It’s rare to see a big summer vfx movie open in limited release, but Fox Searchlight’s Sunshine is only illuminating about ten theaters across North America today. The latest film from 28 Days Later and Trainspotting director Danny Boyle opens to mostly positive reviews and will hopefully get a wider berth over the next couple of weeks. The limited bow can be perceived as a lack of confidence on the part of Fox, but it is more likely a shrewd plan to create buzz for a sci-fi thriller that doesn’t have a built-in audience like Transformers or Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.
Sunshine takes place 50 years in the future and tells the story of a group of astronauts on a mission to reignite the dying sun with a nuclear device as the Earth is suffering from global freezing. Written by 28 Days Later scribe Alex Garland, the pic boasts an ensemble cast that includes Cillian Murphy (28 Days Later), Chris Evans (Fantastic Four), Michelle Yeoh (Memoirs of a Geisha) and Cliff Curtis (Live Free or Die Hard). The visual effects work was completed by The Moving Picture Company (MPC).
Based on reviews, Fox’s independent offshoot must be hopeful that the movie can build an audience, much like Boyle’s London-based zombie movie did a few years ago. The Hollywood Reporter calls Sunshine ‘an extraordinary film’ and the Los Angeles Times says it’s a ‘nail-bitingly tense science-fiction thriller.’ Time will tell if the slow burn turns into a box office inferno or if moviegoer indifference allows the flick’s momentum to fizzle out.
