Why was Ex-Machina successful at the box office?

In this essay I intend to discuss how and why ‘Ex-Machina’ was successful in terms of box office sales.

This movie is a science fiction movie which automatically places it quite high up on the popularity scale as the genre is very popular along with the dystopian genre. This film incorporates both science fiction and dystopian elements into it, making it a kind of genre hybrid. This aided its success as it appealed to its target audience of teenagers and above. I believe that this was the target audience for ‘Ex-Machina’ as teenagers and young adults have shown that they are interested in films that toy with the idea of a new artificial intelligence, by the success of similar films such as ‘Prometheus’ (2012), ‘Blade Runner’ (1982) and ‘I, Robot’ (2002). However, this film could then also be classed as a cult film because it appeals to a niche/indie audience who like the idea of exploring new technologies to do with the idea of recreating human life and artificial intelligence.

The film was already going to be popular due to it being produced by renowned production companies and distributors such as Universal Pictures and Film4 along with Alex Garland being the director. This aided the success of this film as Alex Garland in particular is known for directing popular films within the sci-fi/drama genre such as ’28 days later’ (2002). Alex Garlands reputation as a director working with massive film companies already sets high expectations for a films quality and popularity with an audience as they have very impressive reputations. As well as this, the production studios have the money and power to use the best technology/special effects to make this film the best it could be which is partly what made this film so desirable to see as it is aesthetically pleasing due to new and improved effects and technological concepts and ideas.

In today’s society, the idea of creating something better than the human race, eg: Artificial Intelligence is very current and it is something that audiences are going crazy for in cinema. Nowadays, the technology and CGI programmes needed to create something that is as smooth and perfect as Ava on screen are available to most production/editing units, therefore making a film like this becomes easier to create. This is because the high level of effects then becomes a basic principle which can then be furthered through use of camera angles/techniques and other methods of visual trickery in order to heighten our level of perspective into the film as an audience.

In terms of marketing, the film was sold very well as it showcased the special effects that made the film desirable to an audience as we are shown Ava, the seemingly human robot played by Alicia Vikander. The effects are extremely smooth and the way we are given a brief show of how Ava is more robot than human without being completely computer generated makes us as an audience want to see what else the film has to offer us. As Ava is the main focus of the film and is the representative of the level of special effects, she is what is used

on all of the film posters and other means of advertisement. She was also used on the international dating site known as Tinder on a fake profile to draw in members of the films target audience (teens/young adults). When people on the site showed interest in her, an automated question was sent to them as to why they found her attractive and what they thought made her human. This created an international interest for the film as the audience was asked the same question that the films protagonist, ‘Caleb’ is asked himself. This makes the audience more involved with the film and therefore persuaded them to want to go and see it for themselves and see if this question was answered.

Whilst this film is popular as a mainstream as well as niche film, its target audience was limited as it is not a four quadrant film. This is due to the fact that the film has a 15 certificate as it contains violence, bad language, nudity and adult themes which couldn’t be shown to a younger audience. This makes it difficult for many people who have children or younger siblings to be able to see the film as they can’t take them to see it, therefore limiting the films audience. However, the film was still extremely successful as it managed to secure around $38,128,313 worldwide along with $6,679,662 in total domestic video sales. This was anticipated as science fiction films usually do well and the film was already receiving huge amounts of attention through its pre-production stage.

This film doesn’t contain any A-list stars, however the actors in this film are becoming more and more famous. The two main characters, played by Domhall Gleeson and Corey Johnson will soon be at least B-list if not A-list stars as they are due to star in the new Star Wars movies which will boost their reputations as actors as well as their status within the science fiction genre. I think that this films popularity will continue to increase after the new Star Wars film has been released as people will search for films containing the stars which are of the same genre as Star Wars and they will find Ex-Machina. In a way, Star Wars will act as a selling point for Ex-Machina due to the same actors being used.

In conclusion, I think that Ex-Machina was successful at the box office as it is of a genre that is very popular in the media currently along with the use of detailed special effects such as CGI, and that gives it the power to attract mainstream as well as niche audiences, furthering its ability to make money and increase its sales. Its success is also credited to the reputation of its director, production companies and up and coming A-list actors who are well known (or soon to be) within the genre and in cinema in general.