The Nice Guys

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  • Directed By: Shane Black
  • Written By: Shane Black, Anthony Bagarozzi
  • Release Date: May 20, 2016
  • Domestic Distributor: Warner Bros
  • Cast: Russell Crowe, Ryan Gosling, Angourie Rice

Box Office Info:
Budget: $60 million Financed by: Waypoint Entertainment; Silver Pictures; Cutting Edge Group
Domestic Gross: $35,261,763 Overseas Gross: $26,526,455

the nice guys budget
The Nice Guys began development in the early 2000s as a film set in contemporary Los Angeles, but the project went nowhere and then was retooled as a CBS TV show, which also never materialized.  After director Shane Black’s success with Iron Man 3, he was able to secure financing for the project as a feature film set in the 1970s.  The Nice Guys reunited Shane Black with producer Joel Silver, which both paired on Black’s 2005 first directorial effort Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and his screenplays for The Last Boy Scout and Lethal Weapon.  Joel Silver’s Silver Pictures arranged the financing for The Nice Guys and partnered with billionaire Ken Kao to co-finance the picture through his company Waypoint Entertainment.

Cast of The Nice Guys

Russell Crowe

He was born 7 April. 1964. In Wellington, New Zealand. He married Danielle Spencer in 2003. They were divorced in 2018. He has two living children. He comes from a cinematic family. A grandfather won numerous awards for filming World War Two action sequences, and his father was a movie set caterer as well as a noted hotelier. Crowe says he became interested in becoming an actor while watching people in the lobby of his father’s hotel.

Ryan Gosling

He was born 12 November. 1980. In Ontario, Canada. He has been with his partner Eva Mendes since 2011. He has two children. He began his acting career at age thirteen on the revived version of the Mickey Mouse Club, where he sang and cavorted for several years. His musical abilities landed him the lead in 2016’s ‘La La Land.’

Angourie Rice

She was born on 1 January, 2001 in Sydney, Australia. Currently has no spouse or partner on record. She was educated at Princess Hill Secondary College. As a child she worked extensively in Australian television. She also produces and stars in a podcast called The Community Library.

Matt Bomer

He was born 11 October 1971. In Webster Grove, Missouri. He married Simon Halls in 2011. They have 3 children together. He began his acting career with the Utah Shakespeare Festival in Cedar City. He was voted “TV’s Sexiest Man” by several polls in 2011 and in 2012.

Margaret Qualley

She was born 23 October, 1994. In Kalispell, Montana. She is currently engaged to Jack Antonoff. She has no children of record. As a young girl she was trained in classical ballet, but gave it up when she broke left big toe during a dance recital. She’s a relative newcomer to the movies, having mostly worked in television.

Yaya DaCosta

She was birthed 15 November, 1982. In New York City, New York. She currently has no spouse or partner of record. And has one child. She grew up in a polyglot household, and can speak Japanese. She got her acting start in the daytime soap opera ‘All My Children.’ Her last film was Bolden in 2019. She is currently busy in several TV series.

Keith David

He was born 4 June, 1956 in the city of New York, New York State. He has been married twice. His latest spouse is Dionne Lee Williams, whom he married in 2001. He is currently raising 3 children. He’s been in the movies since 1983. He is one of the main players in 2022’s blockbuster film, Nope.

Beau Knapp

He was born 17 April, 1989. In Los Angeles, California.

A very private person, he has not released any details about his personal life or philosophy. To date, he has been in 13 movies.

Lois Smith

Born 3 November, 1930. In Topeka, Kansas. She has been divorced since 1970. A strong character actor, she has been in over 100 movies since 1955.

Kim Basinger

Born in December of 1953, the famous actress hails from Athens, Georgia, where a high school has been named after her. Previously married to Alec Baldwin, she currently is in a relationship with her hair dresser Mitch Stone.

In an interview with Kao, he says that the budget for The Nice Guys was $60 million.  Ken Kao sold the pic to international distributors through his sales company Bloom.  Warner Bros attached themselves as domestic distributor and Bloom sold the pre-sale rights at the American Film Market in 2014 and sold out every territory, which would help limit their exposure to the ambitious budget for an indie.  The music publishing rights company Cutting Edge Group also invested in the movie and had setup numerous investments in feature films (The Infiltrator was another 2016 investment) and in return they get the music publishing rights.  Cutting Edge would also handle scoring duties, clearances and music supervision and see returns from the soundtrack and sheet-music sales.

Warner Bros initially set the release date for June 17, 2016 but swapped the dates with another action-comedy Central Intelligence and moved The Nice Guys to May 20 and soon Neighbors 2 shifted to that date.  Despite only having domestic rights on the line, Warner Bros heavily invested in a strong marketing campaign for the movie, but The Nice Guys was tracking soft up to its release, with a $10 million opening expected.

Reviews were very positive and it opened just above expectations with $11,203,270 in 2,865 theaters, but The Nice Guys and Neighbors 2 ate into each other’s audience and both pictures suffered.  It placed #4 for the weekend led by new opener The Angry Birds Movie and holdover Captain America: Civil War.  The pic declined 41.8% the following weekend to $6,516,234 and 47% in its third frame to $3,453,344.  The Nice Guys closed its domestic run with $35,261,763, sadly continuing the decline in attendance for adult skewing mid-budget pictures.  Warner Bros would see returned about $19.3 million after theaters take their percentage of the gross, which does not cover their P&A expenses.

The Nice Guys pulled in soft numbers overseas for the many distributors who snatched up the expensive rights at AFM.  The reported offshore cume was only $26.5 million.

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