Wonder (film)

Wonder is a 2017 American comedy-drama film, directed by Stephen Chbosky, written by Jack Thorne, Steve Conrad, and Chbosky, based on the 2012 novel of the same name by R. J. Palacio, and starring Julia Roberts, Owen Wilson, Jacob Tremblay, Mandy Patinkin, and Daveed Diggs. The film, which follows a boy with Treacher Collins syndrome trying to fit in, was released in the United States on November 17, 2017, by Lionsgate. It received positive reviews from critics and audiences, and grossed $305 million worldwide on a $20 million budget. At the 90th Academy Awards, the film was nominated for Best Makeup and Hairstyling.

Plot
August "Auggie" Pullman (Jacob Tremblay) is a 10-year-old boy living in North River Heights in upper Manhattan, New York, with his mother Isabel (Julia Roberts), father Nate (Owen Wilson), older sister Olivia "Via" (Izabela Vidovic), and dog Daisy. He has a rare medical facial deformity, which he refers to as "mandibulofacial dysostosis", and has undergone 27 different surgeries as a result. Auggie has been home-schooled, but as he approaches fifth grade, his parents decide to enroll him in Beecher Prep, a private school. Before the school year begins, Auggie meets with Mr. Tushman (Mandy Patinkin), the principal, who arranges a tour for him with three other students: Jack Will (Noah Jupe), Julian Albans (Bryce Gheisar), and Charlotte Cody (Elle McKinnon). When school starts, Auggie is initially ostracized by nearly the entire student body, but soon forms a close friendship with Jack.

For Halloween, Auggie dresses in a Ghostface mask and cloak when Daisy ruins the Boba Fett costume he was planning to wear. He walks through school upbeat and confident due to the anonymity his costume affords him. However, as he enters his homeroom, he overhears Jack, who does not recognize him, joining in with Julian and his friends in making fun of him behind his back. He becomes sick, forcing his mother to abandon her mother-daughter day with Via to bring him home. Though she is hurt, Via convinces Auggie to go trick-or-treating with her, as she has been rejected by her own former best friend Miranda (Danielle Rose Russell).

Eventually, Auggie forms a new friendship with a girl named Summer (Millie Davis) and confides in her about his split with Jack. Jack, puzzled by Auggie's change in attitude toward him, asks Summer why, but she will only give him the clue "Ghost Face". In science class, realization dawns on him, and he resolves to partner with Auggie instead of Julian for the school science fair. When Julian angrily confronts him in the hallway and calls Auggie a "freak", Jack punches him and the two fight. Jack writes a letter apologizing to Mr. Tushman for his actions, and Mr. Tushman, understanding Jack was defending his friend, suspends him for two days rather than expelling him. Jack later apologizes to Auggie and they reconcile.

Meanwhile, Via signs up for Drama Club at her high school after meeting a boy named Justin (Nadji Jeter), with whom she soon begins a romantic relationship. Via is selected to be an understudy for Miranda in the lead role in the school's production of Our Town, but on opening night, Miranda, whose divorced parents are not there to support her, pretends to be ill after learning Via's family is attending. Via takes her place and gives a moving performance that earns her a standing ovation. Via and Miranda then reconcile.

Auggie continues to be bullied by Julian and his friends. Finally, Auggie's homeroom teacher, Mr. Browne (Daveed Diggs), discovers the bullying, and Mr. Tushman confronts Julian and his parents (Crystal Lowe and Steve Bacic) with the evidence. Julian's parents defend his actions and assert that the students should not be exposed to Auggie, but despite their threats to pull their funding from the school, Tushman suspends Julian for two days, causing him to miss an upcoming nature retreat. Julian is distraught when his parents then declare he will not be back the following year, and apologizes to Tushman for his actions, which Tushman accepts.

At the nature retreat, Auggie and Jack are threatened by a trio of seventh graders from another school, but Julian's friends come to their defense. Auggie then becomes more accepted by his classmates.

At the year-end graduation ceremony, Auggie is given the Henry Ward Beecher Medal for standing out among his classmates and receives a standing ovation. The movie ends with everyone applauding Auggie, and Isabel commenting on him being a "wonder".

Cast

 * Jacob Tremblay as August "Auggie" Pullman, a young boy with a facial deformity
 * Julia Roberts as Isabel Minel-Pullman, Via and Auggie's mother
 * Owen Wilson as Nate Pullman, Via and Auggie's father
 * Izabela Vidovic as Olivia "Via" Pullman, Auggie's older sister
 * Maccie Margaret Chbosky as young Via
 * Danielle Rose Russell as Miranda Navas, Via's best friend
 * Mandy Patinkin as Mr. Tushman, the principal of Beecher Prep
 * Daveed Diggs as Mr. Browne, Auggie's homeroom teacher
 * Noah Jupe as Jack Will, Auggie's best friend
 * Bryce Gheisar as Julian Albans, a student at Beecher Prep who bullies Auggie
 * Elle McKinnon as Charlotte Cody, Auggie's classmate
 * Millie Davis as Summer Dawson, one of Auggie's best friends
 * Sônia Braga as Lisa "Grans" Minel, Isabel's mother, and Via and Auggie's grandmother
 * Ty Consiglio as Amos Conti, one of Julian's friends
 * Kyle Harrison Breitkopf as Miles Noury, one of Julian's friends
 * James A. Hughes as Henry Joplin, one of Julian's friends
 * Ali Liebert as Ms. Petosa, Auggie's science teacher
 * Nadji Jeter as Justin Hollander, Via's boyfriend
 * Nicole Oliver as Mrs. Amanda Will, Jack's mother
 * Rachel Hayward as Mrs. Navas, Miranda's mother
 * Crystal Lowe as Mrs. Sarah Albans, Julian's mother
 * Steve Bacic as Mr. Julian "Juls" Albans Sr., Julian's father
 * Erika McKitrick as Ella, one of Summer and Charlotte's friends
 * Sasha Neuhaus as Maya Markowitz, one of Summer and Charlotte's friends
 * Izzy Lieberman as Reid Kingsley
 * Hannah Hoberman as Rebecca
 * William Dickinson as Eddie Johnson, a seventh grade bully from another school
 * Emma Tremblay as Michelle
 * Lydia Jewett as Lina Annan
 * Armen Bagdasrov as Danny
 * Kaelyn Breitkopf as Angela
 * Victoria V. Cruz as the Science Fair judge
 * Benjamin Ratner as Mr. Davenport, the drama teacher at Via's school
 * J. Douglas Stewart as Darth Sidious
 * Michael Alan Healy as Chewbacca

Production
On November 27, 2012, it was announced that Lionsgate was developing a feature film adaptation of R. J. Palacio's debut novel Wonder, and were in talks with John August to write the screenplay. Mandeville Films' David Hoberman and Todd Lieberman produced the film. On May 8, 2013, Jack Thorne was hired to adapt the novel after August had departed from the project. In October 2014, John Krokidas was reported to be directing the film, though in April 2015, Paul King was hired to direct instead. Steven Conrad was writing the script at that time.

On April 14, 2016, Jacob Tremblay was cast to play the lead role, Auggie Pullman, while Julia Roberts was in talks to play Auggie's mother. On May 5, 2016, Roberts' casting was confirmed, and Stephen Chbosky was set as the film's director. On June 27, 2016, Owen Wilson joined to play Auggie's father. On July 11, 2016, newcomer Noah Jupe joined the cast as Auggie's best friend at school, and on July 15, 2016, Daveed Diggs was cast as Mr. Browne, an English teacher at the school. On August 19, 2016, Sônia Braga joined the cast, portraying the role of Roberts's character's mother.

Tremblay's prosthetic makeup, designed and created by Arjen Tuiten, took an hour and a half to apply. It consisted of a skull cap with prosthetic ears attached, a facial prosthetic that covered Tremblay's face, and a wig to tie it all together.

Marcelo Zarvos composed the film's score.

Filming took place in several locations in British Columbia, Canada, and Coney Island, NY, from July 18 to September 13, 2016.

Music
Bea Miller composed a song for the film, "Brand New Eyes." It was released on August 3, 2017.

Wonder author R. J. Palacio has often credited Natalie Merchant's song "Wonder", from her 1995 album Tigerlily, as the inspiration for her best-selling book and at Merchant's invitation, the song was featured on the soundtrack. The song is played during the film's end credits.

Release
Lionsgate had initially scheduled Wonder to be released in the United States on April 7, 2017. On February 13, 2017, it was announced that the release date had been pushed back to November 17, 2017. Wonder had its world premiere at the Regency Village Theater in Los Angeles on November 14, 2017.

Box office
Wonder grossed $132.4 million in the United States and Canada, and $173.2 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $305.6 million, against a production budget of $20 million. Deadline Hollywood calculated the film made a net profit of $55.3 million, when factoring together all expenses and revenues.

In the United States and Canada, Wonder opened alongside Justice League and The Star, and was initially projected to gross around $9 million from 3,096 theaters in its first weekend. However, after grossing $740,000 from Thursday night previews and receiving a large number of group ticket sales, weekend projections were upped to $15 million. Weekend projections were again increased, this time to $28 million, after the film made $9.4 million on its first day. The film went on to debut to $27.1 million, finishing second at the box office, behind Justice League. In its second weekend, the film dropped just 17.7%, grossing $22.7 million and finishing third at the box office.

Critical response
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 85% based on 156 reviews, and an average rating of 7/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Wonder doesn't shy away from its bestselling source material's sentiment, but this well-acted and overall winsome drama earns its tugs at the heartstrings." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 66 out of 100, based on 33 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A+" on an A+ to F scale, one of fewer than 80 films in the history of the service to receive the grade.

Some reviewers criticized the decision to cast an actor without the disease as Auggie as undermining the film's message.