One Direction: This Is Us
Theatrical release poster
Directed byMorgan Spurlock
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyNeil Harvey
Edited by
  • Guy Harding
  • Wyatt Smith
  • Pierre Takal
Music bySimon Franglen
Production
companies
Distributed byTriStar Pictures
Release dates
  • 29 August 2013 (2013-08-29) (United Kingdom)
  • 30 August 2013 (2013-08-30) (United States)
Running time
92 minutes[2]
Countries
  • United Kingdom
  • United States[3]
LanguageEnglish
Budget$10 million[4]
Box office$68.5 million[4]

One Direction: This Is Us is a 2013 3-D documentary concert film about British boy band One Direction. It opened in the United Kingdom on 29 August 2013, followed a day later in the United States. The film follows the group on their Take Me Home Tour. It was a commercial success and grossed $68 million worldwide.

Synopsis

Billed as an intimate all-access look at life on the road for the global music phenomenon, This Is Us follows the lives of the five members of the boy band, One Direction. One Direction was first put into a group on the X Factor in 2010. This Is Us contains live concert footage from One Direction's Take Me Home Tour at London's O2 Arena,[5] and footage from their lives pre- and post-X Factor appearance, and gives insight into the preparation for their concerts and ultimately what it is like to be One Direction.[6][7]

Production

This Is Us was first announced by the band while on The Today Show in New York's Rockefeller Plaza on 12 November 2012,[8] followed by confirmation it would be directed by Morgan Spurlock.[9] Spurlock, who unsuccessfully negotiated to direct similar films, Justin Bieber: Never Say Never and Katy Perry: Part of Me, said that he took on the film because of the band's fast-track rise to stardom.[10] The film started filming in Tokyo on 17 January 2013 and was being shot in 3D with 4K resolution RED Epic digital cameras, which Spurlock said gave a cinematic appeal. The film was later given the name One Direction: This Is Us on 19 March 2013, previously being referred to as 1D3D.[11] A majority of the movie was shot in London at the O2 arena in early April. It has been further said that the film is not scripted, with the footage genuine and of them acting "naturally".[12] Harry Styles admitted that the cameras following them around was scary but said that this film gives them the opportunity to show more personality, how they interact, and how they relax when not on stage.[13] Niall Horan remarked that the film crew had access to all areas, even filming them in the toilet.[14]

Scenes shown in trailers include footage of fans telling stories related to the band following a request posted on YouTube,[15] as well as comment from Simon Cowell, who was their mentor on The X Factor and is also a producer of the film.

Release

The world premiere of the film was held in Leicester Square, in London on 20 August 2013.[16]

The film was released in the United Kingdom on 29 August 2013,[17] and was rolled out internationally on 30 August 2013 with a majority of markets being reached by the end of September 2013.[18]

Marketing

As part of the marketing campaign, the band allowed fans to upload pictures of themselves that would appear on a version of the theatrical poster. The theatrical poster itself has pictures of fans forming part of the background, with another version created and displayed on the band's website where the photos were used to recreate the poster itself.[19]

An initial teaser trailer was released on 8 February 2013,[20] followed by a second trailer on 25 June 2013.[21] This second trailer also teased a snippet of "Best Song Ever", the lead single from their third studio album, Midnight Memories, which released upcoming on 25 November 2013.

Box office

This Is Us grossed $28.9 million in North America, and $38.5 million in other countries, for a worldwide total of $67.3 million.[4] It is currently the fourth highest-grossing concert film.[22] It made a net profit of $18 million, when factoring together all expenses and revenues for the film.[23]

The film scored $2.7 million on its Thursday debut,[24][25] and topped the box office on its opening weekend, earning $17,000,000, far better than other concert films like Katy Perry: Part of Me, Glee: The 3D Concert Movie, and Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience, but not enough to surpass Justin Bieber: Never Say Never, Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds and Michael Jackson's This Is It.[26] This Is Us is the third concert film to top the box office, after the Hannah Montana and Michael Jackson films.

According to Forbes, the film would top the box office on its opening weekend with an estimated $18 million.[27] The Hollywood Reporter said the film would earn about $45 million in its four-day debut.[28]

The film has been a box office success worldwide, grossing over six times its budget.

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 64% based on 91 reviews, with an average rating of 5.8/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "It's mostly for the converted, but One Direction: This Is Us will be fun for fans — and it offers just enough slickly edited concert footage to entertain the casual viewer."[29] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 49 out of 100, based on 27 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[30] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.[31] The audience was 87% female, and 65% under the age of 17.[32]

The Seattle Times gave it an average rating of 2 stars (out of 4), Roger Moore felt "It’s not that different from the Justin Bieber doc, or the Jonas Brothers and Miley Cyrus concert films — sanitized, packaged — presenting these five British or Irish boys, ages 19-22, as paragons of pop virtue while others vouch for what “rebels” they are and that they have 'edge.'" finally adding "It’s a chipper, cheerful portrait with nary a discouraging word in it. The tunes are catchy, and the boys have charm, a little wit about them and some stage presence even if their shows have all the spontaneity of a McDonald’s menu. Not that their fans want to hear that, or hear that they have a limited shelf life. Oh no. They never let us forget that it’s a teenage girls’ world. We’re all just wearing earplugs in it."[33] New York Daily News gave a more positive rating of 3 out of 5 stars. Jim Farber felt "To their credit, the guys decided to devote more than half the film to backstage antics and talk, as opposed to Justin Bieber, whose live 3—D film nervously stuck to the stage. While One Direction come off as fun and likeable, no one will mistake their quips for the inspired absurdism of the Beatles in A Hard Day’s Night." Nor will they take Spurlock's routine camera work for the pop-art panache of Richard Lester.[34] The Washington Post; film critic Stephanie Merry felt "To add a bit of emotion, the film hears from the boys’ mothers and follows the five as they take a break from touring to return home. But for the most part, the movie embraces harmless fun, which can be enjoyable for the audience members, whether they’re 1D fans or not" finally adding "Some of the guys have made gossip rag headlines for their wild ways, including drunken behavior, but there’s no hint of that here... Maybe showing those details carries the risk of alienating One Direction’s fans. When the guys sing "I’m in love with you" the "you" is meant to be each starry-eyed listener. But the absence of certain truths makes the movie feel more like marketing material for superheroes than a comprehensive documentary about human dimension. If One Direction fans end up having inordinately high standards when it comes to love, Spurlock is at least partly to blame."[35]

The A.V. Club gave the film a grade of B−, A.A. Dowd felt "For the most part, though, This Is Us plays like a victory lap for its adolescent stars, five best friends surprisingly aware that their fame and fortune won’t last forever. More delusional is the agreed-upon conclusion that the band wouldn't succeed if it was missing even a single one of its largely interchangeable members. Who do these kids think they are, The Beatles? Actually, Spurlock makes that connection more than once—first by noting that One Direction has conquered the world even faster than its Liverpool predecessors, second by casting the new British invaders in a loose A Hard Day’s Night homage."[36] Chicago Sun-Times's Bill Zwecker felt "My major issue with “One Direction: This Is Us” is the use of distracting 3-D effects that feel forced. And the insertion of animation during some of the concert footage come off as jarring and kind of amateurish. That said, the film is a successful witness to the great charm possessed by all five members of One Direction. I loved it when they were seen as the kids they still are, horsing around with their stage crew and bodyguards — joyfully letting off steam as they careen backstage on a forklift they've “hijacked.”"[37]

A more negative review came from The Telegraph, Robbie Collin felt "This Is Us has been made with these fans in mind, and there’s nothing like a guaranteed profit to stifle creativity. This isn't a problem peculiar to manufactured pop, either: there is a Morrissey concert film coming out later this week that makes One Direction: This Is Us look like Martin Scorsese's The Last Waltz.".[38] The New York Times also gave it a negative review, Miriam Bale felt "With a group so evidently versed in the visuals of rock history, it’s a shame that a filmmaker wasn't hired who would pay homage to classic pop films instead of offering a satisfactory paid promotional. In the end credits — Richard Lester-style scenes of the boys in costumes doing pranks — we see how this film might have been more successful: as an obvious fiction starring these appealing personalities rather than a tame and somewhat fake documentary."[39]

Extended cut

On 9 September 2013, it was announced that Sony would release an "extended fan cut" of This Is Us on 13 September. This version included an additional 20 minutes of footage with four new songs,[40] including scenes that followed the boys on tour, and took fans back with them to their respective hometowns.

Blu-ray and DVD

The movie was released on DVD and Blu-ray on 17 December 2013 in North America. It was released two days later in the UK. The format includes never-before-seen footage from the ‘Ultimate Fan Edition’ and several exclusive interviews.[41] The DVD peaked at number one on the Official Video Chart in the UK,[42] selling 270,000 copies within its first three days of release. As a result, it beat the record set by Michael Jackson’s This Is It in 2010 by 10,000 copies.[43]

Charts

Certifications

Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Ireland (IRMA)[48] 7× Platinum 105,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[49] 10× Platinum 500,000*

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

International releases

Sequel

The sequel to This Is Us entitled One Direction: Where We Are - The Concert Film, was announced on 21 July 2014. It premiered in cinemas worldwide with a limited engagement for 11–12 October 2014. The sequel was filmed at Stadio San Siro in Milan, Italy on 28–29 June 2014, during the band's Where We Are Tour. The film was released on home media in December 2014.[51][52][53]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "One Direction: This Is Us (2013)". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
  2. ↑ "ONE DIRECTION - THIS IS US (PG)". Sony Pictures Releasing. British Board of Film Classification. 7 August 2013. Retrieved 8 August 2013.
  3. ↑ "One Direction: This Is Us". BFI. Archived from the original on 20 December 2013. Retrieved 18 October 2013.
  4. 1 2 3 "One Direction: This Is Us". Box Office Mojo. 30 August 2013.
  5. ↑ "One Direction: This Is Us in 3D". Fandango.
  6. ↑ "One Direction:This is Us". Sony Pictures. Retrieved 2 July 2013.
  7. ↑ Harp, Justin (19 November 2012). "Simon Cowell: Morgan Spurlock will make One Direction 3D film interesting". Digital Spy.
  8. ↑ "One Direction announces a new direction -- a 3D movie". The Today Show.
  9. ↑ Ritchie, Kevin. "Spurlock to direct One Direction 3D concert film". RealScreen. Retrieved 2 July 2013.
  10. ↑ Luoma, Sarah (11 January 2013). "Morgan Spurlock to start work on One Direction movie in Tokyo". Digital Spy. Retrieved 2 July 2013.
  11. ↑ Reynolds, Simon (19 March 2013). "One Direction 1D3D concert movie titled 'This Is Us'". Digital Spy. Retrieved 2 July 2013.
  12. ↑ Robertson, James (24 June 2013). "One Direction insist movie ISN'T scripted and confess camera surveillance is "scary"". The Mirror. Retrieved 2 July 2013.
  13. ↑ "Harry Styles: Filming One Direction – This Is Us was nerve-racking". Metro. 23 June 2013. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
  14. ↑ "One Direction Admit 'This Is Us' Toilet Scenes Got A Little 'Awkward'". MTV News. 21 August 2013. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
  15. ↑ Video on YouTube
  16. ↑ "One Direction fans queue for prime view of a global success story". Guardian. 20 August 2013. Retrieved 21 August 2013.
  17. ↑ "Now Showing films at ODEON cinemas". Odeon.co.uk. Retrieved 25 November 2016.
  18. ↑ "One Direction: This Is Us Release Dates". Sony Pictures. Archived from the original on 5 June 2013. Retrieved 2 July 2013.
  19. ↑ "One Direction Gives Fans Their Close-Up With New Mosaic Poster For This Is Us!". Perez Hilton.
  20. ↑ Reynolds, Simon (8 February 2013). "One Direction 3D movie trailer premieres - watch". Digital Spy. Retrieved 2 July 2013.
  21. ↑ Reynolds, Simon (25 June 2013). "One Direction premiere new 'This Is Us' trailer - watch video". Digital Spy. Retrieved 2 July 2013.
  22. ↑ "Box Office Mojo highest grossing concert films". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 1 September 2013.
  23. ↑ "Sony Hack Reveals Top-Secret Profitability of 2013 Movies". The Hollywood Reporter. 5 December 2014. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
  24. ↑ McClintock, Pamela (30 August 2013). "Box Office: 'One Direction' Opens No. 1 Thursday Night With Strong $2.7 Million". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 30 August 2013.
  25. ↑ Mendelson, Scott (30 August 2013). "'One Direction: This Is Us' Scores $2.7 Million Thursday Debut". Forbes. Retrieved 30 August 2013.
  26. ↑ Mendelson, Scott (1 September 2013). "Weekend Box Office: 'One Direction: This Is Us' Dominates Labor Day". Forbes. Retrieved 1 September 2013.
  27. ↑ Pomerantz, Dorothy. "One Direction Should Dominate The Box Office This Weekend". Forbes. Retrieved 29 August 2013.
  28. ↑ Ford, Rebecca (29 August 2013). "Box Office Preview: 'One Direction' Concert Doc Likely Labor Day Weekend Winner". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 29 August 2013.
  29. ↑ "One Direction: This Is Us (2013)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
  30. ↑ "One Direction: This Is Us Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 29 August 2013.
  31. ↑ Barton, Chris (31 August 2013). "Box office: One Direction bound for the top this weekend". LA Times. Retrieved 31 August 2013.
  32. ↑ "Weekend Report: 'One Direction' Rocks, 'Instructions' Surprises Over Labor Day". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 1 September 2013.
  33. ↑ Roger Moore (29 August 2013). "'One Direction': What makes boy band beautiful to fans". The Seattle Times. Retrieved 28 June 2022.
  34. ↑ Jim Ferber. "'One Direction: This Is Us': Movie review". New York Daily News. Retrieved 28 August 2013.
  35. ↑ Merry, Stephanie (29 August 2013). "'One Direction: This Is Us' movie review". The Washington Post. Retrieved 29 August 2013.
  36. ↑ "One Direction: This Is Us". The A.V. Club. 29 August 2013. Retrieved 29 August 2013.
  37. ↑ "'One Direction: This Is Us' reveals boy band's charms". Chicago Sun-Times. 29 August 2013. Archived from the original on 2 September 2013. Retrieved 28 June 2022.
  38. ↑ "One Direction: This Is Us, review". London: The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 2 November 2014. Retrieved 29 August 2013.
  39. ↑ Bale, Miriam (29 August 2013). "Meet the Boys: A Mutual Lovefest.'One Direction: This Is Us,' Documentary by Morgan Spurlock". The New York Times. Retrieved 29 August 2013.
  40. ↑ "Sony to Release Extended Fan Cut of One Direction: This Is Us". ComingSoon.net. CraveOnline. 9 September 2013. Retrieved 9 September 2013.
  41. ↑ "One Direction become parents' worst nightmare by releasing This Is Us DVD six days before Christmas: It includes never-before-seen footage and extra exclusive interviews, which adds more hysteria to excited fans and their stressed out parents". Mirror.co.uk. 21 October 2013. Retrieved 28 June 2022.
  42. ↑ "Official Video Chart Top 100 | Official Charts Company". Officialcharts.com. 22 December 2013. Retrieved 28 June 2022.
  43. ↑ One Direction beat Michael Jackson’s chart record, officialcharts.com, 23 December 2013
  44. ↑ [ "One Direction – This Is Us"]. Top 40 DVD Chart. Australian Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original on .
  45. ↑ "Album Top 40 slágerlista – 2013. 51. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ.
  46. ↑ "Official Music Video Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company.
  47. ↑ "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week {{{week}}}, {{{year}}}". Chart-Track. IRMA.
  48. ↑ "The Irish Charts - 2013 Certification Awards - Multi Platinum". Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved 27 February 2015.
  49. ↑ "British video certifications – One Direction – This Is Us". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 19 December 2014.
  50. ↑ "Sony Pictures - Error". Archived from the original on 5 June 2013. Retrieved 25 November 2016.
  51. ↑ "One Direction: Where We Are - The Concert Film". Onedirectionmusic.com. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  52. ↑ One Direction Announces New Concert Film, ‘Where We Are’ - Ryan Seacrest.com
  53. ↑ "One Direction Announce 'Where We Are' Concert Film [VIDEO]". Popcrush.com. Retrieved 25 November 2016.
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