Theatrical release and box office
Javier Bardem (left) with the Coen brothers at the 2007 Cannes Film FestivalNo Country for Old Men premiered in competition at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival on May 19.[5] Stephen Robb of the BBC covered the film opening at Cannes. "With no sign yet of an undisputed classic in competition at this 60th Cannes," he said, "No Country for Old Men may have emerged as a frontrunner for the trophy Joel and Ethan Coen collected for Barton Fink in 1991. 'We are very fortunate in that our films have sort of found a home here,' says Joel. 'From the point of view of getting the movies out to an audience, this has always been a very congenial platform.' It commercially opened in limited release in 28 theaters in the United States on November 9, 2007, grossing $1,226,333 over the opening weekend, and opened in the United Kingdom (limited release) and Ireland on January 18, 2008.[89] It became the biggest box-office hit for the Coen brothers to date,[90] grossing more than $171 million worldwide,[91] until it was surpassed by True Grit in 2010.[92]
The reception to the film's first press screening in Cannes was positive. Screen International's jury of critics, assembled for its daily Cannes publication, all gave the film three or four marks out of four. The magazine's review said the film fell short of 'the greatness that sometimes seems within its grasp'. But it added that the film was 'guaranteed to attract a healthy audience on the basis of the track record of those involved, respect for the novel and critical support.'"[93]
The film commercially opened in limited release in 28 theaters in the United States on November 9, 2007, grossing $1,226,333 over the opening weekend. The film expanded to a wide release in 860 theaters in the United States on November 21, 2007, grossing $7,776,773 over the first weekend. The film subsequently increased the number of theaters to 2,037. It was the 5th highest ranking film at the US box office in the weekend ending December 16, 2007.[94] The film opened in Australia on December 26, 2007, and in the United Kingdom (limited release) and Ireland on January 18, 2008.[89] As of February 13, 2009, the film had grossed $74,283,000 domestically (United States).[94][95][96] No Country for Old Men became the biggest box-office hit for the Coens to date,[90] until it was surpassed by True Grit in 2010.[97]
No Country for Old Men is the third-lowest-grossing Oscar winner, only surpassing Crash (2005) and The Hurt Locker (2009). "The final balance sheet was a $74 million gross" domestically.[82] Miramax employed its typical 'gradual-release' strategy: it was "released in November, ... was initially given a limited release, ... and ... benefited from the nomination and the win, with weekend grosses picking up after each." By contrast, the previous year's winner, The Departed was a "Best Picture winner with the time series chart that is typical of Hollywood blockbusters – a big opening weekend followed by a steady decline."[98]
Home media
Buena Vista Home Entertainment released the film on DVD and in the high definition Blu-ray format on March 11, 2008, in the United States. The only extras are three behind-the-scenes featurettes.[99] The release topped the home video rental charts upon release and remained in the top 10 positions for the first 5 weeks.[100]
Website Blu-ray.com reviewed the Blu-ray edition of the film, and gave the video quality an almost full mark. It stated that "with its AVC MPEG-4 video on BD-50, the picture quality of No Country for Old Men stands on the highest rung of the home video ladder. Color vibrancy, black level, resolution and contrast are reference quality ... Every line and wrinkle in Bell's face is resolved and Chigurh sports a pageboy haircut in which every strand of hair appears individually distinguishable. No other film brings its characters to life so vividly solely on the merits of visual technicalities ... Watch the nighttime shoot-out between Moss and Chigurh outside the hotel ... As bullets slam through the windshield of Moss's getaway car, watch as every crack and bullet hole in the glass is extraordinarily defined."
The audio quality earned an almost full mark, where the "24-bit 48 kHz lossless PCM serves voices well, and excels in more treble-prone sounds ... Perhaps the most audibly dynamic sequence is the dawn chase scene after Moss returns with water. Close your eyes and listen to Moss's breathing and footsteps as he runs, the truck in pursuit as it labors over rocks and shrubs, the crack of the rifle and hissing of bullets as they rip through the air and hit the ground ... the entire sequence and the film overall sounds very convincing."[101]
Kenneth S. Brown of website High-Def Digest stated that "the Blu-ray edition of the film ... is magnificent ... and includes all of the 480i/p special features that appear on the standard DVD. However, to my disappointment, the slim supplemental package doesn't include a much needed directors' commentary from the Coens. It would have been fascinating to listen to the brothers dissect the differences between the original novel and the Oscar-winning film. It may not have a compelling supplemental package, but it does have a striking video transfer and an excellent PCM audio track."[102]
The Region 2 DVD (Paramount) was released on June 2, 2008. The film was released on Blu-ray Disc in the United Kingdom on September 8, 2008. A 3-disc special edition with a digital copy was released on DVD and Blu-ray on April 7, 2009. It was presented in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen and Dolby Digital 5.1 (English, Spanish). This release included over five hours of new bonus features although it lacks deleted scenes and audio commentary. Some of the bonus material/features on the disc include documentaries about the production and working with the Coens, a featurette made by Brolin, the featurette "Diary of a Country Sheriff" which considers the lead characters and the subtext they form, a Q&A discussion with the crew hosted by Spike Jonze, and a variety of interviews with the cast and the Coens from EW.com Just a Minute, ABC Popcorn with Peter Travers, and an installment of Charlie Rose.[103]
