Emma Stone’s controversial 2024 black comedy has a VOD release date after a disappointing box office performance
The release date for Kinds of Kindness on VOD has been confirmed following underwhelming box office returns. Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos, who co-wrote the script with regular collaborator Efthimis Filippou, Kinds of Kindness is a triptych fable that traces the journeys of a man seeking control of his life, a policeman whose wife went missing at sea and returned changed, and a woman on a quest to find a destined spiritual leader. The cast of Kinds of Kindness features Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons, Willem Dafoe, Margaret Qualley, Hong Chau, Joe Alwyn, and Mamoudou Athie, who all take on multiple roles.
Over a month after its theatrical release, the divisive black comedy is coming to VOD. Searchlight Pictures has confirmed that Kinds of Kindness will be available for purchase on digital platforms, including Prime Video, Apple TV, and Fandango at Home, on August 27, and it will be released on Blu-ray and DVD on October 8. Both digital and physical releases will include bonus features, such as a featurette titled “Takes All Kinds: The Vision of Kindness”, providing a behind-the-scenes look at the film’s costuming, cinematography, and music as well as some deleted scenes.
Why did the film underperform at the box office?
Kinds of Kindness marks another collaboration between Stone and Lanthimos, following their work together on The Favourite, short film Bleat, and Poor Things. The latter, also starring Dafoe and Qualley, was critically acclaimed, grossing over $117 million at the box office on a $35 million budget and earning four Academy Awards, including Stone’s second Best Actress win. This caused anticipation for Lanthimos and Stone’s next project, Kinds of Kindness, to be high.
However, Kinds of Kindness did not fare as well as Poor Things. It premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May where, despite mainly positive reviews, earning a 71% score on Rotten Tomatoes, the film polarized critics at the festival for its unconventional plotlines, even by Lanthimos’s standards. Nonetheless, its eccentric narratives were praised by many, who described Kinds of Kindness as a cynically chilly triptych bursting with black comedy, showcasing Lanthimos at his most misanthropic and comically sharp point to date.
Despite the generally positive critical reception, Kinds of Kindness did not resonate with audiences as strongly as anticipated. Unable to recoup its $15 million budget, the film earned only $13 million at the box office, significantly less than Poor Things in the previous year. Generally, the audience didn’t connect with Kindness as much as the critics did, as highlighted by its 48% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, which is understandable considering the film’s uncompromising absurdity.