Diego Maradona (film)

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Diego Maradona
Theatrical release poster
Directed byAsif Kapadia
Written byAsif Kapadia
Produced by
StarringDiego Maradona
Edited byChris King
Music byAntônio Pinto
Production
companies
Distributed byAltitude Film Distribution
Release dates
  • 19 May 2019 (2019-05-19) (Cannes)
  • 14 June 2019 (2019-06-14) (UK)
Running time
130 minutes[2]
CountryUnited Kingdom
Languages
  • Spanish
  • Italian
  • English
Box office$2.8 million[3]

Diego Maradona is a 2019 British documentary film directed by Asif Kapadia[4] about Argentine legend Diego Maradona with never before seen archival footage.[5] It was screened out of competition at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival.[6][7]

A British venture, the film was produced by On The Corner Film, in association with Film4 with Altitude Film serving as distributor.[1] The film was theatrically released in the United Kingdom on 14 June 2019.

Synopsis[edit]

Diego Maradona documents and centres around the time Maradona transferred from FC Barcelona to S.S.C. Napoli in 1984, eventually winning two Serie A titles and the 1988–89 UEFA Cup with the Italian team.[8]

Production[edit]

Maradona at the San Paolo Stadium presentation in Naples, 5 July 1984.

The concept of producing a documentary film about Maradona came after the director released the film Amy in 2015. Due to difficulty on finding a story with a beginning and an end, the director opted on Naples as being the centrepiece for the film.[9] During the London Olympics in 2012, producer Paul Martin contacted the director after discovering archival footage but after the release of Senna the idea was pushed back. Martin and Gay-Rees met with someone outside of Naples who owned private material. The idea to document Maradona’s life began in 1981 by his first agent Jorge Cyterszpiler. This led to two Argentine cameramen recording hundreds of hours of film. However, the film never got produced.[9] In Buenos Aires more archival footage was discovered in the home of Maradona’s ex-wife Claudia in a trunk untouched for 30 years.[9]

Release[edit]

The world premiere of Diego Maradona was screened out of competition at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival on 19 May 2019.[10][7] The UK premiere was screened as the opening night film at the 26th Sheffield Doc/Fest on 6 June 2019.[11] It was released in the United Kingdom on 14 June 2019 by Altitude Film Distribution.[2] It had a theatrical limited release in the United States on 20 September[12][13][3] and has been available on HBO on demand and HBO partners streaming platforms since 1 October 2019.[14][15][16]

Spirit Entertainment is set to release Diego Maradona on digital, DVD and Blu-ray in the United Kingdom on 11 November 2019.[17] The film debuted at No. 29 on the UK Official Film Chart on 20 November 2019.[18]

Reception[edit]

Box office[edit]

Diego Maradona grossed £966,936 ($1,174,464) in the United Kingdom and over $1,443,342 in other territories, for a total worldwide gross of $2,617,806.[19][3] It made the largest share of its box office revenue in the United Kingdom as well.[3] However, it failed to make any money at the domestic box office during its release in North America.[3][12][20]

In the United Kingdom it grossed £284,949 ($358,787) from 139 cinemas in its opening weekend, finishing ninth at the box office.[21] It grossed another £130,406 ($166,186) adding 53 screens for a total of 195 in its second weekend and grossing £609,735 ($777,029) through 10 days.[22] Over four weeks it grossed a total of £850,268.[19] It grossed £13,367 on 37 screens in its fifth weekend, grossing a total of £884,651 on the week ending 14 July.[23] In its sixth weekend it made £10,410 ($13,016) across 19 cinemas[24][3] and £1,872 on five screens in its tenth weekend for a total gross of £966,936.[19]

Critical response[edit]

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 90% based on 81 reviews, with an average rating of 7.7/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Diego Maradona traces the arc of a standard sports documentary, but illuminates its subject with uncommon clarity and depth."[25] On Metacritic, the film holds a rating of 78 out of 100, based on 14 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[26]

Soundtrack[edit]

An official soundtrack album Diego Maradona: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack was released worldwide on digital download only on 2 August 2019 by Lakeshore Records and features a twenty-eight track musical score all composed by Antonio Pinto.[27]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "Diego Maradona (2019)". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 3 June 2019. Retrieved 14 July 2019.
  2. ^ a b "Diego Maradona". British Board of Film Classification. Retrieved 14 July 2019.
  3. ^ a b c d e f "Diego Maradona (2019) International Box Office Results". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
  4. ^ "Diego Maradona - official trailer". Irish Times. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
  5. ^ "Diego Maradona documentary: a first look". The Guardian. 23 April 2019. Retrieved 30 April 2019.
  6. ^ "Cannes festival 2019: full list of films". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
  7. ^ a b "Cannes Film Festival 2019: Nine films to look out for". BBC News. 14 May 2019. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
  8. ^ MUBI
  9. ^ a b c "Diego Maradona film director Asif Kapadia: 'We found half the footage in a trunk in Buenos Aires'". The Independent. 14 June 2019.
  10. ^ "First Clip Released From 'Diego Maradona' Following Cannes World Premiere Announcement". Filmoria.co.uk. 23 April 2019. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
  11. ^ "Sheffield Doc/Fest: Sheffield International Documentary Festival". sheffdocfest.com. Archived from the original on 7 December 2020. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
  12. ^ a b "Diego Maradona (2019) Domestic Box Office Results". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
  13. ^ "Countdown Diego Maradona release date in United States - Cinema Friday, September 20, 2019 at 00:00". www.watchisup.com. Archived from the original on 23 October 2019. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
  14. ^ Staff, Channel Guide (1 October 2019). "Tuesday, Oct. 1: HBO's 'Diego Maradona' Charts the Life and Career of the Soccer Icon". Channel Guide Magazine.
  15. ^ Clarke, Stewart (1 May 2019). "HBO Scores 'Diego Maradona' Documentary About Argentinian Soccer Superstar". Variety.
  16. ^ Lattanzio, Ryan (26 August 2019). "'Diego Maradona' Trailer: 'Amy' Director Asif Kapadia Examines Another Star's Rise and Fall". IndieWire.
  17. ^ "Diego Maradona Blu-ray". Retrieved 12 September 2019.
  18. ^ "Official Film Chart". Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on 10 December 2019. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
  19. ^ a b c "BFI Weekend Box Office 16/08/2019 - 18/08/2019". British Film Institute. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
  20. ^ "Diego Maradona (2019)". The Numbers, Nash Information Services, LLC. Retrieved 7 December 2019.
  21. ^ BFI: Weekend 14-16 June 2019 UK box office report
  22. ^ "BFI: Weekend 21st-23rd June 2019 UK box office report". BFI. Retrieved 6 August 2019.
  23. ^ Diego Maradona | BFI Weekend Box Office 12 July 2019 – 14 July 2019
  24. ^ Diego Maradona | BFI Weekend Box Office 19 July 2019 – 21 July 2019
  25. ^ "Diego Maradona (2019)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  26. ^ "Diego Maradona Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 15 May 2020.
  27. ^ Diego Maradona (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) 2 August 2019

External links[edit]

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