Nightmare Alley Trivia | 60 facts about the new Guillermo del Toro film

“Nightmate Alley” is the new film by Mexican director Guillermo del Toro. It is now available to stream.

Let’s find out some trivia and facts about the new film.

1. Nightmare Alley is a 2021 American neo-noir psychological thriller film
2. It is directed by Guillermo del Toro
3. From a screenplay by del Toro and Kim Morgan
4. The film is based on the 1946 novel of the same name by William Lindsay Gresham
5. It is the second feature film adaptation of Gresham’s novel, following the 1947 version.
6. A co-production between Searchlight Pictures, TSG Entertainment, and Double Dare You Productions
7. The film stars Bradley Cooper as a charming and ambitious carnival worker with a mysterious past who takes big risks to boost his career
8. Cate Blanchett, Toni Collette, Willem Dafoe, Richard Jenkins, Rooney Mara, Ron Perlman, Mary Steenburgen, and David Strathairn also star
9. Del Toro announced the film in 2017, and produced alongside J. Miles Dale and Cooper
10. Frequent collaborator Dan Laustsen was the cinematographer
11. Nathan Johnson replaced Alexandre Desplat as its composer
12. Principal photography began in January 2020 in Toronto, Ontario
13. It was shut down in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic
14. Production resumed in September 2020 and concluded that December
15. Nightmare Alley premiered at Alice Tully Hall in New York City on December 1, 2021
16. It was theatrically released in the United States on December 17, 2021 by Searchlight Pictures
17. Additionally, a black-and-white version, subtitled Vision in Darkness and Light, was released in select cities starting on January 14, 2022
18. The film received generally positive reviews from critics
19. It underperformed at the box office, grossing a total of $23 million worldwide against a $60 million production budget
20. As of February 1, 2022, Nightmare Alley has grossed $10.4 million in the United States and Canada
21. And $12.6 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $23 million
22. Nightmare Alley made $225,000 from Thursday night previews and an estimated $1.19 million by Friday
23. Its low opening was attributed to it being primarily meant for the audiences in the older age ranges
24. This target group have avoided going out to see movies amidst the COVID-19 pandemic
25. Other reasons for its underperformance were the low interest among the movie-going audience, and the release of Spider-Man: No Way Home on the same date
26. It went on to debut to $2.8 million during the weekend, finishing fifth at the box office
27. Men made up 56% of the audience during its opening
28. With those in the age range of 25–54 comprising 55% of ticket sales
29. And those above 45 comprising 29%
30. The ethnic breakdown of the audience showed that 63% were Caucasian, 11% Hispanic and Latino Americans, 9% African American, and 17% Asian or other
31. In its second weekend, the film earned $1.2 million
32. In its third, the film dropped out of the box office top ten, finishing eleventh with $966,875
33. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a 80% rating
34. Based on 296 reviews
35. With an average rating of 7.3/10
36. The website’s critical consensus reads, “While it may not hit quite as hard as the original, Guillermo del Toro’s Nightmare Alley is a modern noir thriller with a pleasantly pulpy spin”
37. Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 69 out of 100
38. Based on 53 critics
39. Indicating “generally favorable reviews”
40. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of “B” on an A+ to F scale
41. While those at PostTrak gave it a 72% positive score
42. With 49% saying they would definitely recommend it
43. The project was announced in December 2017, when Guillermo del Toro revealed that he would be attached to write and direct a film adaptation of William Lindsay Gresham’s 1946 novel
44. In April 2019, Leonardo DiCaprio entered negotiations to star in the film
45. Dan Laustsen and Alexandre Desplat were announced to serve as the film’s cinematographer and composer, respectively, both having previously collaborated with del Toro in The Shape of Water (2017)
46. In June 2019, Bradley Cooper entered early negotiations to replace DiCaprio
47. In August 2019, Cate Blanchett was in negotiations to join the film
48. Both Cooper and Blanchett were confirmed to star the next month, along with the addition of Rooney Mara
49. Toni Collette and David Strathairn were added in September
50. Strathairn replacing Michael Shannon who dropped out due to scheduling conflicts
51. Collette praised del Toro’s capabilities as a director, and described the film as a “period drama” and “unlike some of his other work”
52. Willem Dafoe was cast in October
53. Holt McCallany would join the next month
54. Ron Perlman and Richard Jenkins were both confirmed in January 2020
55. In February 2020, Mary Steenburgen and Romina Power, the daughter of Tyrone Power, joined the cast of the film
56. In March 2020, Paul Anderson joined the cast of the film
57. Principal photography began in January 2020 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada
58. Production temporarily moved to Buffalo, New York in February 2020
59. By November 2020, principal photography was completed and re-shoots had commenced
60. Production officially wrapped in December 2020