Trivia / King Richard

• Acclaimed Flop: The film was critically acclaimed and received several Oscar nominations including Best Picture, but grossed only $37 million on a $50 million budget, and also received lower-than-typical HBO Max viewership for a film in the Same-Day Release program.
• Budget-Busting Element: The film had an overall budget of about fifty million USD. Forty million was used just to get Will Smith on to play the main character (the film ended up making slightly less than forty million at the box office, despite excellent reviews, in part due to releasing simultaneously on streaming).
• Cast the Expert: Mexican tennis pro with no acting experience Marcela Zacarías as Spanish tennis pro Arantxa Sánchez-Vicario, since the role demands to play tennis rather than acting. Zacarías was praised for perfectly mimicking Vicario's playing style and quirks despite being different to her own; so from a certain point of view, she really was acting.
• Completely Different Title: The film was called The Williams Method in Spain.
• Fake Nationality: The Mexican Marcela Zacarías as Spanish tennis pro Arantxa Sánchez-Vicario.
• The Foreign Subtitle: In Latin America, the film was called Rey Richard: Una familia ganadora ("King Richard: A Winning Family"). Quebec and Portugal both had the English title followed by "Beyond the Game", while Brazil had "Raising Champions".
• Playing Against Type: Jon Bernthal plays a warm, patient Nice Guy in Rick Macci, rather than the violent, gravelly character he tends to depict.
• What Could Have Been: Liev Schreiber was originally cast as Paul Cohen, but the part was recast with Tony Goldwyn after production delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic led to conflicts with Schreiber's schedule.

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