Box Office: Examining Yorgos Lanthimos and Emma Stone’s past endeavors as Bugonia, their next, gets unveiled at CinemaCon

Focus Features unveiled the first look at Yorgos Lanthimos and Emma Stone's new film Bugonia at the ongoing CinemaCon. It led us to revisit the box office performance of the filmmaker and the Oscar-winning actress’s previous collaborations, as it’ll help gauge the prospects of their upcoming endeavor together. So here it is!

Lanthimos and Stone first teamed up for 2018’s The Favourite. The dark comedic historical drama sees the latter as Abigail Masham, vying for Queen Anne’s favor. The film was as big a critical success as it was commercial. With a USD 15 million budget, the offering grossed USD 96 million worldwide, out of which USD 34 million came from the domestic market (U.S. and Canada) and USD 62 million from international territories. Stone received a Best Actress Oscar nod for her part in the film, which also featured performances from Olivia Colman and Rachel Weisz.

The second time Lanthimos and Stone came together was for Poor Things in 2023. The surreal sci-fi and fantasy blend follows Stone as Bella Baxter, a woman resurrected by an eccentric scientist (Willem Dafoe). As Bella embarks on a journey of self-discovery, the film explores themes of autonomy, desire, and transformation. Stone’s bold performance won her the Academy Award for Best Actress, cementing her status as a powerhouse collaborator for Lanthimos. The film earned USD 117 million worldwide, with USD 34 million coming from the domestic market and USD 83 million from foreign trade.

Lanthimos and Stone reunited yet again last year for Kinds of Kindness, an anthology film with multiple interconnected narratives, marking another eccentric venture for the duo. Co-starring Margaret Qualley, Jesse Plemons, Dafoe, Hunter Schafer, Joe Alwyn, and more, the film grossed USD 16 million worldwide, with USD 5 million coming from domestic returns and USD 11 million from overseas.

Back to looking at the future, Lanthimos and Stone’s Bugonia adapts a script from Will Tracy and follows two conspiracy-obsessed young men who kidnap a high-powered CEO of a major company, convinced that she is an alien intent on destroying Earth. Alicia Silverstone, Aidan Delbis, and Stavros Halkias round out the cast.

According to THR, Bugonia’s teaser featured Stone (the abducted CEO) in a bald look, appearing scared and pale.

The film, set to hit theaters on November 7, is based on the 2003 South Korean sci-fi comedy Save the Green Planet.

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