Iconic Music Legend’s Story Takes Over Paramount+
The entertainment industry certainly hasn’t been at a loss for musician-based biopics over the last decade. Amy Winehouse just received another look back at her legendary life in Sam Taylor-Johnson’s Back to Black, and soon, Timothée Chalamet will appear as the iconic Bob Dylan in James Mangold’s A Complete Unknown. Right now, one of the biggest surprise blockbusters of the year and a look into a widely-praised musician’s life is dominating the charts on Paramount+ as Bob Marley: One Love sits in the streamer’s #1 spot.
Bob Marley: One Love
One Night in Miami… and Secret Invasion star Kingsley Ben-Adir appears in the titular role of Bob Marley: One Love. The biopic tells the unbelievable true story behind the world’s most prolific reggae singer.
Following his meteoric rise to fame in the 1970s up until his untimely death in 1981, the Reinaldo Marcus Green-directed film does its best to not only showcase Marley’s musical background but also pay homage to the political figure he would become.
The Cast
Kingsley Ben-Adir’s fellow Marvel alum, Lashana Lynch (The Marvels) also stars in Bob Marley: One Love as Marley’s wife, Rita. Other notable performances are held by James Norton (Happy Valley) who appears as Marley’s record producer, Chris Blackwell, Tosin Cole (Supacell) as Wailers member Tyrone Downie, and Michael Gandolfini (The Many Saints of Newark) as publicist Howard Bloom.
The production served as Green’s follow-up project to his award-season-crushing 2021 biopic, King Richard.
Exceeding Expectations
At the beginning of the year, when audiences were looking at what the potential blockbusters would be for 2024, Bob Marley: One Love likely wasn’t at the top of the list for most.
During a 12-month period that would see the release of Dune: Part Two, Deadpool & Wolverine, and Joker: Folie à Deux, it’s easy to see why some would have brushed the historical musical drama off to the side. But upon its arrival on Valentine’s Day, February 14, Green’s latest production blew expectations out of the water.
Marley Kicked Madame Webb’s Butt
To some of us, that date will forever live in infamy as it was also when Sony dropped its one-of-a-kind instant classic, Madame Web. The folks backing the Dakota Johnson-led superhero movie were likely expecting big numbers for the Valentine’s Day release but the real gem of the week was Bob Marley: One Love.
Expected to only gross $30-35 million during its first six days in theaters, the movie exceeded its anticipated earnings, raking in an impressive $51 million during its first week out.
Not only did these numbers crush the competition but it also nabbed the bragging rights of becoming one of the best openings for a musical biopic of all time.
By the time Bob Marley: One Love played its encore and bowed out of cinemas, the movie had made $179.4 million at the global box office against its $70 million production budget.
Stream It now
Critically, Bob Marley: One Love was met with largely mixed reviews. There was a consensus, however, that Kinglsey Ben-Adir captured the heart, soul, and smile of the titular singer even if the story was a little slow-moving in parts.
On Rotten Tomatoes, the movie sits with a critics’ score of 45 percent while the audience reaction more than doubled it with 92 percent further proving just how split down the middle folks were.
Now you can decide for yourself and decide which side of the line Bob Marley: One Love falls on by checking it out on Paramount+.
