The Best Man's Success: Grossing Millions

The 1999 film The Best Man, written and directed by Malcolm D. Lee, grossed over $34 million by the end of its theatrical run. The film was produced on a relatively small budget of $9 million. It is a romantic comedy-drama starring Taye Diggs and Nia Long. The film received mostly positive reviews from critics and audiences, with a 72% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a B+ average from Yahoo! Movies users. The Best Man was followed by a Christmas-themed sequel, The Best Man Holiday, released in 2013, and a limited series, The Best Man: The Final Chapters, which premiered in 2022.

The Best Man (1999) made over $34 million

The Best Man, a 1999 American comedy-drama film, grossed over $34 million by the end of its theatrical run. The film was written and directed by Malcolm D. Lee, marking his directorial debut. With a relatively small budget of $9 million, the movie exceeded expectations, making over three times its budget.

The Best Man stars an ensemble cast led by Taye Diggs and Nia Long, with the debut of Regina Hall. The film received mostly positive reviews from critics, with Rotten Tomatoes giving it a 72% positive rating based on 71 reviews. The website AllMovie gave the film 3/5 stars, with reviewer Jason Clark praising Howard's performance, stating that he "commands the screen with such abandon that one secretly wishes the film could have been all about his oddly captivating character".

The Best Man tells the story of Harper Stewart, an up-and-coming author from Chicago whose debut novel, Unfinished Business, has been selected by Oprah's Book Club. Just before his best friend's wedding, Harper's life becomes chaotic when his friend guesses that the book's story is based on his bride's past. The film explores the dynamics of Harper's group of friends and their interpersonal relationships, creating a captivating and well-received romantic comedy.

The success of The Best Man led to a Christmas-themed sequel, The Best Man Holiday, released in 2013, and a limited series, The Best Man: The Final Chapters, which premiered in 2022. The original film's strong performance at the box office, coupled with positive critical reception, solidified its place as a memorable and profitable addition to the romantic comedy genre.

It was produced on a budget of $9 million

The 1999 comedy-drama film The Best Man was produced on a budget of $9 million. The film is written and directed by Malcolm D. Lee, in his directorial debut, and produced by Lee's cousin, Spike Lee. The film stars an ensemble cast led by Taye Diggs and Nia Long, with the debut of Regina Hall.

The Best Man follows the story of Harper Stewart, an up-and-coming author from Chicago whose debut novel, Unfinished Business, has been selected by Oprah's Book Club. Just before his best friend's wedding, Harper's life becomes crazy when his friend guesses that the new book's story is based on his bride's fervent past. Harper's devoted girlfriend, Robyn, is frustrated by his unwillingness to commit to her.

The film received mostly positive reviews from critics, with a 72% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a favourable 61% rating on Metacritic. It was particularly praised for its strong cast and well-defined characters. The Best Man also received several awards and nominations, including wins at the NAACP Image Awards and Black Reel Awards.

With its relatively small budget, the film went on to make over $34 million by the end of its theatrical run, surpassing its production budget by more than three times. This success highlights the impact a strong cast and well-crafted characters can have on a film's performance, even with a limited budget.

The film received 11 award nominations

The 1999 American comedy-drama film "The Best Man" received 11 award nominations and earned several accolades. The film was written and directed by Malcolm D. Lee in his directorial debut and produced by 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks. Lee's cousin, Spike Lee, served as a producer.

The film's eight principal cast members received nominations at the 2000 NAACP Image Awards, with Terrence Howard and Nia Long winning for Outstanding Supporting Actor and Outstanding Actress, respectively. The film also won the award for Outstanding Motion Picture.

At the 2000 Black Reel Awards, "The Best Man" received several nominations, including Best Actor for Taye Diggs, Best Director for Malcolm D. Lee, and Best Screenplay for Lee. Lee and Howard took home the awards in their respective categories.

The film also received nominations at the 2000 Chicago Film Critics Association Awards and the 2000 Independent Spirit Awards, with Howard recognised for his supporting role at both ceremonies.

In addition to the 11 nominations, "The Best Man" received positive reviews from critics. Rotten Tomatoes gave the film a 72% positive rating based on reviews by 71 critics, with the site's consensus praising the film's cast and well-defined characters. At Metacritic, the film received a favourable 61% rating from 30 critics.

It has a rating of 72% on Rotten Tomatoes

The 1999 comedy-drama film "The Best Man" has a rating of 72% on Rotten Tomatoes. The film, written and directed by Malcolm D. Lee, centres on Harper Stewart (Taye Diggs), an up-and-coming author from Chicago whose debut novel has been selected by Oprah's Book Club. Just before his best friend's wedding, Stewart's life is turned upside down when his friend guesses that the book's story is based on his bride's past. This intriguing premise, combined with strong performances and a well-defined cast of characters, contributed to the film's positive reception among critics.

Rotten Tomatoes, a popular review aggregator, assigns a percentage score to films based on the proportion of positive reviews from accredited critics. A score of 72% indicates that "The Best Man" received positive reviews from a significant portion of critics, with only a minority of negative reviews. This score is calculated from a range of reviews, each of which provides a detailed critique of the film's various elements, including its acting, directing, writing, and overall impact.

The Rotten Tomatoes score of 72% for "The Best Man" suggests that the film was generally well-received by critics. This positive reception is further supported by the website AllMovie, which gave the film 3/5 stars. While acknowledging that the film had "occasional moments of ripe humour", the AllMovie review also noted that it failed to offer new insights into the themes it explored. Despite this critique, the film's ability to evoke laughter and its strong cast likely contributed to its positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

The 72% rating on Rotten Tomatoes indicates that a substantial number of critics recognised the film's merits. The site's consensus praises "The Best Man" for its "strong cast and a host of well-defined characters", highlighting the effectiveness of the ensemble cast led by Diggs and Nia Long. This rating also reflects the film's success as an "intelligent, funny romantic comedy" that marked an impressive directorial debut for Lee. The film's ability to combine humour, romance, and intelligent storytelling likely contributed to its positive reception among critics.

The 72% Rotten Tomatoes rating is a testament to the film's ability to connect with critics and deliver a well-crafted romantic comedy. With its engaging story, talented cast, and thoughtful exploration of relationships, "The Best Man" has earned its place as a beloved classic in the romantic comedy genre.

The Best Man is considered Terrence Howard's breakout film

The Best Man, a 1999 American comedy-drama film, is considered Terrence Howard's breakout film. Howard plays the role of Quentin Spivey, one of the lead characters in the movie. The film is written and directed by Malcolm D. Lee and stars an ensemble cast led by Taye Diggs and Nia Long.

Howard's performance in the film earned him much praise from critics. Jason Clark of AllMovie stated that Howard "commands the screen with such abandon that one secretly wishes the film could have been all about his oddly captivating character". Howard's acting in The Best Man earned him a NAACP Image Award, an Independent Spirit Award nomination, and a Chicago Film Critics Award nomination.

The Best Man is produced on a relatively small budget of $9 million and went on to gross over $34 million by the end of its theatrical run. The film received mostly positive reviews from critics, with Rotten Tomatoes giving it a 72% positive rating based on reviews by 71 critics. At Metacritic, the film averaged a favourable 61% rating from 30 critics.

The film also marked the directorial debut of Malcolm D. Lee, who also wrote the film. Lee's cousin, Spike Lee, served as a producer. The Best Man was produced by 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks.

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