Battle of the Year
Theatrical poster
Directed byBenson Lee
Screenplay by
  • Brin Hill
  • Chris Parker
Based onPlanet B-Boy
by Benson Lee
Produced by
Starring
Cinematography
Edited byPeter S. Elliot
Music byChristopher Lennertz
Production
company
Contrafilm
Distributed byScreen Gems (through Sony Pictures Releasing[1])
Release date
  • September 20, 2013 (2013-09-20) (United States)
Running time
109 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$20 million[2]
Box office$16.5 million[2]

Battle of the Year is a 2013 American 3D dance film directed by Benson Lee.[3] The film was released on September 20, 2013 through Screen Gems and stars Josh Holloway, Chris Brown, Laz Alonso, Caity Lotz, and Josh Peck.

Battle of the Year is based upon Lee's award-winning 2007 documentary Planet B-Boy, about the b-boying competition of the same name. The feature film includes cinematography by Vasco Nunes, Lee's director of photography on the original documentary.[4]

Plot

Dante Graham enlists Jason Blake to coach the United States' b-boy team to compete in the Battle of the Year, as the US has not won in 15 years. Blake puts together a team of the best b-boys across America à la Dream Team.

After overcoming their differences and learning to work as a team, the Dream Team makes it to the semi-finals, beats the reigning champion French team and finds themselves against the favorites, the Koreans. Ultimately, they lose by one point. Blake resolves to resume training as soon as possible to win next year.

Cast

Development

Film company Screen Gems first began planning for a feature film adaptation of Lee's documentary Planet B-Boy in 2009 after discovering that while interest in breakdancing had declined in the United States, it still enjoyed popularity in other countries.[5] Chris Brown and Josh Holloway were announced as being attached to the project in October 2011.[6] Filming began in late 2011 in Los Angeles, with more filming taking place in Montpellier, France.[4]

Marketing

The first trailer for Battle of the Year was released in July 2013, with Adam Chitwood, Associate Editor of Collider stating that "if B-boy competitions are your thing I assume you'll have some interest in Battle of the Year."[7] Screen Crush commented that the 3D aspect "could be a lot of fun with a film like this" but questioned whether the film would stand out against "an A-list title".[8]

Reception

Critical response

The film was universally panned by film critics. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 6% of 54 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 3.5/10. The website's consensus reads: "With a hopelessly hokey plot and unintentionally hilarious dialogue, Battle of the Year is flimsy even by the standards of the dance movie genre."[9]

Box office

The film was a significant box office bomb grossing roughly $16 million and failed to recoup its budget of $20 million.

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Nominee Result
2014 34th Golden Raspberry Awards Worst Supporting Actor Chris Brown Nominated

References

  1. ↑ "Battle of the Year (2013)". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
  2. 1 2 "Battle of the Year (2013)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved December 10, 2013.
  3. ↑ Harris, Scott (July 23, 2012). "Josh Holloway Vs. Chris Brown Is the 'Battle of the Year'". Next Movie. MTV. Archived from the original on September 21, 2013. Retrieved December 23, 2012.
  4. 1 2 Reuters Staff (October 26, 2011). "Chris Brown, Josh Holloway Starring in 'Planet B Boy'". Reuters. Thomson Reuters. Archived from the original on September 21, 2013. Retrieved December 23, 2012. {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  5. ↑ O'Connell, Sean (October 26, 2011). "Josh Holloway, Chris Brown Down For Breakdancing Drama Planet B Boy". Cinema Blend. GatewayBlend Entertainment. Retrieved December 23, 2012.
  6. ↑ Kit, Borys (October 26, 2011). "Josh Holloway, Laz Alonso and Chris Brown Lead 'Planet B Boy' Cast". The Hollywood Reporter. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved December 23, 2012.
  7. ↑ Chitwood, Adam (July 20, 2012). "First Trailer for Break Dancing Movie BATTLE OF THE YEAR Starring Josh Holloway, Josh Peck, and Chris Brown". Collider. Complex Media. Retrieved December 23, 2012.
  8. ↑ Houx, Damon (July 21, 2012). "JOSH HOLLOWAY COACHES DANCERS IN 'BATTLE OF THE YEAR'". ScreenCrush. Townsquare Media. Retrieved December 23, 2012.
  9. ↑ "Battle of the Year". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved December 7, 2022.
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