“Silent Night” is the new action film by legendary action director John Woo. It marks his return to Hollywood.
So let’s dive into some trivia and facts about the film.
- Silent Night is a 2023 American action thriller film
- It is directed by John Woo
- The film is written by Robert Archer Lynn
- The film does not feature any dialogue
- In the film stars Joel Kinnaman, Scott Mescudi, Harold Torres and Catalina Sandino Moreno
- Filming took place in Mexico City from April to May 2022
- It is Woo’s first American film since Paycheck (2003)
- Silent Night was released by Lionsgate in the United States on December 1, 2023
- The film received polarized reviews
- On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a 59% rating
- Based on 75 critics’ reviews
- With an average rating of 5.7/10
- The website’s consensus reads: “Silent Night reaffirms that an action movie doesn’t need much dialogue if the set pieces are solid enough—and that even second-tier John Woo can be worth the price of admission”
- Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 53 out of 100
- Based on 24 critics
- Indicating “mixed or average” reviews
- Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of “C” on an A+ to F scale
- While those polled by PostTrak gave it a 67% overall positive score
- With 38% saying they would definitely recommend the film
- In the United States and Canada, the film was released alongside Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé, Godzilla Minus One, and The Shift
- It was originally projected to gross $6-8 million from 1,870 theatres in its opening weekend
- It made $1 million on its first day
- The figure includes $250,000 from Thursday night previews
- The estimates were lowered to $2–3 million
- In the United States, it made $3 million in its opening weekend
- Finishing in 9th place behind The Shift and Animal
- In October 2021, Silent Night was first announced as an action film without spoken dialogue
- With John Woo as director and Joel Kinnaman as lead star
- In March 2022, a special effects assistant was injured during pre-production in a stunt trial run in Mexico City
- The crew member was hit by a car, breaking his femur and dislocating his shoulder
- In April 2022, Kid Cudi, Harold Torres, and Catalina Sandino Moreno were added to the cast
- Principal photography began in April 2022 in Mexico City
- Filming wrapped on May 17, 2022
- Marco Beltrami composed the film’s score
- In March 2023, producer Erica Lee confirmed the film features no dialogue
- Woo decided to film the action in a more realistic manner that supports the emotional drama instead of having the action itself being the entertaining aspect
- This was signature of his previous films
- For the film, Kinnaman decided to try method acting for the first time and stop speaking for the entirety of the shoot
- The lack of communication left the actor feeling lonely
- After multiple start attempts, he decided that the silent car ride to his first day on set was long enough to get him excited for the film
