Congratulations to "Baby Driver" Crossing $100 Million at the Domestic Box Office

Scene from Baby Driver
There's no denying that Edgar Wright is a filmmaker of immense talent. Going back to his work on Spaced and Shaun of the Dead, he has subverted genres while proving his technical prowess as one of the most unique directors working today. Despite this, his box office success cannot claim to match the general enthusiasm for films like Hot Fuzz or Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. For over a decade, he's been closer to a cult filmmaker with those who like his work seeking it in its brief theatrical runs. That is why, in 2017, it's so exciting to report that Wright has done something incredible. His latest film, Baby Driver, has grossed over $100 million in the United States. It's an honor that is more incredible when you realize how few original films (especially of Baby Driver's budget) nowadays can cross that threshold. If nothing else, this is a moment to celebrate if only briefly the moment when a cult filmmaker became accepted by the masses. 
To look at Baby Driver's success, one would have to look at what made it so appealing. It could be that it was banking on a carryover audience from The Fate of the Furious from a few months prior. It was a car movie whose physics existed in the real world. Its stars were heightened cartoon characters who found ways to cope through music and gangster culture. It was a pastiche of American idealism through the eyes of a British filmmaker who adored the exports that he references here. It helps that the soundtrack is itself revolutionary and adds a deeper mood to the entire film. If nothing else, it's a dedication to craft, and one that I was expecting to not do this well.
It isn't that I don't want Wright to succeed, but there is that part of me that read too much into the details of what came before. His previous big studio movie Scott Pilgrim vs. the World only earned $31 million during its domestic run, which marks it as a box office bob-bomb, even if it formed a strong cult following elsewhere. In true irony, it was also his highest grossing movie before 2017. Why did it fail? It's because the source material was too niche and audiences weren't interested in a video game-loving story starring Michael Cera during the end of his over-saturation period. He is perfect in the role, but audiences over a certain age would probably get epilepsy, even if they had no preexisting conditions, from the bright colors and agility of the cuts. 
Baby Driver is just as stylized as Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, and it made me worried that audiences wouldn't respond to its subversive layers of comedy and genre references. There would be that cult following, but would everything else be in line? Sure, the color schemes were toned down and chase movies tend to be more respected than video game stories. Even then, Wright seemed doomed to middle-budget successes than ever reaching $100 million for one film which, ironically, is a higher gross than all four of his previous movies' totals COMBINED. It could just be luck, but it may also be that audiences are finally ready for Edgar Wright's vision (fun note: there's talks of the studio wanting to do a sequel to one of the few films this summer to earn back over triple its budget).
It was so high concept that I worried that it would fail. Then again, I'm one of the few who, in 2007, went to see Hot Fuzz on opening weekend and found it gone not too long after. I was lucky to find someone else who liked it and approached me about the film as if he was the only one who saw it. In that way, Wright has been special to me. I wanted him to have that success story, and it's partially why I have seen all of his movies on opening weekend since 2007. I want to talk with people about his work because he's more than a copy-and-paste type of film fan. He actually incorporates style and narrative tools into his work that enhances his original stories. I'm even relieved that one of his better films got this $100 million grossing honor. Of course, they're all great, but this one makes the most sense of getting there.
So while this post may seem superfluous in a lot of respects, I felt the need to celebrate this milestone for such a great filmmaker. I love Wright and am glad that he's gotten the recognition that he's deserved for so long. I can only hope that it continues to last. Even if he doesn't do bigger projects like Ant-Man, at least he has a great career full of largely original stories that can compete with the big boys. Admittedly, it has been a weird summer for movies, but thankfully Baby Driver was one of them. Some will call it a surprise hit, and I would put myself on that list. I am glad that it was a hit for audiences. I'm even more ecstatic that it's a big hit for Wright's career.

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