Peter (Levi Miller) is a young boy who is left on the steps of an orphanage by his mother Mary (Amanda Seyfried). The establishment is under the care of the cruel Mother Barnabas (Kathy Burke) in London. Upon learning that she is hoarding food for herself, Peter and his best friend Nibs steal it to distribute amongst themselves and the other orphans. In the process, Peter finds a letter written by his mother, declaring her love and assuring Peter they'll meet again "in this world or the other".
In retaliation for the boys' mischief, Mother Barnabas summons pirates who kidnap Nibs and several others. Peter manages to rescue Nibs, but is captured himself and taken to Neverland, a magical realm beyond space and time, where he is forced to become a slave laborer and mine for fairy dust on behalf of the ruthless pirate Blackbeard (Hugh Jackman), during which Peter befriends another miner, James Hook (Garrett Hedlund). After insulting Blackbeard's men, Peter is forced to walk the plank, but survives by flying above the water. Blackbeard then confides with him about an old prophecy that a boy who could fly would one day kill him, but Peter refuses to believe he is the said boy.
Peter joins Hook and his accomplice, Smee (Adeel Akhtar), in stealing one of Blackbeard's flying boats and escaping into the forest, where they are found and nearly executed by the natives led by Chief Great Little Panther (Jack Charles), before his daughter, Tiger Lily (Rooney Mara), notices Peter's pan flute pendant, left to him by Mary, and said to belong to their people's greatest hero, the legendary Pan. Tiger Lily reveals that Peter's father was the Fairy Prince, and that Mary incurred Blackbeard's wrath by rejecting his advances, for which she was forced to abandon Peter and seek shelter in the Fairy Kingdom. As part of his heritage, Peter has the ability to fly, but unable to do so because of his lack of faith.
Fearful of Blackbeard's punishment, Smee betrays the natives' location to him, and in the ensuing battle, Chief Great Little Panther is murdered by Blackbeard, who also reveals he killed Peter's mother. Peter, Hook, and Tiger Lily escape in a raft and head to the Fairy Kingdom to enlist their help in defeating the pirates. Along the way, Peter falls into the river and is nearly eaten by a crocodile before being rescued by the mermaids, after which he has a vision of Blackbeard accidentally killing Mary as she defended the Fairy Kingdom from his offensive. Despondent over their chances, Hook leaves, while Peter and Tiger Lily arrive at the Fairy Kingdom only to be ambushed by Blackbeard, who uses the pan flute pendant to open their gates and launches an attack.
Peter escapes and befriends one of the fairies, Tinker Bell. Together, they rally the faries to battle the pirates, and are joined by a returning Hook, who fights Blackbeard's right-hand man Bishop (Nonso Anozie) aboard the stolen ship, which tips over, sending both falling to their deaths. Peter conquers his fears and flies to save Hook, while Blackbeard and his men are overpowered by the faries. Forced into an abyss, they subsequently fall to their deaths; Smee is the sole survivor having fled during the battle. Peter then has a vision of Mary, who reaffirms him to Neverland's great hero, Peter Pan. Shortly afterwards, Peter and Hook, now the captain of the Jolly Roger, return to London to rescue Nibbs and the other orphans, who become part of Peter's crew, the Lost Boys. Peter and Hook then reaffirm their friendship, certain that nothing will ever go wrong between them.
The script for the film was listed on Hollywood's 2013 Black List.[13] In January 2014, Garrett Hedlund was cast as a younger version of Captain Hook.[14] On January 24, 2014, Jackman was officially cast as the pirate Blackbeard.[7] In February, a casting call was issued for the role of Peter Pan,[15] which went to newcomer Levi Miller in March.[6] In April, Amanda Seyfried was cast.[8] In August, British model Cara Delevingne was chosen to play a mermaid.[16]Rooney Mara was cast as Tiger Lily,[17] causing controversy due to her being of European ancestry, while Tiger Lily is traditionally portrayed as a Native American.[18] Also considered for the role of Tiger Lily were actresses Lupita Nyong'o and Adèle Exarchopoulos. Warner Bros. did not try to cast a Native American woman in the role.[19] Critics of the casting noted that there are very few main roles for Native American women in Hollywood, and that the choice not only took one away from a Native American actress, but also perpetuated the invisibility of Native Americans in film.[20] According to TheWrap, director Joe Wright was trying to create a "very international and multi-racial" world,[21] although the majority of main characters (including the four lead actors) are Caucasian.[22] A petition was created in response to the casting to urge Warner Bros. studios to stop casting white actors in roles for people of color.[23]Principal photography began on April 28, 2014.[24]
Previous portrayals of the Piccaninny tribe in Peter Pan have also been criticized as racist.[25] Critics of the casting in Pan suggested that Warner Bros. may have wanted to avoid repeating the racism of previous Peter Pan stories, by altering the ethnicity of the Piccaninnies, rather than using a stereotypical portrayal of the source material.[25] Many also felt that native actresses and actors were never given the opportunity to make it into the mainstream films, with native roles being traditionally given to non-natives.[26]
Release
On December 12, 2013, Warner Bros. set a release date for June 26, 2015, with Joe Wright as director.[27] However, the release was pushed back several times,[28][29] and the studio eventually decided on October 9, 2015, in part to avoid box office competition from summer blockbusters such as Ant-Man and Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation.[30] The new release date also gave the producers more time to work on editing and visual effects during post-production.[31] The film was first released in Australia, on September 25, 2015. It was then released in key markets two weeks later, including Germany, Russia, Korea, and Brazil, on October 8. That was followed by Mexico and Spain the next day. The film opens in the United Kingdom on October 16 and France on October 21, which will be followed by China on October 22 with Japan following on October 31, and Italy on November 12.[32]
Reception
Box office
As of October 11, 2015[update], Pan has grossed $15.3 million in North America and $25.1 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $40.4 million, against a budget of $150 million.[4]
The film grossed $5.2 million on its opening day. In its opening weekend, the film grossed $15.3 million, below the studio's $20 million projection, and finished third at the box office.[33] Several reasons or causes has been attributed the financial failure of Pan. Scott Mendelson of Forbes noted the absence of notable movie stars. Despite the presence of Jackman, "like any number of would-be big stars who are best known for a certain franchise, his opening weekend strength dips when he's not playing his trademark character." Outside of the X-Men franchise, his biggest openings are Van Helsing ($51 million) and the $27 million debuts of Real Steel and Les Miserables.[34]
Pan also struggled internationally, grossing $20.4 million on its opening weekend from 54 markets from over 11,000 screens. 3D comprised 85% of the opening gross.[35][36] The film was released in Australia on September 24, 2015 to take advantage of the prime September school holidays, where it grossed $1.5 million in its opening weekend.[32] Elsewhere it opened at No. 1 in Mexico ($2.9 million), Brazil ($1.8 million), Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand and No. 2 in Russia and the CIS with $2 million (behind The Martian), Spain with $1.7 million (behind Regression), Hong Kong, Singapore and the Philippines.[36]
It will open in the United Kingdom this week followed by France and China the following week, Japan on October 31 and Italy on November 12.[36]
The Hollywood Reporter estimated that the film cost $275 million to produce and market, and noted that the financial losses by Warner Bros. could finish anywhere between $130 to $150 million.[35] However, the site noted that if the film overperforms in China, the world's second largest movie market, which opens on October 22, 2015, the losses could be lower.[35]
Critical reception
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Pan has received negative reviews from critics. On the review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a rating of 25%, based on 118 reviews, with an average rating of 4.5/10. The site's consensus reads, "Pan finds a few bursts of magic in its prequel treatment of classic characters, but not enough to offset the rush, addled plot and shrill, CGI-fueled action."[37]Metacritic gave the film a score of 36 out of 100, based on 35 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".[38] Overall, CinemaScore is a B+; with females giving the film an A- and males giving it a B+. Under 25ers graded it an A-, while the older dominating over 25 bunch gave it a B+.[33]
Andrew Barker of Variety, while praising the film's technical achievements, said that Pan exchanges "puckish mischief and innocence for doses of steampunk design, anachronistic music, a stock "chosen one" narrative and themes of child labor, warfare and unsustainable mineral mining."[39]
