A Quiet Place has become one of the biggest movies of the year thanks to a completely original concept that is executed near perfectly. However, not everybody saw the film's potential originally. It turns out the premise was so unique that pretty much nobody really got the movie when it was presented to them. The producers behind the movie have recently spoken about the difficulties that came with pitching the idea to studios. As producer and co-writer Bryan Woods says, even those they expected would cut them a break just didn't seem to get it. According to Woods...
We would pitch it to studio executives that were fans of ours, producers that we had worked with, even close friends, and people would just look at us and their eyes would glaze over. They'd just be like, 'What are you guys talking about? A movie with no dialogue? I don't see how that's a movie. That doesn't sound very commercial. You should just move past it.
On paper, as the movie literally was at that point, it's understandable how a studio executive might not understand a movie like A Quiet Place. Even if your goal is to make "good movies" rather than simply make money, those good movies still have to make money, or eventually, you can't make good movies anymore. A movie with little or no dialogue sounds like something that wouldn't appeal to the mass market and thus would have trouble being financially successful.
Even the studio that eventually did produce A Quiet Place, Platinum Dunes, knew they were taking a risk with the movie. Co-founder of the studio Andrew Form told Slate that it wasn't simply the premise that the studio was taking a risk on. They were also putting a great deal of faith in John Krasinski. As writer, director, and star of the movie, everything was riding on him.
The movie was risky on every level; You start reading [the script] and go, 'Oh, there's no dialogue.' The idea was so original. And here we are coming to the studio with John: 'This is the guy we're betting on to star, write and direct this movie for us. And we're all in on him! You have to trust us. We're not going to let you down.'
Luckily, the faith was not misplaced. A Quiet Place has grossed over $300 million around the world on a reported budget of less than $20 million, making it not only one of the highest grossing films of the year, but also one of the most profitable. It's minimal use of dialogue, rather than pushing audiences away, has engaged them even more, and made many much more conscious of their movie theater behavior, which isn't a bad thing either. With a sequel reportedly in the early stages, A Quiet Place has transformed from risky venture to full-on franchise.
