Rami Malek (r) with Queen’s Brian May at the Golden Globe Awards, January 6, 2019
Bohemian Rhapsody continues its phenomenal roll. On Sunday, January 27, Malek won the Screen Actors Guild award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role.
On Tuesday, Jan. 22, the film picked up five Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture and Best Actor for Rami Malek for his performance as Freddie Mercury.
It also picked up noms for Sound Mixing, Sound Editing and Film Editing.
The winners will be announced on Feb. 24, during the live broadcast on ABC TV.
In his SAG acceptance speech, Malek said: “I just never in my wildest dreams felt that I could be in a category with these men and I’m so proud to be one of your peers. [Malek was up against Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper, Viggo Mortensen and John David Washington.] It’s an honor I’m taken about by. [I want to thank] this ensemble that is so extraordinary that carried me through every moment on this film. I thank Queen and Freddie Mercury. I get some power from him that is about stepping up and living your best life, being everything you want to be and living your desire. This, again, is for him.”
For Best Picture, Bohemian Rhapsody is up against Black Panther, BlacKkKlansman, The Favourite, Green Book, Roma, A Star is Born and Vice.
Malek faces Christian Bale (Vice), Bradley Cooper (A Star is Born), William Dafoe (At Eternity’s Gate) and Viggo Mortensen (Green Book).
Malek acknowledged the honor on his social media accounts: “Thank you to the Academy for recognizing the work of so many from the cast and crew who made all of this possible. I have absolutely treasured playing Freddie Mercury and I am so profoundly humbled and thrilled to honor him this way.”
Thank you to the Academy for recognizing the work of so many from the cast and crew who made all of this possible. I have absolutely treasured playing Freddie Mercury and I am so profoundly humbled and thrilled to honor him this way.
— Rami Malek (@ItsRamiMalek) January 22, 2019
Upon hearing the news, Queen’s Brian May wrote, in part, on his Instagram account: “Thankful, grateful, blessed !! Amazing that @bbcnews did a piece on all the Best Picture nominations tonight and completely ignored just one – Bohemian Rhapsody. Our own country’s media are still begrudging of our efforts after nearly 50 years. Amazing how little it matters. Because our friends vote with their feet. Thanks folks.”
On Jan. 6, the film won the two huge Golden Globe awards that it was nominated for: Best Picture – Drama, and Rami Malek earned Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama for his role as Freddie Mercury.
“This is a profound honor to receive this,” said Malek in his Golden Globes acceptance speech. “I am beyond moved right now. To you, Brian May… to you, Roger Taylor, for assuring that authenticity and inclusivity exists in music and in the world and all of us. Thank you, Freddie Mercury, for giving me the joy of a lifetime.”
Its worldwide box-office numbers continued to climb: the Queen biopic was the 9th-biggest title of 2018 with $702 million. More on that below.
On Jan. 2, 2019, 20th Century Fox announced a Feb. 12 release date for the film’s home release, with bonus footage including the complete Live Aid recreation. It’s available for pre-order on DVD in the U.S. and U.K.; on Blu-ray in the U.S. and U.K.; and on 4K in the U.S. and U.K.
Moviegoers have been touting actor Rami Malek’s transformative performance as Freddie Mercury. On Dec. 6, Malek was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for the role, in the major category, Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama.
Bohemian Rhapsody was nominated for Best Motion Picture – Drama, alongside BlacKkKlansman, Black Panther, If Beale Street Could Talk and A Star is Born.
Malek joined Bradley Cooper (A Star is Born), Willem Dafoe (An Eternity’s Gate), Lucas Hedges (Boy Erased) and John David Washington (BlacKkKlansman) in the drama acting category.
The cast received a Screen Actors Guild nomination for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture. (The cast of Black Panther won.) The SAG awards are for acting performances in film and television and thus don’t offer categories in such areas as top film, director, screenplay, and so on.
Bohemian Rhapsody has enjoyed solid numbers at the worldwide box-office. Through Jan. 27, in North America, it had earned more than $205 million in North America. It now ranks as 2018’s #13 biggest title in the U.S.
On Dec. 2, the Queen biopic became the #1 music biopic of all-time in the U.S. Statistics for the category began in 1978. Bohemian Rhapsody‘s U.S. tally of $189 million is now solidly ahead of 2015’s Straight Outta Compton which earned $161 million. Other titles in the Top 5: 2005’s Walk the Line, 2018’s I Can Only Imagine and 2006’s Ray.
[Queen + Adam Lambert have announced a big 2019 tour. Tickets are available here and here.]
Internationally, the crowd-pleasing film, from Twentieth-Century Fox, had a total 2018 cume of $513 million. Combined with the U.S. numbers, its 2018 worldwide tally was over $702 million, making it 2018’s 9th-biggest release. Including 2019 numbers, the film has earned $817 million worldwide.
The movie was #1 in its Nov. 2-4 opening weekend in North America, earning an estimated $50 million at the box-office. It picked up another $72.5 million internationally, giving it a tremendous $122.5 first full weekend worldwide. The film had its world premiere at London’s SSE Arena in Wembley on October 23 and opened in the U.S. on Nov. 2. Reviews were mixed, with 62% of critics giving it a favorable review, as tallied by Rotten Tomatoes. Filmgoers gave Bohemian Rhapsody an overwhelmingly positive 91% rating.
It stars Malek as Freddie, Gwilym Lee as Brian May, Ben Hardy as Roger Taylor, Joe Mazzello as John Deacon and Lucy Boynton as Freddie’s lifelong companion Mary Austin. The soundtrack, featuring all-original Queen recordings and vocals, was released on CD and digital formats on Oct. 19.
Fans have been touting Malek’s performance as worthy of an Oscar nomination.
Watch Malek talk about the role on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
Related: Listen to Queen’s show-stopping performance at 1985’s Live Aid, as featured in the film
1 Comment so far
Jump into a conversationIt is a fantastic film. A total blow away. Malek absolutely deserves an Oscar nomination, as does the film. The best R+R movie since “Almost Famous”. Unforgettable.