Elysium (film)
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''Elysium'' is a 2013 American
dystopian A dystopia (from Ancient Greek δυσ- "bad, hard" and τόπος "place"; alternatively cacotopiaCacotopia (from κακός ''kakos'' "bad") was the term used by Jeremy Bentham in his 1818 Plan of Parliamentary Reform (Works, vol. 3, p. 493). ...
science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...
action film Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include life ...
written, produced, and directed by
Neill Blomkamp Neill Blomkamp (; born 17 September 1979) is a South African filmmaker. He employs a documentary-style, Hand-held camera, hand-held, cinéma vérité technique, blending naturalistic and photo-realistic computer-generated imagery, computer-gene ...
. It was Blomkamp's second directorial effort. The film stars
Matt Damon Matthew Paige Damon (; born October 8, 1970) is an American actor, film producer, and screenwriter. Ranked among ''Forbes'' most bankable stars, the films in which he has appeared have collectively earned over $3.88 billion at the North Americ ...
and
Jodie Foster Alicia Christian "Jodie" Foster (born November 19, 1962) is an American actress and filmmaker. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards, three British Academy Film Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, and the ho ...
alongside
Sharlto Copley Sharlto Copley (born 27 November 1973) is a South African actor. His acting credits include roles in the Academy Award-nominated science fiction film ''District 9'', the 2010 adaptation of ''The A-Team'', the science fiction film ''Elysium'', t ...
,
Alice Braga Alice Braga Moraes (; born 15 April 1983) is a Brazilian actress and producer. She has appeared in several Brazilian films, starring as Angélica in the acclaimed '' City of God'' (2002), Karinna in ''Lower City'' (2005), and Dolores in ''Only ...
,
Diego Luna Diego Dionisio Luna Alexander (; born 29 December 1979) is a Mexican actor, director, and producer. He is known for his portrayal of Cassian Andor in '' Rogue One: A Star Wars Story'' and the Disney+ series ''Andor''. Following an early care ...
,
Wagner Moura Wagner Maniçoba de Moura (; born 27 June 1976) is a Brazilian actor, director, filmmaker, musician, and journalist. Wagner started his career doing theater in Salvador, where he worked with renowned directors, and soon scored some appearances ...
, and
William Fichtner William Edward Fichtner (born November 27, 1956) is an American actor. He is known for his television roles as Sheriff Tom Underlay on ''Invasion'', Alexander Mahone on ''Prison Break'', Carl Hickman on '' Crossing Lines'', and Adam Janikowski o ...
. The film takes place on both a ravaged
Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...
and a luxurious
artificial world Artificial worlds or artificial planets have been created by writers in the fields of science speculation, speculative fiction and fiction. Such megastructures could have a variety of advantages over natural planets, such as efficient use of sol ...
(
Stanford torus The Stanford torus is a proposed NASA design for a space habitat capable of housing 10,000 to 140,000 permanent residents. The Stanford torus was proposed during the 1975 NASA Summer Study, conducted at Stanford University, with the purpose of ...
design, one of the proposed
NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...
designs) called Elysium. The film itself offers deliberate
social commentary Social commentary is the act of using rhetorical means to provide commentary on social, cultural, political, or economic issues in a society. This is often done with the idea of implementing or promoting change by informing the general populace ab ...
that explores political and sociological themes such as
immigration Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...
,
overpopulation Overpopulation or overabundance is a phenomenon in which a species' population becomes larger than the carrying capacity of its environment. This may be caused by increased birth rates, lowered mortality rates, reduced predation or large scale m ...
,
transhumanism Transhumanism is a philosophical and intellectual movement which advocates the enhancement of the human condition by developing and making widely available sophisticated technologies that can greatly enhance longevity and cognition. Transhuma ...
,
health care Health care or healthcare is the improvement of health via the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in people. Health care is delivered by health profe ...
, worker exploitation, the
justice system The contemporary national legal systems are generally based on one of four basic systems: civil law, common law, statutory law, religious law or combinations of these. However, the legal system of each country is shaped by its unique history and ...
, and
social class A social class is a grouping of people into a set of Dominance hierarchy, hierarchical social categories, the most common being the Upper class, upper, Middle class, middle and Working class, lower classes. Membership in a social class can for ...
issues. The film was released on , 2013, by
Sony Pictures Releasing Sony Pictures Entertainment Motion Picture Group (commonly known as Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, formerly known as the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group until 2013, and abbreviated as SPMPG) is a division of Sony Pictures Entertainme ...
through the
TriStar Pictures TriStar Pictures, Inc. (spelled as Tri-Star until 1991) is an American film studio and production company that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, part of the multinational conglomerate Sony. It is a corporate sibling of Sony ...
label, in both conventional and
IMAX Digital IMAX is a proprietary system of high-resolution cameras, film formats, film projectors, and theaters known for having very large screens with a tall aspect ratio (approximately either 1.43:1 or 1.90:1) and steep stadium seating. Graeme F ...
theaters. It received positive reviews, but critics considered it to be disappointing after Blomkamp's first film, ''
District 9 ''District 9'' is a 2009 science fiction mockumentary film directed by Neill Blomkamp in his feature film debut, written by Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell, and produced by Peter Jackson and Carolynne Cunningham. It is a co-production of New Zeala ...
''. It grossed $286 million and was released on
DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...
and
Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...
on December 17, 2013.


Plot

In 2154,
Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...
is overpopulated, diseased, and polluted. The planet’s citizens live in
poverty Poverty is the state of having few material possessions or little income. Poverty can have diverse social, economic, and political causes and effects. When evaluating poverty in ...
while the rich and powerful live on Elysium, an orbiting space station just outside of Earth’s atmosphere. Spider, a hacker living on Earth in Los Angeles, runs three space shuttle flights to Elysium to smuggle people in to use their Med-Bays, devices that can heal any disease or condition. Elysium Defense Secretary Delacourt shoots down two of the spacecraft in space, killing everyone on board, and has everyone on the shuttle that does reach Elysium arrested and deported. Elysium President Patel reprimands Delacourt for her actions, threatening discharge for any more actions of a similar manner. In retaliation, she offers Armadyne Corp CEO John Carlyle defense contracts for life in exchange for a program that will allow Delacourt to conduct a coup and install herself as president. Carlyle writes the program and stores it inside his brain. On Earth, Max Da Costa, a parolee, is working for Armadyne Corp as a
laborer A laborer (or labourer) is a person who works in manual labor types in the construction industry workforce. Laborers are in a working class of wage-earners in which their only possession of significant material value is their labor. Industries e ...
when he is accidentally exposed to a lethal dose of
radiation In physics, radiation is the emission or transmission of energy in the form of waves or particles through space or through a material medium. This includes: * ''electromagnetic radiation'', such as radio waves, microwaves, infrared, visi ...
. He is given medication and told he has five days to live. Max and his friend Julio approach Spider and make a deal: If Max can steal information for Spider from a powerful Elysium citizen, he will give Max a shuttle ride to Elysium so that he can use a Med-Bay to cure his condition. Due to his health, Spider provides Max with a powerful exoskeleton via surgery to significantly increase his strength and stamina. Max and Julio shoot down Carlyle's shuttle to Elysium and extract the program from his brain. Delacourt sends a black ops team led by Agent Kruger, whose contract Patel had terminated for shooting the shuttles down, to retrieve it. Kruger kills Julio but an injured Max escapes with the data. Max seeks help from his childhood friend and nurse, Frey, who patches him up. Max goes to Spider, who realizes what the data in Max's head is worth. Delacourt locks down all flights up to Elysium and so leaves Spider unable to take Max. After Kruger kidnaps Frey and her daughter, Max approaches him and offers him the data in exchange for the use of a Med-Bay. Kruger accepts and the lockdown is lifted and so they can travel to Elysium. During the flight, Kruger and Max fight over the data and a grenade explodes in Kruger's face. The ship crashes and Max is arrested and taken to Delacourt, who orders a team to extract the data. Max escapes and heads to the armory to save Frey, who has been turned over to Kruger's men. Kruger is revived by a Med-Bay and confronted by Delacourt, whom he fatally wounds. He orders his men to start killing the politicians on the torus while he hunts down Max. Spider lands on Elysium and finds Max. Spider makes a deal with Max to have his men protect Frey and get her daughter to a Med-Bay in exchange for the data. They make their way to the computer core, where they are confronted by Kruger. Max and Kruger engage in a brutal fight, which ends with Max detonating a grenade that kills Kruger. Spider and Max connect to the computer and Spider realizes that the data will kill Max if he downloads it. Max says his goodbyes to Frey and initiates the download, which kills himself but allows Frey to heal her daughter. The police arrive but are unable to arrest Spider, as everyone on Earth is now considered a citizen of Elysium. Medical shuttles loaded with Med-Bays are dispatched to Earth to begin healing everyone that needs help.


Cast

*
Matt Damon Matthew Paige Damon (; born October 8, 1970) is an American actor, film producer, and screenwriter. Ranked among ''Forbes'' most bankable stars, the films in which he has appeared have collectively earned over $3.88 billion at the North Americ ...
as Max Da Costa, a former criminal now on probation. Max was raised in an
orphanage An orphanage is a Residential education, residential institution, total institution or group home, devoted to the Childcare, care of orphans and children who, for various reasons, cannot be cared for by their biological families. The parent ...
with Frey and promised her that one day he would take her to Elysium. **
Maxwell Perry Cotton Maxwell Perry Cotton (born May 7, 2000) is an American actor who portrayed Cooper Whedon in the television series '' Brothers & Sisters''. Life and career Cotton was born on May 7, 2000, in San Diego, California. Cotton graduated from Notre Da ...
as young Max *
Jodie Foster Alicia Christian "Jodie" Foster (born November 19, 1962) is an American actress and filmmaker. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards, three British Academy Film Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, and the ho ...
as Defense Secretary Jessica Delacourt. She is responsible for the security on Elysium and resorts to illegal means to keep immigrants off of the torus. *
Sharlto Copley Sharlto Copley (born 27 November 1973) is a South African actor. His acting credits include roles in the Academy Award-nominated science fiction film ''District 9'', the 2010 adaptation of ''The A-Team'', the science fiction film ''Elysium'', t ...
as Agent M. Kruger, a black ops agent working secretly for Delacourt. He is a psychopathic killer with a reputation for using extreme measures. *
Alice Braga Alice Braga Moraes (; born 15 April 1983) is a Brazilian actress and producer. She has appeared in several Brazilian films, starring as Angélica in the acclaimed '' City of God'' (2002), Karinna in ''Lower City'' (2005), and Dolores in ''Only ...
as Frey Santiago, Max’s childhood best friend. She works as a nurse and is a single mother to a daughter with leukemia. ** Valentina Giron as young Frey *
Diego Luna Diego Dionisio Luna Alexander (; born 29 December 1979) is a Mexican actor, director, and producer. He is known for his portrayal of Cassian Andor in '' Rogue One: A Star Wars Story'' and the Disney+ series ''Andor''. Following an early care ...
as Julio, Max's best friend. *
Wagner Moura Wagner Maniçoba de Moura (; born 27 June 1976) is a Brazilian actor, director, filmmaker, musician, and journalist. Wagner started his career doing theater in Salvador, where he worked with renowned directors, and soon scored some appearances ...
as Spider, a
hacker A hacker is a person skilled in information technology who uses their technical knowledge to achieve a goal or overcome an obstacle, within a computerized system by non-standard means. Though the term ''hacker'' has become associated in popu ...
and information thief who runs clandestine flights to Elysium. *
William Fichtner William Edward Fichtner (born November 27, 1956) is an American actor. He is known for his television roles as Sheriff Tom Underlay on ''Invasion'', Alexander Mahone on ''Prison Break'', Carl Hickman on '' Crossing Lines'', and Adam Janikowski o ...
as John Carlyle. He is CEO of Armadyne Corp, the company that designed and built Elysium. *
Brandon Auret Brandon Auret (born 27 December 1972) is a South African actor known for his role as Leon du Plessis in the SABC3 soap opera ''Isidingo''. Early life Auret was born 27 December 1972 in the South African city of Johannesburg. He currently r ...
as Drake, one of Kruger's soldiers. * Josh Blacker as Crowe, one of Kruger's soldiers. *
Faran Tahir Faran Haroon Tahir (born February 16, 1963) is a Pakistani-American actor. Tahir was born in Los Angeles to an artistic family. His parents were actor Naeem Tahir and radio host Yasmeen Tahir and his grandparents were writers Imtiaz Ali Taj and ...
as President Patel, leader of Elysium. *
Emma Tremblay Emma Tremblay (born April 21, 2004) is a Canadian actress. Tremblay is known for her roles on the television series ''Supergirl (TV series), Supergirl'' and ''Wayward Pines'', and the films ''Elysium (film), Elysium'', ''The Giver (film), The Give ...
as Matilda Santiago, Frey's daughter who is dying of cancer. *
Jose Pablo Cantillo Jose Pablo Cantillo (born March 30, 1979) is an American actor. He is best known for playing Ricky Verona in '' Crank'', Miguel in ''Cleaner'' (2007), Pepe in ''Streets of Blood'' (2011), Detective Martinez in '' El Chicano'' (2018), Hector Sal ...
as Sandro, one of Spider's hackers. *
Adrian Holmes Adrian Holmes (born March 31, 1974) is a Canadian actor. He is known for his work on the Bravo television series '' 19-2'', for which he won a Canadian Screen Award in 2017. He is also known for playing the role of Uncle Phil in the ''Fresh Pr ...
as Manuel *
Jared Keeso Jared Keeso ( ; born July 1, 1984) is a Canadian actor, screenwriter, and producer. He is best known for creating and starring in the comedy series '' Letterkenny'' (2016–present), which won a Canadian Screen Award for Best Comedy Series in 20 ...
as Rico *
Carly Pope Carly Pope (born August 28, 1980) is a Canadian actress. She is best known for her roles on The WB's drama series ''Popular'' (1999–2001), supernatural drama series ''The Collector'' (2004–2005), USA Network's legal drama series '' Suits'' ( ...
,
Ona Grauer Ona Grauer is a Canadian-Mexican actress best known for her portrayal of the Ancient Ayiana and later Emily Young in the science fiction television series ''Stargate Universe'', part of the ''Stargate'' franchise. In the FX show ''Archer ...
and
Michael Shanks Michael Garrett Shanks (born December 15, 1970) is a Canadian actor, writer and director. He is best known for his role as Daniel Jackson in the long-running military science fiction television series ''Stargate SG-1'' and as Charles Harris on ...
as CCB agents *
Terry Chen Terry Chen (born February 3, 1975) is a Canadian film and television actor. Early life Chen was born in Edmonton, Alberta, to Taiwanese and Chinese parents originating from Taiwan (father) and mainland China (mother). After primary and secondary ...
as CCB Technician


Production

''Elysium'' was produced by
Bill Block William Hunt Block (born April 2, 1954) is an American film producer who has been CEO of Miramax since April 2017. His producing credits include '' W.'' (2008), ''District 9'' (2009), '' Fury'' (2014), '' Bad Moms'' (2016), '' Dirty Grandpa'' (201 ...
,
Neill Blomkamp Neill Blomkamp (; born 17 September 1979) is a South African filmmaker. He employs a documentary-style, Hand-held camera, hand-held, cinéma vérité technique, blending naturalistic and photo-realistic computer-generated imagery, computer-gene ...
, and
Simon Kinberg Simon David Kinberg (born August 2, 1973) is a British-born American filmmaker. He is best known for his work on the 20th Century Fox ''X-Men'' film franchise, and has also written such films as '' Mr. & Mrs. Smith'' and ''Sherlock Holmes''. He ...
, and written and directed by Neill Blomkamp, the director and co-writer of ''
District 9 ''District 9'' is a 2009 science fiction mockumentary film directed by Neill Blomkamp in his feature film debut, written by Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell, and produced by Peter Jackson and Carolynne Cunningham. It is a co-production of New Zeala ...
'' (2009). It reunites Blomkamp with some of his ''District 9'' crew, such as editor Julian Clarke, production designer Philip Ivey,
cinematographer The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the photographing or recording of a film, television production, music video or other live action piece. The cinematographer is the ch ...
Trent Opaloch Trent Opaloch is a Canadian cinematographer best known for his work with directors Neill Blomkamp and the Russo brothers. His major works include ''District 9'' (2009), ''Elysium'' (2013), '' Captain America: The Winter Soldier'' (2014), '' Chapp ...
, and actor
Sharlto Copley Sharlto Copley (born 27 November 1973) is a South African actor. His acting credits include roles in the Academy Award-nominated science fiction film ''District 9'', the 2010 adaptation of ''The A-Team'', the science fiction film ''Elysium'', t ...
, playing one of the film's antagonists. ''Elysium'' is a co-production of
TriStar Pictures TriStar Pictures, Inc. (spelled as Tri-Star until 1991) is an American film studio and production company that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, part of the multinational conglomerate Sony. It is a corporate sibling of Sony ...
and
MRC MRC may refer to Government * Medical Research Council (United Kingdom) * Medical Reserve Corps, a US network of volunteer organizations * Municipalité régionale de comté (regional county municipality), Quebec, Canada * Military Revolutionar ...
. Although the film's story is set in 2154, Blomkamp has stated that it is a comment on the contemporary human condition. "Everybody wants to ask me lately about my predictions for the future," the director has said, "No, no, no. This isn't science fiction. This is today. This is now." In January 2011, independent studio
Media Rights Capital MRC II Distribution Company L.P., doing business as MRC (formerly Media Rights Capital), is an American film and television studio. Founded by Mordecai (Modi) Wiczyk and Asif Satchu, the company funds and produces film and television programming. ...
met with major studios to distribute ''Elysium'', and Blomkamp shared art designs of his proposed science fiction film. The art designs won over the executives at
Sony Pictures Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Sony Pictures or SPE, and formerly known as Columbia Pictures Entertainment, Inc.) is an American diversified multinational mass media and entertainment studio Conglomerate (company), conglom ...
, who bought the film after making a more attractive offer than the other studios. With a production budget of , production began in July 2011. The film's Earth-bound scenes were shot in a dump in the poor
Iztapalapa Iztapalapa () is a borough (''demarcación territorial'') in Mexico City, located on the east side of the entity. The borough is named after and centered on the formerly independent municipality of Iztapalapa, which is officially called Iztapalapa ...
district on the outskirts of
Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...
. The scenes for Elysium were shot in
Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
and the wealthy Huixquilucan-Interlomas suburbs of
Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...
.
Matt Damon Matthew Paige Damon (; born October 8, 1970) is an American actor, film producer, and screenwriter. Ranked among ''Forbes'' most bankable stars, the films in which he has appeared have collectively earned over $3.88 billion at the North Americ ...
shaved his head for the role of Max. The main role was first offered to
Watkin Tudor Jones Watkin Tudor Jones (born 26 September 1974), better known by his stage names Ninja and Max Normal, is a South African rapper, songwriter, record producer, performance artist, and director. Jones found international success as a member of Die An ...
(
Ninja A or was a covert agent or mercenary in feudal Japan. The functions of a ninja included reconnaissance In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enem ...
), a South African rapper, who, despite being a fan of ''District 9'' and having a D9 tattoo on his inner lip, did not take the role. The role was then offered to rapper
Eminem Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem (; often stylized as EMINƎM), is an American rapper and record producer. He is credited with popularizing hip hop in middle America and is critically acclai ...
, but he wanted the film to be shot in
Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...
. That was not an option for the two studios and so Blomkamp moved on to Damon as his next choice. Futuristic designs were executed by Philip Ivey after long periods of researching and studying older science fiction films. Ivey has continuously cited Syd Mead as a substantial influence for the film. Weta Workshop created the
exosuit A powered exoskeleton, also known as power armor, powered armor, powered suit, cybernetic suit, cybernetic armor, exosuit, hardsuit, exoframe or augmented mobility, is a mobile machine that is wearable over all or part of the human body, provi ...
s for Damon and Copley's characters, while the complicated visual effects were handled primarily by
Image Engine Image Engine (also known as Image Engine Design Inc.) is a visual effects and animation studio based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Founded in 1995, the studio specializes in character/creature design and animation, digital environments, V ...
(who also collaborated on ''District 9) ''with additional work by Whiskytree, MPC, The Embassy and
Industrial Light and Magic Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) is an American motion picture visual effects company that was founded on May 26, 1975 by George Lucas. It is a division of the film production company Lucasfilm, which Lucas founded, and was created when he began pro ...
, some of the software that was used for the visual effects were
Autodesk Softimage Autodesk Softimage, or simply Softimage () was a 3D computer graphics application, for producing 3D computer graphics, 3D modeling, and computer animation. Now owned by Autodesk and formerly titled Softimage, XSI, the software has been predomina ...
. Re-shoots took place through October 2012. The film's music score was composed by newcomer Ryan Amon and recorded at
Abbey Road Studios Abbey Road Studios (formerly EMI Recording Studios) is a recording studio at 3 Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London, England. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of British music c ...
with the
Philharmonia Orchestra The Philharmonia Orchestra is a British orchestra based in London. It was founded in 1945 by Walter Legge, a classical music record producer for EMI. Among the conductors who worked with the orchestra in its early years were Richard Strauss, W ...
. The soundtrack was released on August 6, 2013.


Lawsuit

In October 2013, a lawsuit was filed by Steve Wilson Briggs accusing the crew of
copyright infringement Copyright infringement (at times referred to as piracy) is the use of works protected by copyright without permission for a usage where such permission is required, thereby infringing certain exclusive rights granted to the copyright holder, s ...
, claiming he wrote a screenplay that was substantially similar to the movie. Several months before filing a lawsuit, he registered his screenplay with the
U.S. Copyright Office The United States Copyright Office (USCO), a part of the Library of Congress, is a United States government body that maintains records of copyright registration, including a copyright catalog. It is used by copyright title searchers who are ...
to file an infringement complaint. On 3 October 2014, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California found in favour of the film's producers.


Release

When the film was first announced, Sony intended to release it in late 2012. It later set an official release date for , 2013, before moving one week earlier to prevent competing against ''
Oz the Great and Powerful ''Oz the Great and Powerful'' is a 2013 American fantasy adventure film directed by Sam Raimi and written by David Lindsay-Abaire and Mitchell Kapner from a story by Kapner. Based on L. Frank Baum's early 20th century ''Oz'' novels and set 20 y ...
''. In October 2012, Sony then announced they had pushed back the release date to 2013. In April 2013, Sony also announced that the film would be specifically reformatted for
IMAX IMAX is a proprietary system of high-resolution cameras, film formats, film projectors, and theaters known for having very large screens with a tall aspect ratio (approximately either 1.43:1 or 1.90:1) and steep stadium seating. Graeme F ...
theaters. By that time, two
theatrical trailer A trailer (also known as a preview, coming attraction or attraction video) is a commercial advertisement, originally for a feature film that is going to be exhibited in the future at a movie theater/cinema. It is a product of creative and tech ...
s and a TV spot had already been showcased. ''Elysium'' was originally released on
DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...
and
Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...
on December 17, 2013 and later released on
Ultra HD Blu-ray Ultra HD Blu-ray (4K Ultra HD, UHD-BD, or 4K Blu-ray) is a digital optical disc data storage format that is an enhanced variant of Blu-ray. Ultra HD Blu-ray discs are incompatible with existing standard Blu-ray players, though a traditional Bl ...
on February 9, 2021 by
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (abbreviated as SPHE) is the home video distribution division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. Background SPHE is responsible for the distribution of the Sony Pictures lib ...
.


Reception


Box office

''Elysium'' grossed $93.1 million in North America and $193.1 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $286.1 million, against a production budget of $115 million. It made a net profit of $18 million, when factoring together all expenses and revenues for the film. The film opened on August 9, 2013, and grossed $11.1 million on its opening day, ranking No. 1. It proceeded to rank No. 1 for the weekend, grossing $29.8 million.


Critical response

The
review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...
website
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
gives the film an approval rating of 65% based on 262 reviews and an average rating of 6.5/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "After the heady sci-fi thrills of ''District 9'', ''Elysium'' is a bit of a comedown for director Neill Blomkamp, but on its own terms, it delivers just often enough to satisfy." On
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, the film has a weighted average score of 61 out of 100, based on 47 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by
CinemaScore CinemaScore is a market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts based on the data. Background Ed Mintz founded Ci ...
gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale. In February 2015, while promoting his newest film, '' Chappie'', director
Neill Blomkamp Neill Blomkamp (; born 17 September 1979) is a South African filmmaker. He employs a documentary-style, Hand-held camera, hand-held, cinéma vérité technique, blending naturalistic and photo-realistic computer-generated imagery, computer-gene ...
expressed some regrets regarding ''Elysium'', commenting:
I feel like I fucked it up, I feel like ultimately the story is not the right story... I still think the satirical idea of a ring, filled with rich people, hovering above the impoverished Earth, is an awesome idea. I love it so much, I almost want to go back and do it correctly. But I just think the script wasn't... I just didn't make a good enough film is ultimately what it is. I feel like I executed all of the stuff that could be executed, like costume and set design and special effects very well. But, ultimately, it was all resting on a somewhat not totally formed skeletal system, so the script just wasn't there; the story wasn't fully there.
In a research article entitled "''Elysium'' as a Critical Dystopia", Tanner Mirrlees and Isabel Pedersen argue that "''Elysium'' communicates a 'critical dystopia' that illuminates and interrogates present day global capitalism's worst social, political, ecological and technological conditions, but shows them being resisted and changed, for the better."


Awards

;Art Directors Guild 2014 ;Golden Schmoes Awards 2013 ;Hollywood Film Awards 2013 ;IGN Summer Movie Awards 2013 ;Jupiter Award 2014 ;Leo Awards 2014 ;Satellite Awards 2013 ;Visual Effects Society Awards 2014


Soundtrack

* Ghosst – Performed by Lorn * Robot Eater – Performed by Gambit * The Pining Pt2 – Performed by Chris Clark (as Clark) with
Martina Topley-Bird Martina Gillian Topley-Bird (''née'' Topley; born 7 May 1975) is an English singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who first gained fame as the featured female vocalist on trip hop pioneer Tricky's debut album, ''Maxinquaye'' (1995). Sh ...
* We Got More (Kilon TeK Remix) – Performed by
Brendan Angelides Brendan Angelides, better known by his previous stage names Eskmo and Welder, is an American electronic music producer and composer. He has released music on the record labels Interscope, Ninja Tune, Planet Mu, and Warp Records. In a 2010 revie ...
(as Eskmo) * Metropolis (Dan Le Sac Remix) – Performed by PRDCTV * Piano Sonata No. 8 in C minor 'Pathetique' – Adagio Cantabile - Written by
Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...
* Suite For Solo Cello No.1 BWV 1007 – Written by
Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard w ...
* Kou Kou – Performed by Palms Down Percussion * Twitch (It Grows and It Grows) – Performed by
Raffertie Benjamin Stefanski (born 17 April 1987), better known by his stage name Raffertie, is a British composer and producer, based in London, England. Recording for Ninja Tune between 2010–2013, he now records at Mercury KX and his own label, Supe ...
* Piano Concerto No. 4 in G Major – Rondo Vivace - Written by
Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...
* Bio Techno – Written and performed by Audio Android * Loner – Performed by
Burial Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...
* New World Disorder – Performed by Arkasia * Six Degrees – Performed by Kryptic Minds * Stjernekiggeri – Written and Performed by Mike Sheridan * Sierra Leone – Performed by
Mt Eden Mount Eden is a suburb in Auckland, New Zealand whose name honours George Eden, 1st Earl of Auckland. It is south of the Central Business District (CBD). Mt Eden Road winds its way around the side of Mount Eden Domain and continues to weave ba ...
* Elysium – Performed by Ryan Amon


See also

*
List of films featuring space stations There is a body of films that feature space stations. Science fiction films have featured both real-life space stations such as the International Space Station and ''Mir'' as well as fictional ones such as the Death Star and the Satellite of Love. ...
*
List of films featuring powered exoskeletons There is a body of feature films, mainly live-action, featuring powered exoskeletons. *Films featuring cyborgs are distinct from those featuring exoskeletons, and such films include '' RoboCop'', its sequels, and the remake. * Films featuring mec ...
*
List of films featuring drones There is a body of films featuring unmanned aerial vehicles colloquially known as drones. ''The Hollywood Reporter'' wrote in February 2016, "There has been no shortage of films dealing with drones over the last few years... audiences have recently ...
*
List of science fiction films Science fiction films This is a list of science fiction films organized chronologically. These films have been released to a cinema audience by the commercial film industry and are widely distributed with reviews by reputable critics. (The excepti ...
* Grey: Digital Target


References


External links

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