The Sun Is Also a Star

The Sun Is Also a Star is a 2019 American teen drama film directed by Ry Russo-Young and written by Tracy Oliver, based on the young adult novel of the same name by Nicola Yoon. The film stars Yara Shahidi and Charles Melton, and follows a young couple who fall in love, while one of their families faces deportation.

It was theatrically released in the United States on May 17, 2019, by Warner Bros. Pictures and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures. The film received mixed reviews from critics.

Premise
Natasha Kingsley is a young quantum physics student who, on an ordinary day, meets a charming young would-be medical student, Daniel Bae. The two quickly form a romantic relationship but must struggle to keep it together in the wake of Natasha’s family facing deportation back to Jamaica.

Cast

 * Yara Shahidi as Natasha Kingsley
 * Charles Melton as Daniel Bae
 * Jake Choi as Charles Bae
 * Camrus Johnson as Omar
 * Gbenga Akinnagbe as Samuel Kingsley
 * Miriam A. Hyman as Patricia Kingsley
 * Cathy Shim as Min Soo Bae
 * John Leguizamo as Jeremy Martinez
 * Hill Harper as Lester Barnes

Production
Filming began on June 19, 2018. In June, Camrus Johnson was cast to play Omar in the film, and on June 29, 2018, Miriam A. Hyman also joined the cast, as Natasha's mother Mrs. Kingsley, a hard-working Jamaican-born waitress who is resigned to her family's imminent deportation. In July 2018, Cathy Shim was cast to play Min Soo Bae, a Korean immigrant in the film.

Herdis Stefánsdóttir composed the score for the film, while Dustin O'Halloran served as score producer. The soundtrack was released at Sony Classical.

Box office
In the United States and Canada, The Sun Is Also a Star was released on May 17, 2019 alongside John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum, The Crown and A Dog's Journey, and was initially projected to gross $6–12 million from 2,037 theaters in its opening weekend. However, after making $1 million on its first Friday, estimates were lowered to $3 million. It ended up debuting to $2.5 million, one of the worst-ever openings for a film playing in over 2,000 theaters.

Critical response
On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 52% based on 79 reviews, with an average rating of 5.66/10. The website's critical consensus reads: "The Sun Is Also a Star has a pair of easy-to-love leads, but tests the audience's affection with a storyline that strains credulity past the breaking point." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 52 out of 100, based on 25 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews." Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B–" on an A+ to F scale, while those at PostTrak gave it 2.5 out of 5 stars.