Critical Reception & Box Office Performance:
- Rotten Tomatoes score: 90/100 (critics), 76/100 (audience)
According to Rotten Tomatoes, “King Richard transcends sport biopic formulas with refreshingly nuanced storytelling – and a towering performance from Will Smith in the title role.” With a $50 million production budget, the film grossed $39.4 worldwide with a $5.7 million opening November 21 weekend.
The toughest critic of King Richard may have been Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, the former world No. 1 who plays Venus in the film’s climactic scene. Feeling she was unfairly portrayed as an antagonist, Sanchez Vicario disputed the film’s assertion that she took a strategic bathroom break in the middle of their match in Stanford; Venus had been leading by a set and a break at the time.
In an interview with USA Today, Venus insists Sanchez Vicario indeed took a bathroom break, one that ultimately contributed to the then-14-year-old losing her focus and the match.
Accolades, Awards & Nominations:
The film was an awards darling, earning four Golden Globe nominations including Best Motion Picture (Drama). Smith won the award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture (Drama) and later repeated the Best Actor victory at the 96th Academy Awards, where King Richard was also nominated for Best Picture.
Venus and Serena both attended that year’s Oscars, which may be remembered more for Will Smith’s slapping of Chris Rock after the host made a crass joke about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.
In his acceptance speech, Smith thanked the Williams family for “entrusting me with your story.”
