When will the movie “Civil War” be released, and how much did it cost to produce?

It’s been just over two weeks since Alex Garland’s dystopian, state-of-the-nation action movie Civil War premiered at SXSW in Austin and now the movie, which clocks in at 109 minutes, is set to go on general release worldwide.

Civil War was filmed with a production budget of $50 million, making it A24′s most expensive venture to date - exceeding the $35 million that the independent American company splashed out on Ari Aster’s Beau Is Afraid from last year. That makes it something of a gamble as Garland’s film will need to gross at least $125 million at the box office to make it profitable and given the circumstances and reviews, that seems unlikely. Beau Is Afraid has barely grossed $12 million in the 12 months since its release and the timing of Civil War in the current political landscape, plus a raft of negative critical reviews and feedback could hamper how it fares.

Is the timing all wrong for ‘Civil War’?

With the current ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza and turbulence escalating elsewhere in the world, the public in general is already tired of the incessant doomsday narrative being peddled by the media with some reaching the conclusion that we are all someone being shunted into wars that will only serve the political classes and elite. There is no real cause - just interests. A film with more death and destruction might not be what the paying public want right now - especially one about the ultimate division - when a nation is split in two and you have to pick one side or the other.

While early reviews have praised Rob Hardy’s cinematography and note that the film is beautifully shot, among the critical analysis was that the film “reeks of propaganda” and that its muddled storyline about how the US has descended into a situation were states are fighting against each other is neither coherent nor believable. Other online appraisals slammed it as “political porn” which hijacks rising political tensions to whip up unrest. Then there is the question of its timing; it is seen as potentially driving yet another wedge between the public and dividing the masses in the run-out to the critical US general elections on 5 November.

The film centers around a team of reporters - two photojournalists (Kirsten Dunst and Cailee Spaeny) and two war correspondents (Wagner Moura and Stephen McKinley Henderson) and their journey from New York City to Washington, DC where they plan to take the president (played by Nick Offerman) to task.

Garland explained after the screening: “I think all of the topics in this film have been part of a huge public debate for years and years and years. None of it is secret or unknown to almost everybody. I wrote this in June four years ago when there was an election coming and we were just dealing with Covid - the same conversation as now - identical”.

As for some of the ambiguities and unanswered questions in Civil War, the director replied, “I personally think questions are answered - there are a lot of things that are clearly answered, one of which there is a fascist, corrupt president, who is smashing the constitution, attacking their own citizens and that is a very clear, answered statement. If you want to think about why Texas and California might be allied and putting aside their political differences, the answer would be implicit in that. Answers are there but you have to step to it and not expect to be spoon-fed these things”.

Brazilian actor Wagner Moura, who studied journalism before going into action, plays war correspondent Joel. He added, “No reason explains war, no reason explains the human cost of a war and I think that the empathy that the work of journalists brings to us is essentially fundamental. I think sometimes Americans take democracy for granted because they’re so used to it. I care about this country and what happens to its government. I know that’s why Civil War is scary. It’s not an alien invasion, like Independence Day. It feels too realistic.”

Criticism for timing, neutral political stance, fictional alliances...

Civil War is more of a character study in how the prospect of war affects the psyche, at the same time stirring sabre-rattling, escalation and fear rather than a full-blown depiction of the violence and destruction it leaves behind. The movie doesn’t explain what led to the fractions or which party is in power - Garland describes a state of affairs that has simply run its course and a nation that has unwittingly spiralled out of control and turned its citizens against themselves.

Civil War is scheduled to go on general release at theaters in the United States and United Kingdom with engagements in IMAX and Dolby Cinema on 12 April and hit European cinemas a week later on 17-19 April. It’s release date in Australia is scheduled for 24 April.

It is projected to bring in box offices receipts of $18–24 million in its opening weekend which would make it the most successful debut in distributor A24′s history. The production company’s highest-grossing title to date in the domestic market was Daniel Kwan’s 2022 release Everything, Everywhere, All at Once which brought in $77 million in the United States and Canada, and $143.4 million worldwide.