The King's speech reasons for success

Today, in the Media lesson we had to work in pairs and give three reasons why the film the King's Speech had success. The three reasons are the reviews people have made, the box office hit, and the appeal to a wider audience:

                                                   The King’s Speech-

                                                    explanation

The box office helps the King’s Speech to succeed because it exceeded Momentum Picture’s expectations when it gained £3.52 million on the opening weekend, which is almost double the opening gross of Slumdog Millionaire at 1.83m, Atonement at £1.63m and Pride and Prejudice at £2.53m.

The number of reviews and the film’s perception helps the King’s speech to succeed because people love the British monarchy, both British and American people and after they watch it and realise how great a film it is, they will get more people to watch it and therefore more profit for the film industry. Philip French of the Guardian gave it high praise and said that The King's Speech was "the work of highly talented artists who might be regarded as British realists" - the crew was made up of talented, experienced professionals that have worked in many other successful productions. He praises the film of not being triumphalist or sentimental and says that the film follows themes of courage, responsibility and duty over personal contentment - like popular films Casablanca and High Noon. He also says that it is more significant and ambitious than The Queen. But, The Times says although it is great work there is still flaws to the film.

Finally, the appeal to a wider audience also helps the King’s Speech to succeed because the King’s Speech is a very British film. It is about the royal family near the beginning of the second World war- a time where the class system, that Britain is so well known for, was starting to break down and there was a bigger sense of national unity. The film represents this through the friendship George VI makes with a "commoner", Lionel Logue. The film has not only a British audience but also an international audience. This draws in a large audience from the Americans who like their connection to the British monarchy and the idea that someone like them from a colony country could develop a friendship with a member of the family.


I think that the main reason for the King's Speech's success is the reviews because the reviews give the directors and film producers the overall outcome of the film and the more great reviews they get, the more satisfaction and rating the film will get.