TEEN ROM-COM DISTRIBUTION Wild Child vs Angus

Wild Child

Nick Moore, 2008

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Genre: Teen romantic comedy (teen rom-com)

MPAA rating: PG-13         BBFC: 12 

Stars: Emma Roberts, Natasha Richardson

Production companies:  Studiocanal, Relativity Media, Working Title
Distributor:                                   Universal Pictures

Budget: $20m 

Box Office: $22m 

Rotten tomatoes: 42%

Trailer:

GENRE

Working Title have produced several adult rom-coms with huge financial success (Four Weddings and a Funeral, Notting Hill, the Bridget Jones films, Love Actually). However, this is their only teen rom-com. Adult rom-coms are enjoyed by adults and teenage viewers alike, however when the protagonists are teenagers older viewers don't really feel appealed to watch these movies, nostalgia for youth does not have any influence.

CASTING

The main actor, Emma Roberts, had been in a succesfull teen show, for American network, Unfabulous. so she was popular for a teen audience, with high viewing figures. The producers picked a leading actress whome they hoped that viewers would remember as part of their growing up, and she already had experience in film through Here again we can see how this would not appeal to an older audience.

Bridget Jones Films - Renee Zellweger

Notting Hill - Julia Roberts

Love Actually, an ensemble of British stars on the path to becoming internationally recognisable:

It is generally more common for the leading character in Working Title films to be male, the Bridget Jones film is an exception, The Danish Girl as a transgender woman character. Even though Julia Roberts was given premiere billing due to her international star status in Notting Hill, Thacker is the protagonist as it his unrequited love and him who makes the decisive act of love at the press conference.

DISTRIBUTION

This film did not get a release in North America, and went straight to DVD. It only made $2m more than its budget (in order to be seen as financially successful, the film needs to be three times as much as the box office)

CRITICAL SUCCESS

The average

Why did Hotel Dogs do so much better in the box office. Emma Robert's change of look in Wild Child is carried on to this film.

Angus, Thongs + Perfect Snogging

This wasn't Nickolodeon's first adaptation of a book, and neither the last, although a film

Both films
- Are American co-productions
- Were theatrically released in the UK and other locations, but not in the USA
- Wild Child went straight-to-DVD in the USA, and Angus got a US premiere on Nickolodeon's sister channels Nick at Nite and TeenNic k (all owned by Paramount's conglomerate parent, Viacom),
so all locations other than USA, the film cycle was vertically integrated this being an example of horizontal integration.
- both hint at teen sexuality but don't show it, Angus became the first Nickolodeon film to be

Differences:
- Wild Child: American protagonists and some US setting, more appeal to US audiences, RP-villain
 vs Angus: English protagonist
- Welsh villain