Storm Boy (2019 film)

Storm Boy is an Australian drama family film based on the novella by Colin Thiele of the same name. The adaptation was directed by Shawn Seet and stars Geoffrey Rush and Jai Courtney. Thiele's novel was previously adapted in 1976.

Plot
Based on the book, Storm Boy follows a young boy growing up on a largely uninhabited coastline of Southern Australia. He rescues three orphan pelicans and forms a close bond with them.

Cast

 * Geoffrey Rush as Mike Kingley
 * Jai Courtney as Hideaway Tom
 * Finn Little as Storm Boy
 * Trevor Jamieson as Fingerbone Bill
 * Morgana Davies as Madeline
 * Erik Thomson as Malcom Downer
 * David Gulpilil as the Father of Fingerbone Bill
 * Simone Annan as Murujuga Lawyer
 * Thibul Nettle as Police Officer (as Stinga-T)
 * Luca Asta Sardelis as Smirking Schoolgirl #1
 * Georgina Giessauf as Smirking Schoolgirl #2
 * David John Clark as Police Senior Constable
 * Chantal Contouri as Julie Sims
 * Martha Lott as Pearl
 * Nick Launchbury as Reporter #1
 * Emma Bargery as Reporter #2
 * Miraede Bhatia-Williams as Mildew
 * Brendan Cooney as Police Officer
 * Edward Boehm as Young Storm Boy
 * Caroline Mignone as Angela
 * Anna Bampton as Jenny
 * Rory Walker as Murray
 * Lucy Cowan as Belle
 * Niraj Pandya as Office Receptionist
 * Brendan Rock as Hunter #1
 * James Smith as Hunter #2
 * Bradley Trent Williams as Jasper Davies
 * Tim Whibley as Office Worker
 * Paul Blackwell as Cal Evans
 * Michelle Nightingale as Mrs. Marks

Production
Storm Boy, an Ambience Entertainment production, was shot along the Coorong and in Adelaide, South Australia in July-August 2017. The Hudson Hornet used in the filming was supplied by a local South Australian car collector. The movie is considered a box office bomb.

Release
The film opened in theatres in Australia and New Zealand on 17 January 2019, in Poland on 19 January 2019 and in the United States on 5 April 2019.

Box office
The film was released in 320 theatres in Australia on 17 January 2019 but it grossed only $874,000(USD) on its opening weekend. By the end of its theatrical run in Australia, it had earned a total of $3.5 million(USD). The film also grossed just over $600,000(USD) in Poland and New Zealand when it was released over 17-19 January 2019. The film was released in the United States & Territories on 5 April 2019 but only earned $71,000(USD). The total box-office for Storm Boy was $4.2 million against a production budget of $15 million, resulting in the film being a box office bomb.

Critical response
The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported that 67% of critics have given the film a positive review based on 33 reviews, with an average rating of 6.09/10. The site's critics consensus reads, "Storm Boy can't quite live up to the original, but this retelling of a beloved story retains enough of its classic source material's heart to remain worth a watch." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 67 out of 100 based on 7 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".