Will Smith’s latest major movie left HBO Max on Sunday, Dec. 19. King Richard was released to theaters and the streaming platform on the same day, Nov. 18, just as all other Warner Bros. titles have been since Wonder Woman 1984 was released that way in December 2020. The movie stars Smith as Richard Williams, the father of tennis legends Venus Williams and Serena Williams.
Last year, Warner Bros. announced plans to release every movie on its 2021 schedule on HBO Max the same day as their theatrical release. After 31 days, the movies leave HBO Max and are exclusive to theaters until they are released on home video. This plan had mixed results throughout the year. While blockbusters like Godzilla vs. Kong and Dune still hit home runs in theaters, King Richard was a big disappointment. It has grossed just $24.9 million worldwide and cost $50 million to make.
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Although King Richard didn’t quite win a grand slam title at the box office, it has earned Smith some of his best reviews in years. Smith earned the Best Actor title from the National Board of Review Awards and is expected to be a strong favorite at the Academy Awards since voters love awarding performers for playing real people. King Richard also made the National Board of Review’s list of Top Ten Films of 2021. Aunjanue Ellis, who played the Williams sisters’ mother, Oracene “Brandy” Price, won Best Supporting Actress.
King Richard was written by Zach Baylin and directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green. Saniyya Sidney stars as Venus, while Demi Singleton plays Serena. The movie tracks Richard’s attempts to make Venus and Serena tennis superstars and overcome the adversity they face. It goes right up to Venus’ first professional match.
Smith spent hours and hours watching footage of Williams to get into the role. “I felt like I knew him immediately,” Smith recently told USA Today. “He’s very similar to my father in some ways. I understood what it meant to feel brutalized by the world and to have a dream that nobody believes in but you, and you’re not going to let that deter you. I got the heart of him.”
The Williams sisters were also executive producers on the project. Serena called it an “unbelievable experience” to watch Smith play their father. She also promised that the movie is filled with “only true stories.” However, there are several parts of the film that were changed for dramatic license.
Critics also pointed out that the movie does ignore Williams’ children from previous relationships. Although his son from a previous marriage is referenced, Williams had five children from an earlier marriage. Sabrina Williams, Venus and Serena’s half-sister, said the movie was only “telling half the story” of her father’s life. “I think the title is completely over the top. He thinks he’s the king of the world, but no one that’s ever been around him thinks he’s King Richard,” she told The Sun. “It is an outrageous title, but to truth be told, it fits him.”
