Why did Ex Machina succeed at the box office

Traditionally, the film Ex Machina should not have succeeded at the box office however, due to the well-judged release pattern the film was a success. It was expected to do poorly at the boxoffice due the dissimilarities it shares with a typical Hollywood blockbuster. A commonly successful Hollywood blockbuster features large explosions, extensive CGI and acclaimed actors. Whilst Ex Machina lacks these expensive set pieces, it still succeeded at the box office.

 Pre-production of the film including casting, source material and budget allowed for a limited action plot. Ex Machina stars unacclaimed actors; Alicia Vikander and Domhnall Gleeson as Ava and Caleb. At the time of being casted, these actors were relatively unknown until landing subsequent roles in the 2015 Star Wars movie. This may have caused the film to do poorly at the Boxoffice as unknown actors would not have drawn attention from the target audience of the film and generated talk or stir with regards to the film being at the cinema. Commonly amongst acknowledged Hollywood Blockbuster movies, recognized actors are casted by directors in the belief that they will drive the film to success and generate talk throughout the target audience. Notable Hollywood Blockbuster Men in Black stars Will Smith whom was also the star of numerous other Blockbuster films including Independence Day and I am Legend. Whilst some may have seen this to contribute to the films predicted unsuccessful release, others may have seen that new actors may play as a strength. Ex Machina used unaccredited actors for the leading roles which again heightens the new take of a Hollywood Blockbuster. Instead of watching the same actors over and over again the audience could enjoy fresh actors with their own individual acting styles. Not all films featuring acclaimed Hollywood actors are successful at the Box Office. Many are critiqued that the use of famous actors took attention away from the films plot leaving the audience uninterested. 

Ex Machina contrasts a typically successful Hollywood blockbuster. The film presents little action or large fight scenes. The peak action scene of the film displays alluring robot Ava using her artificial intelligence to deceive the other two main characters killing and potentially starving them. The scene has limited drama and a meager amount of sound and editing to create tension. There is little reaction from the main character after being stabbed which some may argue shows a more realistic reaction than a typical Hollywood blockbuster where drama would be exaggerated for the sake of entertainment. It may further be argued then that this contributed to the film’s success as some viewers may have enjoyed a 'fresh' take on a high tension scene. Typically, a Hollywood Blockbuster movie would have used exaggerated CGI, non-diegetic sound and character reactions to display a drama filled event and keep the audience interested and on edge. This can be seen in 2012 blockbuster, The Avengers. Here, the main fight scene of the film explores extensive CGI and loud background music to create tension. When compared with The Avengers, Ex Machina's lack of action may suggest that it would not do so well at the box office as the audience may become bored and uninterested in the films plot if the peak action scene was not fast pace enough. It may be considered that Ex Machina gives Hollywood a new take on Sci-Fi films. The Film focuses more on script and plot than action and visual effects. This means that the audience can focus more on the actual story line of the film therefore falling deeper into the plot and events of the film.

Production including the location of the film set, time spent shooting and problems faced by directors and producers may have led Ex Machina to be unsuccessful at the box office. The

Slow Editing of the film created a gradual pace for the plot contrasting the characteristics of a typically successful Hollywood Blockbuster movie proposing that Ex Machina may not do so well at the box office. Ex Machina was filmed in a short six weeks. Measured against a typical Hollywood Blockbuster, this is a very condensed time. This may imply that Ex Machina may not do so well at the Box Office as it may be argued that in this short time, it is not possible to make such a great film. Ex Machina also had a limited budget which left little money to spend doing retakes and scenes over again. This emphasizes that the film may not have done so well as the film had to be shot twice for robotic character Ava to appear translucent. This left little time for producers and directors to explore different ideas and expand or improve the plot again accentuating that the film may struggle to succeed at the box office.

Marketing and distribution of Ex Machina set the film up to be unsuccessful and small scale.

The film had a wide target audience allowing it to be viewed by many different groups of people. Ex Machina's marketing did not take full advantage of this. Marketing was narrow and directed at only one group of people. Ex Machina is an independent science fiction cult film. This may infer that the film would only be viewed by those interested in that genre however, the films plot and story line appeals to many more viewers than these. The film was marketed in a small area of Texas at a local festival event. This only targeted the film towards a very small number of people when it could've been much larger scale. Marketing also consisted of a false Tinder account on which a computer generated compliments and 'flirted' with different people using Tinder.  This marketing may be considered clever and useful. Many people who use Tinder may fall also fall under the category of a cult film watcher. This allowed for Ex Machina to be targeted at a group of people who may enjoy the films plot.

Ex Machina was not directed by an accredited Hollywood director. Ex Machina was directed by Alex Garland who also directed: Never Let Me Go, The Beach, 28 Days Later. Garland was relatively unknown as a director until the release of Ex Machina. A typically successful Hollywood Blockbuster is usually directed by a well known already successful director. Stephen Spielburg is often hired as a director or producer due to his recognized films including; Jurassic Park, Saving Private Ryan and AI. This again differs Ex Machina from other Hollywood Blockbuster movies leading us to believe that it will not do as well as these other films.

Traditionally, the film Ex Machina should not have succeeded at the Box Office due to the well-judged release pattern the film was a success. Ex Machina was released in the UK at a similar time to the new Avengers film however not the exact same time. It was decided that the two films would not be released at the same time as only one film would succeed and that would be the Avengers due to it being a sequel that was already well recognized. Ex Machina caught the action sci fi genre wave at just the right time. As people were talking about the release of the Avengers film they were getting more interested in film and watching for release dates. This allowed for Ex Machina to be successful as it was viewed by so many of the Avengers fans.