|
This article is rated R, meaning it contains content that may be inappropriate for readers under the age of 17. |
A Countryballs Movie (also known as The Countryballs Movie in some countries) is a 2024 American adult-animated comedy-action film produced by Universal Pictures and Illumination, in collaboration with Lord Miller Productions, and distributed by Universal. It was directed and written by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller and produced by Judd Apatow. It is based on a satirical internet meme.
Despite its unique premise and source material, it went on to be a sleeper hit in the box office and generally a critical success. It is currently the only adult-animated film produced by Illumination.
The film premiered at Universal Studios Hollywood on January 1, 2024, and was later theatrically released across the United States on February 2 the same year. It garnered generally positive reviews from critics, who praised the offbeat tone, unique premise, voice acting and humour, although some minor criticism was aimed towards its runtime and some humour. It was a massive sleeper hit at the box office grossing $1.044 billion against an $243 million budget, making it the tenth highest-grossing animated film, the third highest-grossing R-rated film, the third highest-grossing film of 2024 and the forty-seventh highest grossing film of all time.
Synopsis[]
It starts as a normal day in the countryball universe. Polandball attempts to go into space once again, however it fails when his rocket hits an invisible dome in the sky and it cracks. Soon, a string of mysterious disappearances and events plague their home and the Countryballs realise a greater power is at work. They team with the Countryhumans to find out who they are and what their purpose is, while also dealing with unfinished business.
Cast[]
Most of the cast are casted based on their ethnicities, but some actors have roles which don't match their ethnicities
Countryballs (main cast, there are more actors who have bit parts or smaller roles as different countryballs)[]
- Timothée Chalamet as Polandball
- Tom Hanks as USAball
- Seth Rogen as Canadaball
- Tom Hiddleston as UKball
- Peter Capaldi as Scotlandball
- Chris Hemsworth as Australiaball
- Sam Neill as New Zealandball
- Michael Fassbender as Germanyball
- Alicia Vikander as Franceball
- Sofía Vergara as Spainball
- Jennifer Lopez as Mexicoball
- Alec Baldwin as Switzerlandball
- Monica Bellucci as Italyball
- Dolph Lundgren as Russiaball
- Kunal Nayyar as Indiaball
- Pia Tjelta as Norwayball
- Rebecca Ferguson as Swedenball
- Renny Harlin as Finlandball
- Jesper Christensen as Denmarkball
- Jeroen Krabbé as Netherlandsball
- David Reivers as Jamaicaball
- Rami Malek as Saudi Arabiaball
- Gal Gadot as Israelcube
- Sergey Dvortsevoy as Kazakhstanbrick
- Awkwafina as Chinaball
- Colin Farrell as Irelandball
- Mía Maestro as Argentinaball
- Morena Baccarin as Brazilball
- Carrie Ann Inaba as Japanball
- Haluk Bilginer as Turkeyball
- Jennifer Aniston as Greekball
- Arnold Schwarzenegger as Austriaball
Countryhumans (main cast, there are more actors who have bit parts or smaller roles as different countryballs)[]
- Timothée Chalamet as Poland
- Jim Carrey as USA-1
- Eminem as USA-2
- Kanye West as USA-3
- Joe Pesci as USA-4
- Sandra Bullock as USA-5
- Halle Berry as USA-6
- Ryan Reynolds as Canada
- Tom Holland as UK-1
- Benedict Cumberbatch as UK-2
- Peter Capaldi as Scotland
- Hugh Jackman as Australia-1
- Margot Robbie as Australia-2
- Taika Waititi as New Zealand
- Christoph Waltz as Germany
- Marion Cotillard as France-1
- Gérard Depardieu as France-2
- Elsa Pataky as Spain-1
- Javier Bardem as Spain-2
- Penélope Cruz as Spain-3
- Salma Hayek as Mexico-1
- Eugenio Derbez as Mexico-2
- Daniel Bernhardt as Switzerland
- Al Pacino as Italy
- Milla Jovovich as Russia-1
- Inna Korobkina as Russia-2
- Igor Jijikine as Russia-3
- Priyanka Chopra as India-1
- Karan Brar as India-2
- Aksel Hennie as Norway
- Noomi Rapace as Sweden
- Peter Franzén as Finland
- Mads Mikkelsen as Denmark-1
- Sidse Babett Knudsen as Denmark-2
- Famke Janssen as Netherlands-1
- Michiel Huisman as Netherlands-2
- David Reivers as Jamaica
- Mona Zaki as Saudi Arabia-1
- Ahmed Ezz as Saudi Arabia-2
- Natalie Portman as Israel-1
- Lior Ashkenazi as Israel-2
- Sergey Dvortsevoy as Kazakhstan
- Lucy Liu as China-1
- Stephen Chow as China-2
- Pierce Brosnan as Ireland-1
- Saoirse Ronan as Ireland-2
- Julieta Díaz as Argentina-1
- Ricardo Darín as Argentina-2
- Alice Braga as Brazil-1
- Marcos Palmeira as Brazil-2
- Devon Aoki as Japan-1
- Ken Watanabe as Japan-2
- Haluk Bilginer as Turkey
- Zach Galifianakis as Greece-1
- Maria Menounos as Greece-2
- Arnold Schwarzenegger as Austria
Production[]
Development[]
A movie based on Countryballs has been conceptualised since 2014. A Countryballs Movie started development in 2016, although was put into development hell. Eventually, the movie was announced in 2021, with many Countryball fans pleased the movie was finally in production, although other film audiences had polarised reactions to the film. Later that year, it was announced Phil Lord and Christopher Miller would direct the film, and Judd Apatow would produce the film.
On March 23, 2024, the films basic premise and theatrical release poster was released.
Writing[]
Writing began on February 10, 2022, with Phil Lord and Christopher Miller announcing Wes Anderson would help with writing.
Casting[]
Casting began well before the writing of the film. It was reported that casting began back in November 19, 2022. The film has a massive ensemble cast consisting of multiple A-List celebrities, which is the most likely reason there will be no sequel as it would require a large new cast, or a extremely lengthy production time as they would have to try and get the original cast to reprise their roles.
There are various cameos from notable Countryball animators and creators. Most notably, Drew Durnil who voices a fictionalised version of himself.
Recording of each of the voice actors began after the voice cast was finalised on December 6, 2022. A Countryballs Movie is notable for having a lengthy production time, due to its large ensemble cast. Recording finished on March 28, 2023.
Animation[]
Animation started off in May 2, 2022. The team grew to almost 200 animators throughout the film's production. Animation finished on June 25, 2023.
Post-production[]
Post-production was a lengthy process, that involved fine-tuning details in the animation and film stock. Many voice lines had to be re-recorded and some scenes were added or cut. The film was officially finished on November 1, 2024 and marketing commenced the day later.
Marketing[]
It is estimated the marketing budget of A Countryballs Movie costed $554 million.
In 2021, after the movie fell out of development hell, a Twitter post was released by Illumination with a round black silhouette of a countryball, although at the time it was unknown what it was. A week later a slightly less darkened image with barely detectable red and white hints on the silhouette was released, this led to widespread speculation of a movie about Countryballs. Progressively over the course of a dozen weeks, the image was brightened until the image was clearly visible. The movie was officially announced a few hours after the last image.
In May 27, 2022, it was announced Countryhumans would feature in the film, although this received polarised reactions.
The official release date was announced on October 29, 2024.
A massive ad campaign was launched on November 2, 2024, with various social media posts, YouTube trailers, TV trailers and more being used. The first trailer was released on November 15, 2024 and has amassed over 76 million viewers. The second trailer, released on December 1, 2024 has amassed 53 million viewers. The final trailer, released on January 1, 2024, the same date as the Universal Studios Hollywood premiere, has amassed over 101 million viewers.
Promotional tie-ins[]
- Official Countryball plushies were released, with more and more being progressively released. The first plushie, a Polandball, was released on November 4, 2024.
- Coca-Cola launched a limited circulation of cans and bottles with countryballs content printed on it
- Subway launched their Polandball Sandwich, it contained tomatoes, meatballs and then melted white cheese, vaguely representing the colours of Polandball
- r/polandball was decorated with movie-oriented artwork in the background
- Drew Durnil announced he would be featured in the film
- Various merchandise was released
- Countryballs: The Video Game was released on June 26, 2024, with a similar storyline to the film. The game was assigned a score of 63 out of 100 on Metacritic based on 25 reviews, indicating "generally favourable reviews".
Release[]
Theatrical[]
A Countryballs Movie premiered at Universal Studios Hollywood on January 1, 2024. The film was released in the United States on February 2, 2024, along with an additional release in IMAX 3D theatres. It was later released on February 10 in the United Kingdom and Europe, and later February 17 for the rest of the world.
Home media[]
The film was later released on Amazon Prime Video on July 19, 2024. It was later released digitally on August 3, 2024 and released by Universal Pictures Home Entertainment on Blu-Ray Disc, Blu-Ray 3D, Ultra HD Blu-Ray (with IMAX Enhanced), Blu-Ray 4K, and DVD on September 12, 2024. The film was also released on Netflix on December 10, 2024 and Apple TV+ on January 1, 2025.
Reception[]
Box Office[]
A Countryballs Movie grossed $549 million in the United States and $495 million in other territories, for a worldwide gross of $1.044 billion, making it the third highest-grossing film produced by Illumination. As of 2024, it is the tenth highest-grossing animated film of all time, the third highest-grossing R-rated film of all time, the third highest-grossing film of 2024 and the forty-seventh highest grossing film of all time.
The film was released alongside another Universal Pictures film, Argylle. Many box office projections and estimations were much lower than anticipated, with many saying it will be a box-office bomb. When the film grossed $32.26 million on its first day along with $5.6 million from Thursday night previews, estimations quickly increased. Eventually, the film grossed $108.1 million during its opening weekend, finishing at the number-one spot. It was released in over 4,672 theatres, making it the widest release for an animated film and the widest ever since Avengers: Endgame. It grossed $61.7 million on its second weekend, $36.6 million on its third, and $29.3 million on its fourth.
Critical response[]
The film has an approval rating of 88% based on 194 reviews on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, with an average rating of 7.2/10. Its critical consensus reads, "It drags on quite a bit, but its ridiculous, offbeat, over-the-top nature might just be perfect for it."
Metacritic (which uses a weighted average) assigned the film a score of 66 out of 100, based on 29 reviews, indicating "generally favourable reviews".
Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.
79% of those at PostTrak gave it a positive score, with 62% saying they would definitely recommend it.
Accolades[]
The film won and was nominated for several awards.
At the 97th Academy Awards it received nominations for Best Animated Feature, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actress and Best Cinematography, where it won Best Supporting Actress (Alicia Vikander).
At the 52nd Annie Awards, it was nominated for Best Animated Feature.
At the 78th British Academy Film Awards it was nominated for Best Animated Film.
At the 82nd Golden Globe Awards it won the Golden Globe Award for Cinematic and Box Office Achievement.
Rating[]
The film is rated R by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) for 'pervasive language, some crude sexual content, drug use, disturbing images, violence, and irreverent humour throughout'.
The film is rated MA15+ by the Australian Classification Bureau (ACB) for 'infrequent strong crude sexual humour, strong coarse language, violence, infrequent strong blood and gore, drug use and themes',
The film is rated 15 by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) for 'fairly mature themes, frequent strong language, strong violence, sexual references and sexual activity'.
Sex and Nudity: Severe[]
- Sexual references throughout the film
- Some sex scenes, they are brief and not shown in much detail
- Some characters ae dating
- Implied sex scenes
- Some countryhumans are sexualised
- Figures, posters and other background items can be seen with sexualised or nude features
- Non-sexual kissing scenes throughout
- Nudity is infrequent
- Some countryhumans wear revealing clothing
Violence and Gore: Severe[]
- There are various scenes in the 'KILLFLOOR', several countryballs and countryhumans are mutilated, stabbed, killed, ripped apart by machinery. This is very intense and gore is shown in some scenes
- In most cases, countryballs and countryhumans during fight scenes are depicted dead with no blood or gore
- Some intense depictions of mutilated countryballs and countryhumans during fight scenes, blood and gore is shown
- Most violence is stylised, slapstick or comical in nature (Countryballs and countryhumans get thrown, punched, slapped, hit by objects, catapaulted etc.)
- Countryballs and countryhumans are frequently shot offscreen, although some are shot onscreen with some blood shown
- During the climax, there is a massive intense war scene with various countryballs and countryhumans getting shot and killed, although blood is infrequent
Profanity: Severe[]
- Profanity is frequently used throughout the film
- 'S---' and 'b----' are used frequently
- 'C---' is used frequently by Australiaball
- 'F---' and 'Motherf-----' are said 53 times
- Lighter swear words, like 'damn', 'hell', 'idiot', 'moron', and 'crap' are said frequently
- One use of the word 'f-----'
- One character says to another character that they have 's--- for brains'
- 'Oh my god' and 'goddamn' are used frequently
- Various sexual language is used throughout
Alcohol, drugs and smoking: Moderate[]
- Some countryballs and countryhumans are shown visibly high throughout most of the film
- Various instances of light alcohol use
- Various instances of smoking
- Hard drugs are seen infrequently or mentioned
- A few characters fall unconscious after heavy alcohol use
Frightening and intense scenes: Severe[]
- The 'KILLFLOOR' scene is one of the most intense scenes of the film
- The war scene is quite intense
Future[]
The film caused Illumination to launch a new division in Illumination named Illumination Adult Entertainment, which largely focuses on producing adult-animated films.
There will be no sequel to the film, despite the film's success. This is likely due to the large ensemble cast and the difficulty in convincing them to reprise their roles.
Trivia[]
- It is the only adult-animated film produced by Illumination, as all adult-animated films have been moved to Illumination Adult Entertainment
- It was the first animated film for numerous actors, and the first English-language film for numerous actors
- The film launched the idea of 'internet-based films', which are films based on viral internet trends or memes. It also remains the most commercially successful internet-based film.
- The uncut version was originally much more profane, suggestive and violent
- It is one of the few animated films shot on IMAX
- Some countryhumans have multiple variations, this reflects the different art styles of countryhuman creators
- Some background animations (such as animations featured on in-movie television sets) were animated by notable countryball animators
Easter Eggs[]
- Polandball is depicted as having their flag the wrong way round. This is a reference to how Polandball is drawn in the Countryball community
- Many countryballs, such as Israel, Kazakhstan, Bermuda and Signapore, are depicted in non-ball shapes. This is a reference to how they are drawn in the Countryball community
- The 'greater power at work' is a reference to the creators of Countryball artworks
- (if you have more knowledge in the countryball community please add more)