Box office
Arrival grossed $100.5 million in the United States and Canada, and $102.8 million in other countries, for a worldwide total of $203.4 million, against a production budget of $47 million.[3]
In the United States and Canada, Arrival was released alongside Almost Christmas and Shut In, and was originally expected to gross around $17 million from 2,317 theaters in its opening weekend, with the studio projecting a more conservative debut of $12–15 million.[2] The film made $1.4 million from Thursday night previews at 1,944 theaters and $9.4 million on its first day, pushing projections up to $24 million. It ended up grossing $24.1 million over the weekend, finishing third at the box office.[57] In its second weekend, the film grossed $12.1 million (a drop of 49.6%), and in its third made $11.5 million (dropping just 5.6%).[58] Following its eight Oscar nominations, the film returned to 1,221 theaters on January 27, 2017 (an increase of 1,041 from the week before) and grossed $1.5 million (up 357.4% from its previous week's $321,411).[59]
Critical response
Amy Adams's performance as Louise Banks garnered widespread critical acclaim.[60]On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 94% based on 439 reviews, with an average rating of 8.40/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Arrival delivers a must-see experience for fans of thinking person's sci-fi that anchors its heady themes with genuinely affecting emotion and a terrific performance from Amy Adams."[61] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 81 out of 100, based on 52 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".[62] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale.[57]
Robbie Collin of The Telegraph praised the film, calling it "introspective, philosophical and existentially inclined—yet [it] unfolds in an unwavering tenor of chest-tightening excitement. And there is a mid-film revelation—less a sudden twist than sleek unwinding of everything you think you know—that feels, when it hits you, like your seat is tipping back."[63] Brian Tallerico of RogerEbert.com gave the film three out of four: "It's a movie designed to simultaneously challenge viewers, move them and get them talking. For the most part, it succeeds."[64] For Time, Sam Lansky called it "sophisticated, grownup sci-fi: a movie about aliens for people who don't like movies about aliens".[65] IGN reviewer Chris Tilly gave it a score of 8.5 out of 10, saying: "Arrival is a language lesson masquerading as a blockbuster, though much more entertaining than that sounds... it's smart, sophisticated sci-fi that asks big questions, and does a pretty good job of answering them".[66] Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times praised Adams's performance, writing, "Arrival is really Adams' film, a showcase for her ability to quietly and effectively meld intelligence, empathy, and reserve".[60] Writing for USA Today, Brian Truitt called Adams a "definite contender" for the Oscar for Best Actress, saying she was "spectacular in giving Louise the right emotional balance".[67]
Conversely, Forrest Wickman of Slate had a more mixed opinion of the film, praising the cinematography and musical score, but writing that he thought it was similar to Christopher Nolan's "only intermittently stellar" Interstellar, and criticizing the dialogue as "clunky".[68]
Rex Reed, writing for the New York Observer, gave the film one out of four, calling it Villeneuve's "latest exercise in pretentious poopery"[69] and referring to a lack of action in the storyline.
The Guardian rated it the third-best film of 2016.[70] Critic Catherine Shoard said that it "amounts to something transcendent; something to reignite your excitement for cinema, for life".[71] Numerous other publications and websites, including io9,[72] Den of Geek,[73] Mir Fantastiki,[74] The Atlantic,[75] Blastr,[76] and Digital Trends[77] named Arrival the best film of 2016.
Response from academics
David Adger, a linguistics professor who teaches at Queen Mary University of London, had a favorable view of the accuracy of the linguistics in Arrival, saying, "the portrayal of trying different hypotheses about the language, coming up with generalizations, and testing them out was spot on."[78]
Similarly, Jessica Coon, a linguistics professor who teaches at McGill University and helped with the film's linguistics, said, "what the film gets exactly right is both the interactive nature but also that you really have to start small." She noted that the creators had not invented a complete language.[79]
Linguistics professor Betty Birner, who teaches at Northern Illinois University, said that the film's use of the Sapir–Whorf hypothesis went "beyond anything that is plausible". She also felt the film oversimplified the process of translating the aliens' language, skipping straight from Banks establishing the basic vocabulary of the language to her being able to understand abstract concepts such as "weapon".[80]
Accolades, awards and nominations
For the Academy Awards, Arrival was nominated for Best Picture; Best Director; Best Adapted Screenplay; Best Cinematography; Best Production Design; Best Film Editing; Best Sound Mixing; and the Academy Award for Best Sound Editing, which it won.[81]
Adams was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama; AACTA International Award for Best Actress; BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role; Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role; and the National Board of Review Award for Best Actress, which she won. Composer Jóhann Jóhannsson was nominated for Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score.[82]
