12 Mighty Orphans

12 Mighty Orphans
Theatrical release poster
Directed byTy Roberts
Screenplay by
Based onTwelve Mighty Orphans: The Inspiring True Story of the Mighty Mites Who Ruled Texas Football
by Jim Dent
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyDavid McFarland
Edited byJames K. Crouch
Music byMark Orton
Production
companies
Distributed bySony Pictures Classics
Release date
  • June 11, 2021 (2021-06-11)
Running time
118 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$3.7 million[1]

12 Mighty Orphans is a 2021 American sports film which was directed by Ty Roberts from a screenplay by Roberts, Lane Garrison and Kevin Meyer. It is based upon the non-fiction book Twelve Mighty Orphans: The Inspiring True Story of the Mighty Mites Who Ruled Texas Football by Jim Dent. The book is based on the Masonic School for Orphans in Fort Worth, Texas.[2]

The film stars Luke Wilson, Vinessa Shaw, Wayne Knight, Jake Austin Walker, Jacob Lofland, Levi Dylan, Robert Duvall and Martin Sheen. The film was released in the United States on June 11, 2021 by Sony Pictures Classics. It received mixed reviews from critics.

Plot

The true story of the Mighty Mites, the football team of a Fort Worth orphanage who, during the Great Depression, went from playing without shoes, or even a football, to playing for the Texas state championships. Over the course of their winning season, these underdogs and their resilient spirit became an inspiration to their city, state, and an entire nation in need of a rebound, even catching the attention of President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

The architect of their success was Rusty Russell, a legendary high school coach who shocked his colleagues by giving up a privileged position so he could teach and coach at an orphanage. Few knew Rusty's secret: that he himself was an orphan. Recognizing that his scrawny players could not beat the other teams with brawn, Rusty developed innovative strategies that would come to define modern football.

Cast

Production

Principal photography initially took place for seven weeks from October 7 to November 25, 2019 in Weatherford,[3] Cleburne,[4] and Fort Worth, Texas.[5][6][7][8][9][10] It is based on the non fiction book of the same name by Jim Dent.[11][12][13] Alice Eve was initially attached to the project early in the development, but dropped out for unknown reasons shortly afterwards.[14]

Release

Sony Pictures Classics acquired worldwide distribution rights to the film in January 2021, five months pending the official release.[15] It was released in a limited release on June 11, 2021 which was followed by a wide expansion one week later on June 18, 2021.[16][17] The film was released theatrically in the United Kingdom three months later on September 17, 2021.[18]

Reception

Box office

In its opening weekend the film made $251,569 from 132 theatres. It expanded to 1,047 theatres the following weekend, making an estimated $870,000 and finishing in eighth place at the box office.[19]

Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 63% based on 89 reviews with an average rating of 6/10. The site’s critics consensus reads: "12 Mighty Orphans will rouse faithful fans of old fashioned inspirational sports dramas, but the target audience has seen this sort of thing done more effectively before."[20] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 44 out of 100 based reviews from 14 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[21] Audiences surveyed by PostTrak gave the film an 80% positive score, with 75% saying they would definitely recommend it.[19]

Peter Debruge of Variety called it "Square but satisfying" and said "sometimes they do make ‘em like they used to."[22]

References

  1. ^ "12 Mighty Orphans". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on October 19, 2021. Retrieved October 25, 2021.
  2. ^ "Beyond the Chain Link Lay the Kingdom of the Mighty Mites | Hometown by Handlebar". hometownbyhandlebar.com. 15 June 2021. Archived from the original on 28 October 2021. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
  3. ^ "'12 Mighty Orphans' completes filming in Weatherford". Weatherford Democrat. 5 November 2019. Archived from the original on 19 December 2019. Retrieved 21 February 2020.
  4. ^ "2019 Honorable mentions". Cleburne Times-Review. 4 January 2020. Archived from the original on 21 February 2020. Retrieved 21 February 2020.
  5. ^ Granberry, Michael (24 October 2019). "Robert Duvall and Martin Sheen to join Luke Wilson in upcoming Fort Worth film '12 Mighty Orphans'". The Dallas Morning News. Archived from the original on 21 February 2020. Retrieved 21 February 2020.
  6. ^ "Martin Sheen Visits Fort Worth's Joe T. Garcia's". KXAS-TV. 12 November 2019. Archived from the original on 21 February 2020. Retrieved 21 February 2020.
  7. ^ "12 MIGHTY ORPHANS Adds Robert Duvall, Martin Sheen". BroadwayWorld. 22 October 2019. Archived from the original on 21 February 2020. Retrieved 21 February 2020.
  8. ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (22 October 2019). "Robert Duvall, Martin Sheen Join Texas Football Tale '12 Mighty Orphans'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on 29 December 2019. Retrieved 21 February 2020.
  9. ^ Stevenson, Stefan (22 November 2019). "'12 Mighty Orphans' producers hope to premiere Fort Worth-set film in city next fall". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Archived from the original on 4 April 2020. Retrieved 21 February 2020.
  10. ^ NTFR (17 December 2019). "Retelling Stories in Texas – North Texas Farm and Ranch". Archived from the original on 2021-04-17. Retrieved 2021-04-17.
  11. ^ Granberry, Michael (14 August 2020). "How the heartwarming Texas football story '12 Mighty Orphans' has been horse-collared by COVID-19". The Dallas Morning News. Archived from the original on 17 August 2020. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
  12. ^ "CLEBURNE'S ROCK DOUBLES AS MOVIE SET". KTFW-FM. 19 November 2019. Archived from the original on 21 February 2020. Retrieved 21 February 2020.
  13. ^ Kroll, Justin (23 October 2019). "Luke Wilson's Sports Drama '12 Mighty Orphans' Adds Jake Austin Walker (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Archived from the original on 30 December 2019. Retrieved 21 February 2020.
  14. ^ N'Duka, Amanda (1 October 2019). "Alice Eve Joins Luke Wilson In '12 Mighty Orphans'". Yahoo! Finance. Archived from the original on 21 February 2020. Retrieved 21 February 2020.
  15. ^ Donnelly, Matt (19 January 2021). "Sony Pictures Classics Acquires '12 Mighty Orphans,' With Luke Wilson, Martin Sheen, Robert Duvall (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Archived from the original on 20 January 2021. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
  16. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (April 16, 2021). "Sony Pictures Classics Sets Summer Release For Luke Wilson & Martin Sheen Football Drama '12 Mighty Orphans'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on April 16, 2021. Retrieved April 16, 2021.
  17. ^ "WHERE TO WATCH 12 MIGHTY ORPHANS: IS THE 2021 MOVIE STREAMING?". www.hitc.com. 9 June 2021. Archived from the original on 20 September 2021. Retrieved 19 September 2021.
  18. ^ "12 Mighty Orphans: Sony Pictures". sonypictures.co.uk. 1 September 2021. Retrieved 2 June 2022.
  19. ^ a b D'Alessandro, Anthony (June 20, 2021). "'Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard' Hits $17M 5-day Debut In Dull Father's Day Weekend (Which Is Starving For A Pixar Movie) – Update". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on June 18, 2021. Retrieved June 20, 2021.
  20. ^ "12 Might Orphans (2021)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved February 25, 2023.
  21. ^ "12 Might Orphans Reviews". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved May 4, 2022.
  22. ^ Debruge, Peter (June 17, 2021). "'12 Mighty Orphans' Review: Luke Wilson and Martin Sheen Topline This Solid Underdog Texas Football Drama". Variety.