Movies

Next Goal Wins Trivia | 36 facts about the film

“Next Goal Wins” is a new film by director Taika Waititi and a return to his indie roots.

So let’s find out some trivia and facts about the film.

Next Goal Wins is a 2023 American sports comedy-drama film
The film was directed by Taika Waititi
Waititi co-wrote the screenplay with Iain Morris
It is based on the 2014 documentary of the same name by Mike Brett and Steve Jamison
The documentary was about Dutch-American coach Thomas Rongen’s efforts to lead the American Samoa national football team
The team was onsidered one of the weakest football teams in the world, to qualification for the 2014 FIFA World Cup
The film stars Michael Fassbender as Rongen
Alongside Oscar Kightley, Kaimana, David Fane, Rachel House, Beulah Koale, Will Arnett, and Elisabeth Moss
Next Goal Wins premiered at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival on September 10, 2023
It was released in the United States on November 17, 2023, by Searchlight Pictures
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a 42% rating
Based on 118 critics’ reviews
With an average rating of 5.2/10
The website’s consensus reads: “Next Goal Wins finds director/co-writer Taika Waititi with his heart in the right place, even if his crowd-pleasing aim has noticeably strayed from its target”
Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 44 out of 100
Based on 36 critics
Indicating “mixed or average” reviews
Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of “B+” on an A+ to F scale
While those polled by PostTrak gave it an 86% overall positive score
With 65% saying they would definitely recommend the film
It was announced in August 2019, that Fox Searchlight Pictures had set up an initially unspecified project that would see Taika Waititi write and direct prior to his obligations to Thor: Love and Thunder (2022)
It was later revealed as being a feature film adaptation of the 2014 documentary Next Goal Wins
Waititi, Garrett Basch and Jonathan Cavendish serve as producers, with Andy Serkis, Will Tennant and Kathryn Dean as executive producers
In September of 2019, Michael Fassbender entered final negotiations to star in the film
He would be confirmed the next month, alongside Elisabeth Moss entering negotiations to join
In November 2019, it was announced Kaimana, Oscar Kightley, David Fane, Beulah Koale, Lehi Falepapalangi, Semu Filipo, Uli Latukefu, Rachel House, Rhys Darby, Angus Sampson, Chris Alosio and Sisa Grey had joined the cast of the film, with Moss being confirmed
In December 2019, Armie Hammer joined the cast of the film, playing an executive with Football Federation American Samoa
Principal photography began in November 2019 in Honolulu, Hawaii
Filming wrapped by January 2020
In December 2021, it was announced that Will Arnett would be stepping in for Hammer, because Hammer was accused of sexual assault by multiple women
The part, initially intended as a cameo, was expanded when Arnett joined
In May 2023, Kaitlyn Dever was announced as part of the cast
In the United States and Canada, Next Goal Wins was released alongside The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, Trolls Band Together, and Thanksgiving
It was projected to gross around $5 million from 2,240 theaters in its opening weekend
It went on to debut to $2.5 million, finishing eighth at the box office
The film made $1.6 million in its second weekend (a drop of 35.1%), finishing in 11th