Studio: Film4 Productions, Wild Bunch, Warp Films
Distributed by: Optimum Releasing, Drafthouse Films
Starring: Riz Ahmed, Kayvan Novak, Nigel Lindsey, Arsher Ali, Adeel Akhtar
Released: 7th May 2010
Four Lions is an independent dark comedy film based in Sheffield about a group of young British Muslim men who aspire to be suicide bombers. It was first shown in January 2010 at the Sundance film festival and was short-listed for the festival's World Cinema Narrative prize. The UK premier took place at the National Media Museum as part of Bradford's International Film Festival on 25th March 2010. It was released in the UK on 7th May 2010 and released onto DVD and Blu-Ray on 30th August 2010.
It was critically acclaimed quite well, with Rotten Tomatoes giving the film a 'Certified Fresh' score of 81% with an average score of 7.2 out of 10 from reviews. The site's general consensus is that its 'premise suggests brazenly tasteless humour, but Four Lions is actually a smart, pitch-black comedy that carries the unmistakable ring of truth.' Time Magazine rated the film as among top 10 movies of the year of 2010.
The film wasn't marketed very well, as it didn't have much budget aside for this after the production, and was mostly advertised through a trailer and some film posters. However the film became well known locally and through the film festivals and reviews in newspapers which allowed it to gain popularity.
The film also did well at the box office, making a total of £609,000 on its opening weekend. As of 8th August 2010, it had grossed £2,932,366 in the UK and as of 24th February 2011, it had grossed $4,658,570 - a remarkable amount for a British independent film. The reason why it may have been such a success may have been due to its controversial nature and original, realistic comedy.
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