Arrival Soars at the Box Office and Comes in as one of the Best Reviewed Films of the Year

Arrival had the highest per theater average of the films in the top five this weekend, even if it came in third on Friday. That’s cause for celebration, especially considering how well the film has been reviewed.  The LA Times’ Kenneth Turan calls Arrival Amy Adams’ film and pinpoints exactly why the hero of the film had to be female, “Adams’ contribution is essential to this plan, especially when you realize that the story is in large part about the nature of language learning and linguistics. Her ability to create empathy and emotional connection, with the audience as well as the aliens, reminds us that the best and most effective science fiction is invariably deeply human at its core.”

Here is how it’s all going down on RT so far, sorting with highest number of reviews so far:

Hell or High Water – 98% 196 reviews/3 negative
Arrival – 93%, with 192 reviews/15 negative
Moonlight – 98% with 145 reviews/3 negative
Hacksaw Ridge – 86% with 133/22 negative
Loving – 88% with 98 reviews/13 negative
La La Land – 96% with 52 reviews / 2 negative
Manchester by the Sea – 98% with 40 reviews / 1 negative
Sully – 88% with 181 reviews/37 negative
Jackie – 98% with 28 reviews / 1 negative
Lion – 77% with 20 reviews / 6 negative
20th Century Women – 94% with 15 reviews / 1 negative

The factor to always pay attention to is the negative number. That’s for winning Best Picture. Otherwise, reviews don’t matter THAT much. A high negative can be an indicator that the film is less likely to win a consensus vote, but it doesn’t impact nominations. Nominations usually reflect passionate love, where winners are generally “broadly liked and loved, never hated.”

The films with the highest number of reviews shows you where those films sit in terms of critics and make it sort of easier to figure out how, say, the Broadcast Film Critics or National Board of Review might lay out the ten best films of the year.  Of course, we aren’t yet at the phase of the race where critics put out their top ten lists and those can sometimes be helpful in determining which films are popular. But none of these review tallies tell me something I didn’t already know about the race.

Either way, Arrival is a film that is not for everyone but for those who love it they REALLY love it. I have my fingers crossed tightly and with endless amounts of hope that the Academy will reward a film with a female lead who is the hero of the story, without the need of a male co-protagonist. Oh, how I hope. We shall see.  I’m also jonesing to see the film again, and there aren’t many I’ve seen this year so far I can say that about.