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Maze Runner (film series)

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Maze Runner
Official film series logo
Based onThe Maze Runner series by James Dashner
Starring
Production
companies
Distributed by20th Century Fox
Release date
2014–2018
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
BudgetTotal (3 films):
$157 million
Box officeTotal (3 films):
$949 million

The Maze Runner film series consists of American science-fiction dystopian action adventure films based on The Maze Runner novels by the American author James Dashner. Produced by Ellen Goldsmith-Vein and distributed by 20th Century Fox, the films star Dylan O'Brien, Kaya Scodelario, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Ki Hong Lee, Dexter Darden, and Patricia Clarkson. T.S. Nowlin wrote and Wes Ball directed all three installments.

The first film, titled The Maze Runner, was released on September 19, 2014, and grossed over $348 million worldwide. The second installment, Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials, was released on September 18, 2015, and grossed over $312 million at the box office. The third movie, Maze Runner: The Death Cure, was released on January 26, 2018, and grossed less than its predecessors, with a worldwide gross of $288 million.

The series will continue, with additional films in development under the Walt Disney Company's direction.[1]

Films

[edit]
Film U.S. release date Director Screenwriter(s) Producers
The Maze Runner September 19, 2014 (2014-09-19) Wes Ball Noah Oppenheim & Grant Pierce Myers and T. S. Nowlin Ellen Goldsmith-Vein, Wyck Godfrey, Marty Bowen and Lee Stollman
Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials September 18, 2015 (2015-09-18) T. S. Nowlin Ellen Goldsmith-Vein, Wyck Godfrey, Marty Bowen, Lee Stollman and Joe Hartwick Jr.
Maze Runner: The Death Cure January 26, 2018 (2018-01-26) Ellen Goldsmith-Vein, Wyck Godfrey, Marty Bowen, Lee Stollman, Joe Hartwick Jr. and Wes Ball

The Maze Runner (2014)

[edit]
Main article: The Maze Runner (film)

The film features Thomas, who wakes up trapped in a maze with a group of other boys. He has no memory of the outside world other than dreams about an organization known as WCKD (World Catastrophe Killzone Department). Only by piecing together fragments of his past with clues he discovers in the maze can Thomas hope to uncover his purpose and a way to escape.

Development for the film began in January 2011 when Fox purchased the film rights to Dashner's novel The Maze Runner.[2] Principal photography began in Baton Rouge, Louisiana in May 2013 and ended in July.[3][4] It was released on September 19, 2014.[5]

Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials (2015)

[edit]
Main article: Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials

The film features Thomas and his fellow Gladers as they search for clues about the organization known as WCKD. Their journey takes them to the Scorch, a desolate landscape filled with obstacles. Teaming up with resistance fighters, the Gladers take on WCKD's "vastly superior" forces and uncover its plans for them all.

Principal photography commenced in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in October 2014 and ended in January 2015.[6][7] It was released on September 18, 2015.[8]

Maze Runner: The Death Cure (2018)

[edit]
Main article: Maze Runner: The Death Cure

In the third Maze Runner, Thomas leads his group of escaped Gladers on their final and most dangerous mission yet. To save their friends, they must break into the legendary Last City, a WCKD-controlled safe zone designed to keep people out. They attempt to enter to rescue their friends, seeking answers to the questions the Gladers have been asking since they first arrived in the maze.

In March 2015, T.S. Nowlin, who co-wrote the first and wrote the second film, was hired to write Maze Runner: The Death Cure based on the novel The Death Cure.[9] In September 2015, Ball was hired to direct the film.[10] Ball said that the film would not be split into two films.[11] Principal photography took place in Cape Town, South Africa between March and June 2017 for a January 26, 2018, release.[12][13][14][15]

Future

[edit]

Following the acquisition of 21st Century Fox by Disney in March 2019, Disney announced in April 2019 at their CinemaCon presentation that new Maze Runner films are in development.[1]

Recurring cast and characters

[edit]
Character Films
The Maze Runner Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials Maze Runner: The Death Cure
Thomas Dylan O'Brien
Teresa Kaya Scodelario
Newt Thomas Brodie-Sangster
Minho Ki Hong Lee
Frypan Dexter Darden
Ava Paige Patricia Clarkson
Winston Alexander Flores
Gally Will Poulter Will Poulter
Janson Aidan Gillen
Aris Jacob Lofland
Brenda Rosa Salazar
Jorge Giancarlo Esposito
Vince Barry Pepper
Sonya Katherine McNamara
Harriet Nathalie Emmanuel

Crew and details

[edit]
Title Crew and details
Composer Cinematographer Editor(s) Production companies Distributing companies Running time
The Maze Runner John Paesano Enrique Chediak Dan Zimmerman Gotham Group,
Temple Hill Entertainment,
TSG Entertainment 		20th Century Fox 1 hr 53 mins
The Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials Gyula Pados 2 hrs 11 mins
The Maze Runner: The Death Cure Dan Zimmerman & Paul Harb Gotham Group,
Temple Hill Entertainment,
TSG Entertainment,
Oddball Entertainment 		2 hrs 23 mins

Music

[edit]
Title U.S. release date Composer(s) Label
The Maze Runner (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)[16] September 12, 2014 (2014-09-12) John Paesano Sony Classical
Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)[17] September 11, 2015 (2015-09-11)
Maze Runner: The Death Cure (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)[18] January 26, 2018 (2018-01-26)

Reception

[edit]
For more details on the reception of each film, see the "Reception" section on each film's article.

Box office performance

[edit]
Film Release date Box office gross Box office ranking Production budget Ref.
North America Other territories Worldwide All time North America All time worldwide
The Maze Runner September 19, 2014 (2014-09-19) $102,427,862 $245,891,999 $348,319,861 580 285 $34 million [19]
Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials September 18, 2015 (2015-09-18) $81,697,192 $230,627,911 $312,325,103 810 337 $61 million [20]
Maze Runner: The Death Cure January 26, 2018 (2018-01-26) $58,032,443 $230,385,747 $288,418,190 1,377 467 $62 million [21]
Total [22]
$242,157,497 $706,905,657 $949,063,154 $157 million

All Maze Runner films opened at number one at the North American box office during their opening weekend.[23][24][25] In North America, the Maze Runner film series is the fifth-highest-grossing film series based on young adult books, after the film series of Harry Potter, The Hunger Games, The Twilight Saga, and The Divergent Series, respectively, earning $242 million.[26] Worldwide, it is the fourth-highest-grossing film series based on young-adult books, after the film series of Harry Potter, The Twilight Saga, and The Hunger Games, respectively, earning $949 million from a $157 million total production budget.[22]

Critical and public response

[edit]

The Maze Runner trilogy has received a mixed critical response, with the primary source of criticism being the plot and character development, although its performances and action sequences have been praised.

Film Rotten Tomatoes Metacritic CinemaScore
The Maze Runner 65% (172 reviews)[27] 57 (34 reviews)[28] A−[29]
Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials 47% (152 reviews)[30] 43 (29 reviews)[31] B+[29]
Maze Runner: The Death Cure 43% (171 reviews)[32] 50 (38 reviews)[33] B+[29]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "Fox Plans More Sequels to Popular Movie Franchises Post-Disney Merger". CBR. April 3, 2019.
  2. ^ Zeitchik, Steven (January 4, 2011). "Young-adult sensation The Maze Runner gets ready to run the movie gantlet (Updated)". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 5, 2012.
  3. ^ "Maze Runner Movie Set". jamesdashner.com. Archived from the original on September 24, 2014. Retrieved September 12, 2014.
  4. ^ "The Maze Runner Movie Release Date, News, and Updates: 2 New Clips Released in Anticipation of The Premiere". hallels.com. Retrieved September 12, 2014.
  5. ^ Busch, Anita (September 21, 2014). "Box Office Sunday: Maze Runner Finds $32.5M; Liam's Walk Limps In; Where I Leave You No. 3". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved September 21, 2014.
  6. ^ Maze Runner News [@MazeRunnerWW] (October 27, 2014). "The Scorch Trials starts filming TODAY!" (Tweet). Retrieved October 27, 2014 – via Twitter.
  7. ^ Wentz, Brook (January 29, 2015). "The Maze Runner sequel The Scorch Trials officially wraps filming". Hypable. Retrieved January 29, 2015.
  8. ^ Dashner, James (September 21, 2014). "And like that's not cool enough, it's official: THE SCORCH TRIALS movie is coming September 18, 2015. Doesn't this look sweet: #ScorchTrials". Twitter. Retrieved September 25, 2014.
  9. ^ Busch, Anita (March 4, 2015). "Maze Runner: The Death Cure Sets T.S. Nowlin To Pen". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 10, 2015.
  10. ^ McNary, Dave; Chi, Paul (September 16, 2015). "Wes Ball Returning to Direct Third Maze Runner". Variety. Retrieved September 17, 2015.
  11. ^ Sciretta, Peter (October 9, 2014). "The Maze Runner Finale The Death Cure Won't Be Split Into Two Movies". /Film. Retrieved October 24, 2014.
  12. ^ Busch, Anita (August 29, 2016). "The Maze Runner: The Death Cure Will Restart Production In February". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 30, 2016.
  13. ^ Bailey, Ian (September 4, 2016). "Maze Runner film production leaving B.C. for South Africa". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved September 5, 2016.
  14. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (April 22, 2017). "Deadpool 2, New Mutants & Dark Phoenix Find 2018 Dates Among Fox's Slew Of Release Changes & Additions". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 23, 2017.
  15. ^ McNary, Dave (August 25, 2017). "Steven Spielberg's Pentagon Papers Movie Re-Titled The Post". Variety. Retrieved August 26, 2017.
  16. ^ "The Maze Runner (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)". Apple Music. Retrieved September 26, 2017.
  17. ^ "Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)". Apple Music. Retrieved September 26, 2017.
  18. ^ "Maze Runner: The Death Cure (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)". Apple Music. Retrieved January 26, 2018.
  19. ^ "The Maze Runner (2014)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved November 20, 2015.
  20. ^ "Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials (2015)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved December 28, 2015.
  21. ^ "Maze Runner: The Death Cure (2018)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved June 25, 2018.
  22. ^ a b "Maze Runner Movies at the Box Office". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved December 28, 2015.
  23. ^ Subers, Ray (September 21, 2014). "Weekend Report: Maze Runner Franchise Off to Strong Start". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved September 22, 2015.
  24. ^ Brevet, Brad (September 20, 2015). "Maze and Mass Top Box Office, but Everest and Sicario are the Story". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved September 22, 2015.
  25. ^ Brevet, Brad (January 28, 2018). "Maze Runner #1, Jumanji & Showman Hold Strong & Padmaavat Takes Spot in Top Ten". Retrieved February 9, 2018.
  26. ^ "Young-Adult Book Adaptations Movies at the Box Office". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved February 9, 2018.
  27. ^ "The Maze Runner (2014)". Rotten Tomatoes.
  28. ^ "The Maze Runner Reviews". Metacritic.
  29. ^ a b c D'Alessandro, Anthony (January 28, 2018). "Fox Controls Close To 40% Of Weekend B.O. Led By 'Maze Runner' & Oscar Holdovers; 'Hostiles' Gallops Past $10M". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on January 27, 2018. Retrieved November 10, 2023. Death Cure gets a B+ CinemaScore tonight, which is the same as Scorch Trials, and just below the first 2014 installment's A-.
  30. ^ "Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials (2015)". Rotten Tomatoes.
  31. ^ "Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials Reviews". Metacritic.
  32. ^ "Maze Runner: The Death Cure (2018)". Rotten Tomatoes.
  33. ^ "Maze Runner: The Death Cure Reviews". Metacritic.
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