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs. The film stars Emma Stone and Steve Carell as King and Riggs, leading an ensemble cast including Andrea Riseborough, Elisabeth Shue, Austin Stowell, Bill Pullman, Natalie Morales, Eric Christian Olsen, and Sarah Silverman in supporting roles. The film marks the second collaboration between Carell and Stone after Crazy, Stupid, Love and the second collaboration between Riseborough and Stone after Birdman.

Contents

The film had its premiere at the 44th Telluride Film Festival on September 2, 2017, and was theatrically released in the United States by Fox Searchlight Pictures on September 22, 2017. [6] It received positive reviews from critics, who praised the performances of Stone and Carell and the direction, with some calling it the best performance of Stone's career. Despite the positive reviews, the picture performed poorly at the box office, grossing $18 million against a $25 million budget.

At the 75th Golden Globe Awards, Stone and Carell received nominations for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy and Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy respectively. [7] Both received Critics Choice Awards nominations in the categories Best Actress in a Comedy and Best Actor in a Comedy. At the 24th Screen Actors Guild Awards, Carell received a nomination for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role.

Plot

In 1970, pro-tennis player Billie Jean King and her manager, Gladys Heldman, confront promoter Jack Kramer, who has organized a tennis tournament for which the top prize for women is one-eighth of the men's prize despite equal ticket sales. King and Heldman threaten to start their own tour but Kramer won't alter the terms, citing the inferiority of women's tennis. When King, and fellow tennis players Julie Heldman, Valerie Ziegenfuss, Judy Dalton, Kristy Pigeon, Peaches Bartkowicz, Kerry Melville Reid, Nancy Richey, and Rosie Casals sign on as the “Original 9” players of what becomes the WTA Tour, Kramer bans them from tournaments organized by the U.S. Lawn Tennis Association.

While the women's tour struggles during its early days, Billie Jean King begins an affair with Marilyn Barnett, her hairdresser, threatening her marriage to Larry King. Meanwhile, men's pro-tennis player Bobby Riggs's marriage to the wealthy Priscilla Whelan is in trouble because of his addiction to gambling. Thrown out of his house when he can't conceal a Rolls-Royce he won in a tennis bet, he hits upon the idea of a challenge match against the top woman player, boasting that even at age 55 he can beat any woman.

The women's tour has slowly gained a stronger foothold, with the Women's Tennis Association formed in 1973. Riggs continues to pressure King to play him. Eventually, Riggs persuades Margaret Court, who recently overtook King to gain the World No. 1 ranking, to play a match in May 1973. Riggs easily defeats Court and King decides she has to accept his challenge, but demands a final say as to the arrangements. King trains intensely, while Riggs relaxes. King objects to Kramer as a game announcer, threatening to not play unless he withdraws, which he does. After a slow start, King wins the match, changing the future of women's tennis.

A textual epilogue states that King divorced her husband in the 1980s, retired from tennis in 1990, and later became involved in a long-term same-sex relationship while Riggs reunited with his wife but never quit his gambling habit.

Cast

Production

The project and its two leads were announced in April 2015. [8] Brie Larson was, for a brief period, set to replace Stone due to scheduling conflicts, but these were cleared up. [9] [10] On March 3, 2016, Andrea Riseborough was cast to play Marilyn Barnett, King's hairdresser and lover. [11] Later that month, three more were cast in the film, Elisabeth Shue as Riggs's wife; [12] Austin Stowell as Larry King, Billie Jean's husband; [13] and Sarah Silverman as Gladys Heldman, the founder of World Tennis magazine. [14] Four actors joined the cast in April: Eric Christian Olsen as Lornie Kuhle, [15] Jessica McNamee as tennis player Margaret Court, [16] Alan Cumming as designer Ted Tinling, [17] and Natalie Morales as player Rosie Casals. [18]

Principal photography on the film began in Los Angeles on April 13, 2016, with a budget of more than $25 million. [19] [20]

For the tennis match scenes, tennis players Kaitlyn Christian (who portrays “Original 9” member Kerry Melville Reid) and Vince Spadea were the body doubles of Stone and Carell, respectively. [21] [22]

The score was composed by Nicholas Britell. He also co-wrote the original song "If I Dare" with Sara Bareilles who also performed it. [23]

Release

Battle of the Sexes had its world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival on September 2, 2017. [24] It also screened at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 10, 2017, [25] and at the BFI London Film Festival on October 7, 2017. [26] The film began a limited release in the United States on September 22, 2017, before going wide the following week. [27]

Reception

Box office

Battle of the Sexes grossed $12.6 million in the United States and Canada, and $5.8 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $18.4 million. [4]

In its opening weekend, the film grossed $515,450 from 21 theaters, an average of $24,545 per theater. [28] The film expanded the following Friday, where it was released alongside the openings of Flatliners , 'Til Death Do Us Part and American Made , and was projected to gross around $6 million from 1,213 theaters over the weekend. [29] It ended up making $3.4 million over the weekend, finishing 6th at the box office. Deadline Hollywood noted the film's weekend gross was disappointing given its cast and positive reviews. [28] The following week the film was added to another 609 theaters and made $2.4 million, dropping just 30%. [30]

Critical response

On the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 84% based on 316 reviews, with an average rating of 7.2/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Battle of the Sexes turns real-life events into a crowd-pleasing, well-acted dramedy that ably entertains while smartly serving up a volley of present-day parallels." [31] Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 73 out of 100 based on 46 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". [32] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale, [33] while PostTrak reported filmgoers gave the film an overall positive score of 74%. [28]

Accolades

YearAwardCategoryNominee(s)ResultRef.
2018 AARP's Movies for Grownups Awards Best Actor Steve Carell Nominated [34] [35] [36]
Best Time CapsuleBattle of the SexesNominated
2018 Casting Society of America Studio or Independent – ComedyJustine Arteta
and Kim Davis-Wagner
Nominated [37]
2018 Critics' Choice Movie Awards Best Actor in a Comedy Steve CarellNominated [38]
Best Actress in a Comedy Emma Stone Nominated
2018 Dorian Awards LGBTQ Film of the YearBattle of the SexesNominated [39]
[40]
2018 GLAAD Media Awards Outstanding Film – Wide Release Nominated [41]
2018 Golden Globe Awards Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy Steve Carell Nominated [42]
Best Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical Emma Stone Nominated
2018 Satellite Awards Best Actress – Motion Picture Nominated [43]
2018 Screen Actors Guild Awards Outstanding Actor in a Supporting Role Steve Carell Nominated [44]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Women's Tennis Association</span> International organization for womens tennis

The Women's Tennis Association (WTA) is the principal organizing body of women's professional tennis. The association governs the WTA Tour, which is the worldwide professional tennis tour for women, and was founded to create a better future for women's tennis. The WTA's corporate headquarters is in St. Petersburg, Florida, with its European headquarters in London and its Asia-Pacific headquarters in Beijing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Billie Jean King</span> American tennis player (born 1943)

Billie Jean King, also known as BJK, is an American former world No. 1 tennis player. King won 39 Grand Slam titles: 12 in singles, 16 in women's doubles, and 11 in mixed doubles. King was a member of the victorious United States team in seven Federation Cups and nine Wightman Cups. For three years, she was the U.S. captain in the Federation Cup.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Margaret Court</span> Australian tennis player (born 1942)

Margaret Court, also known as Margaret Smith Court, is an Australian former world number 1 tennis player and a Christian minister. Considered one of the greatest tennis players of all time, her 24 women's singles major titles and total of 64 major titles are the most in tennis history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steve Carell</span> American actor and comedian (born 1962)

Steven John Carell is an American actor and comedian. He starred as Michael Scott in the NBC sitcom The Office, and also worked at several points as a producer, executive producer, writer, and director. Carell has received numerous accolades, including a Golden Globe Award for The Office. He was recognized as "America's Funniest Man" by Life.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris</span> American filmmakers

Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris are a duo of American directors and producers for films and music videos. They started their career directing videos for such artists as Red Hot Chili Peppers, R.E.M. and the Smashing Pumpkins. Together they directed the films Little Miss Sunshine (2006), Ruby Sparks (2012), and Battle of the Sexes (2017). They also directed the Netflix comedy series Living with Yourself (2019) and episodes of the Hulu series Fleishman Is In Trouble (2022).

Battle of the Sexes refers to a conflict between men and women.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Julie Heldman</span> American tennis player

Julie Heldman is an American tennis player who won 22 singles titles. In 1968 and 1969, she was ranked No. 2 in the U.S. She was Canadian National 18 and Under Singles Champion at age 12, U.S. Champion in Girls' 15 Singles and Girls' 18 Singles, Italian Open Singles Champion, Canadian Singles and Doubles Champion, and U.S. Clay Court Doubles Champion. She won three medals at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics, and three gold medals at the 1969 Maccabiah Games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emma Stone</span> American actress and producer (born 1988)

Emily Jean "Emma" Stone is an American actress and producer. Her accolades include two Academy Awards, two British Academy Film Awards, and two Golden Globe Awards. In 2017, she was the world's highest-paid actress and named by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philadelphia Freedom (song)</span> 1975 single by Elton John

"Philadelphia Freedom" is a song by English musician Elton John and songwriter Bernie Taupin. It was released as a single on 28 February 1975, credited to the Elton John Band. The song was the fourth of John's six number-one singles in the US during the early and mid-1970s, which saw his recordings dominating the charts. In Canada it was his eighth single to hit the top of the RPM national singles chart.

In tennis, "Battle of the Sexes" describes various exhibition matches played between a man and a woman, or a doubles match between two men and two women in one case. The term is most famously used for an internationally televised match in 1973 held at the Houston Astrodome between 55-year-old Bobby Riggs and 29-year-old Billie Jean King, which King won in three sets. The match was viewed by an estimated fifty million people in the United States and ninety million worldwide. King's win is considered a milestone in public acceptance of women's tennis.

<i>When Billie Beat Bobby</i> 2001 television film directed by Jane Anderson

When Billie Beat Bobby is a 2001 American sports comedy drama television film written and directed by Jane Anderson that details the historic 1973 "Battle of the Sexes" tennis match between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs and what led up to it. It aired on ABC on April 16, 2001. The match was filmed at the Great Western Forum in Inglewood, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrea Riseborough</span> British actress (born 1981)

Andrea Louise Riseborough is an English actress. She made her film debut with a small part in Venus (2006), and has since appeared in more prominent roles in Brighton Rock (2010), W.E. (2011), Shadow Dancer (2012), Oblivion (2013), Birdman (2014), Nocturnal Animals (2016), Battle of the Sexes, The Death of Stalin, Mandy, Nancy, The Grudge, Possessor, and To Leslie (2022). For the latter, she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress.

Gladys Medalie Heldman was an American tennis player, manager and magazine publisher. She was the founder of World Tennis magazine. As a manager, she supported and represented Billie Jean King and eight other female tennis players: Rosie Casals, Judy Dalton, Julie Heldman, Kerry Melville, Peaches Bartkowicz, Kristy Pigeon, Nancy Richey, and Valerie Ziegenfuss. They were called the Houston Nine and formed the Virginia Slims Tour in the early 1970s. She is a member of the International Tennis Hall of Fame and the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bobby Riggs</span> American tennis player (1918–1995)

Robert Larimore Riggs was an American tennis champion who was the world No. 1 amateur in 1939 and world No. 1 professional in 1946 and 1947. He played his first professional tennis match on December 26, 1941.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Virginia Slims Circuit</span> Tennis tournament

The Virginia Slims Circuit was a tennis tour consisting of a group of originally nine female professional players. Formed in 1970, the Virginia Slims Circuit eventually became the basis for the later WTA Tour. The players, dubbed the Original 9, rebelled against the United States Lawn Tennis Association (USLTA) because of the wide inequality between the amount of prize money paid to male tennis players and to female tennis players.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nicholas Britell</span> American film composer (born 1980)

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