The Lovely Bones (film)

The Lovely Bones (film)

The Lovely Bones is a 2009 American supernatural drama film directed by Peter Jackson. It is a film adaptation of the award-winning and best-selling 2002 novel of the same name by Alice Sebold. The film stars Saoirse Ronan as Susie Salmon, alongside Mark Wahlberg and Rachel Weisz as Susie's parents Jack and Abigail Salmon. The film also stars Susan Sarandon, Amanda Michalka and Stanley Tucci. The film received various accolades, including a Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild, BAFTA and Academy Award nominations.

Jackson and his producer partners acquired the rights independently and developed a script on their own, later selling it to DreamWorks. Principal photography began in October 2007 in New Zealand and Pennsylvania, United States. After DreamWorks left the project, Paramount became the film's sole distributor. The film's trailer was released on August 4, 2009, and clips from the movie were shown in July 2009.

The Lovely Bones was first released on December 26, 2009 in New Zealand, and then internationally in January 2010. The film's North American release date was changed multiple times, with a limited release on December 11, 2009, and a wider release on January 15, 2010. It was released to mainly mixed reviews from critics; the story and its message were generally criticized, with praise mainly aimed at the acting, particularly of Ronan and Tucci. In the film's opening weekend, in limited release, it grossed $116,616 despite only having been screened in three theaters, placing it at 30th place on the box office chart. As of February 28, 2010 (2010-02-28), The Lovely Bones had grossed over $44,000,000 in North America.