A24’s latest release The Iron Claw has become the best-ever graded movie in the studio’s history. Zac Efron starrer biographical sports drama film is praised as a masterful one of the year. It’s a biopic about the Von Erich brothers who dominated professional wrestling throughout the 1980s.
Zac Efron leads the film as Kevin Von Erich, the last surviving son of the famous family. And Efron’s portrayal is strong enough to generate Oscar buzz. But due to late release and limited screens, some critics could not vote for it and that may hamper the film’s chances at the Oscars.
Why the Chances of The Iron Claw Claiming Oscar is Dim?
Along with moviegoers, critics also liked the film, which stood at an 87% rating and a 93% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. Zac Efron gives a career-best performance in this Sean Durkin’s movie. Despite all the praise, the late release and less campaigning could come in between its road to Oscar victory.
Jacob Throneberry, a member of the North Carolina Film Critics Association took to X, formerly known as Twitter to share why Zac Efron could get nothing even after such a high performance. He said:
“A24 really fu*ked up so bad with The Iron Claw, that’s a movie that has Oscars written all over it. If I had been able to view it before voting I would’ve had it in Picture, Director, Actor, S. Actor (White & McCallany), Screenplay, Cinematography, EDITING(!), Score, & Costumes.”
While technically still eligible for Oscar consideration, this film’s late release and lackluster promotional campaign have dealt a serious blow to its chances. Missing out on screenings at precursors and critics groups has severely hampered its visibility and momentum. It faces a monumental climb to overcome this early deficit in the race for Oscar glory. Hailing it as one of the best movies of the year, Throneberry added:
“Literally Zac’s best performance EVER and it’s just getting… nothing???”
The race for the Best Actor Academy Award is potentially among some of the best performances of the year which includes- Bradley Cooper in Maestro, Cillian Murphy in Oppenheimer, Leonardo DiCaprio for Killers of the Flower Moon, Colman Domingo for Rustin, Paul Giamatti for his role in The Holdovers, Jeffrey Wright for American Fiction and Andrew Scott for his role in All of Us Strangers.
The Iron Claw‘s Box Office Collection
The Iron Claw dropped on December 22nd, and it made an average collection of $2.50M on its opening day. And according to The Hollywood Handle, the movie which was made at an estimated $20M budget has earned $7.53M on its domestic box office opening weekend. The film opened on 2,774 screens on Friday.
Apart from Zac Efron, the movie also stars Jeremy Allen White as Kerry Von Erich, Harris Dickinson as David Von Erich, Holt McCallany as Fritz Von Erich, Maura Tierney as the family’s matriarch Doris, and Lily James as Kevin’s wife Pam.
The Iron Claw is now playing in movie theaters.
