Beethoven’s Surprise Success
When it was released in theaters in 1992, Beethoven received initial reviews, mostly negative. The family comedy directed by Brian Levant, with a magnificent protagonist Saint Bernard collected by the Newton children and named after Beethoven, were not much liked by the specialized press. While this saves the performances of the adult protagonists Bonnie Hunt and Charles Grodin, and that of the dog, she sees it only as a clumsy story that lazily borrows a lot from Mom, I missed my plane! that to Honey, I shrunk the kids. And yet…
To everyone’s surprise, including that of Universal Pictures studios who, not believing in it much, had granted it a small budget of less than 20 million dollars, Beethoven was a huge success in North American theaters and around the world, with global grosses of $147.2 million. In France, the story of this dog and this family who will find themselves fighting against a very malicious veterinarian and his henchmen is also a success, with almost 2.5 million viewersthe twelfth most attractive film of 1992.
Try Netflix for free for 1 month with Canal+
A Franchise That’s Growing on the Small Screen
A film that became a cult for children in the 90s, and a lethal weapon for parents to put them in front of the television on holiday evenings, Beethoven It doesn’t have the cinematic scale of the 1990 Macaulay Culkin Christmas comedy, nor the visual effects of Honey, I shrunk the kids. In many ways, despite being a feature-length film, Beethoven It actually has all the measures and qualities of a good TV movie, with its roots in a suburb wealthy and his address at the family home. So, the “surprise” of his success is rather due to the anomaly of a production that would have come out of his “natural” media.
A sequel is immediately given, with the cast of the first film reprising their characters, and Beethoven2 was released in 1993 to a comparable reception: a very lukewarm reception from critics but a success in theaters. A financial success, however, scaled down by about twenty million dollars, which seems to have partly calmed the ardor of the producers and distributors of the franchise, who released a third film only in 2000, this time directly on the video circuit. Five more films will then see the light on this circuit in 2001, 2003, 2008, 2011 and 2014.
Still available on Netflix for a few days, Beethoven It’s worth (re)watching first for a good dose of nostalgia and fun family comedy its departure from the platform on September 30, 2024.
Source: Cine Serie
Ray Ortiz is a journalist at Gossipify, known for his coverage of trending news and current events. He is committed to providing readers with accurate and unbiased reporting, and is respected for his ability to keep readers informed on the latest news and issues.
