Knives Out hasn't been the sort of movie to set box office records or spawn immediate sequels being greenlit (though we can certainly hope). However, it has been a successful film that has brought in a solid box office and a lot of fans. However, clearly, without question, the biggest thing that Knives Out has brought to "the discourse" is serious talk of sweaters. Ran Johnson himself even showed up to a recent screening of his film where everybody wore a sweater, and he did not disappoint.
Recently, the Los Angeles location of the Alamo Drafthouse theater chain hosted an "all sweaters" screening of Rian Jonson's new whodunit, where, I'm assuming wearing a sweater was part of the price of admission. Apparently, that's the case even if you're the director of the film. Rian Johnson posted to Twitter that he played along as well.
There were a few important takeaways from Knives Out. Rian Johnson knows how to reinvent a genre. Daniel Craig could star in an entire franchise of these movies, and Chris Evans knows how to wear a sweater. Evans wasn't the only actor to rock a sweater in Knives Out, but his was the one that most people seemed to notice.
The sweater thing got so big that YouTube film essayist Patrick Willems even started the Knives Out Challenge, which wasn't anything complicated, simply posting a picture of yourself to Twitter wearing a sweater. The official Knives Out Twitter account even changed its name for a time to Chris Evans Sweater Stan Account. Rian Johnson joined the Knives Out Challenge by posting a picture of himself on the set of Star Wars: The Last Jedi in a sweater. In fact, it's the same sweater he wore to the movie screening earlier this week.
As silly as it might seem to get all worked up over sweaters, the fact is nobody really gets that worked up over sweaters alone. Clearly, Knives Out has touched a nerve with a lot of fans and the way they choose to show that they're embracing the movie is by embracing the sweaters.
Knives Out has grossed over $160 million globally, and off a budget reported to be around $40 million, before marketing and distribution, that's a solid take. It's certainly the kind of number that makes a studio contemplate repeating that success with sequels. Could we see Daniel Craig come back in the future to solve a new mystery? Rian Johnson doesn't seem entirely opposed to the idea.
And if we get one, that could mean more great sweaters. Everybody gets a sweater. Or, maybe Johnson will focus on a new area of fashion and get us all irrationally obsessed with a different item of clothing.
And let's face it, if we all looked as good as Chris Evans in a sweater, we'd probably wear them a lot more often.
