The film was announced in late 2010, withSacha Baron Cohen set to play Mercury. After he left the project in mid-2013 following creative differences with producers, the projectlanguished until Malek was cast in November 2016. Singer served as director through most ofprincipal photography, which began in London in September 2017, but was fired in December 2017 due to frequent absences and clashes with the cast and crew.Dexter Fletcher, who was originally set to direct when the project was early in development, was hired to complete the film; Singer retained sole director credit as perDirectors Guild of America guidelines, while Fletcher received an executive producer credit. Filming concluded in January 2018.
Bohemian Rhapsody premiered at theWembley Arena on October 23, 2018, and was theatrically released in the United Kingdom the next day and in the United States on 2 November, to mixed reviews. While the musical sequences and Malek's performance were particularly praised,[8] Singer's direction, the film's portrayal of Mercury and other personnel,[9][10] and its use of creative licence[11][12] were criticized. However, it was well received by audiences and became a major box office success, grossing over$910.8 million worldwide on a production budget of$50–55 million, becoming thesixth-highest-grossing film of 2018 worldwide and setting the all-time box office records for the biographical[b] and drama genres.[15]
In 1970,Farrokh Bulsara works as abaggage handler atHeathrow Airport and lives with his parents and sister. He goes to a pub to see the bandSmile perform. Seeking them out after the show, he meets and is attracted to Mary Austin, who works at the boutiqueBiba. He finds drummerRoger Taylor and guitaristBrian May and learns that their lead singer and bassist,Tim Staffell, has just quit to joinHumpy Bong. Farrokh offers himself as a replacement singer and impresses them with his vocal ability. Farrokh seeks out Mary at Biba and they start dating. The band plays gigs across Britain with Farrokh as the lead singer and new bassistJohn Deacon. Farrokh pushes them to think bigger and sells their van to finance a record album. AnA&R rep fromEMI asks engineerRoy Thomas Baker for demos.
Farrokh changes his name to Freddie Mercury and renames the band Queen. They sign withJohn Reid, who books an American tour.Paul Prenter, who is attracted to Freddie, manages their daily schedule. An appearance onTop of the Pops gives Queen their first hit, "Killer Queen". Freddie proposes to Mary but, while on tour, he begins questioning his sexuality. In 1975, Queen record their fourth studio album,A Night at the Opera, placing extensive effort into recording Freddie'smagnum opus, "Bohemian Rhapsody". However, they quit EMI when executive Ray Foster refuses to release it as the album's lead single. Freddie conspires with radio DJKenny Everett to debut the song on his programme. Despite critical pans, "Bohemian Rhapsody" becomes a global hit, launching Queen to international superstardom. Following a world tour, Freddie begins an affair with Paul andcomes out to Mary asbisexual. She counters that he isgay and they call off the engagement but remain close friends.
The band's success continues into the early 1980s with hits such as "We Will Rock You", and "Another One Bites the Dust", but tensions arise over Paul's influence on Freddie. During a party, Freddie finds himself attracted to a waiter, Jim Hutton, who tells Freddie to find him when he learns self-acceptance. Paul encourages Reid to convince Freddie to pursue a solo career, but the idea offends Freddie; Paul feigns ignorance and Freddie fires Reid without consulting his bandmates.Jim "Miami" Beach, the band's lawyer, takes over management. During a press conference for the band's albumHot Space in 1982, the media bombards Freddie with inquiries about his health and sexuality.
Following the controversial music video for "I Want to Break Free", in which the band appears indrag, Freddie leaves Queen and signs a $4-million solo deal withCBS Records. He records his 1984 solo albumMr. Bad Guy inMunich and indulges in drugs and gayorgies with Paul, but starts to feel unwell. Mary, now married and pregnant, urges him to return to Queen and perform at thebenefit concertLive Aid. Upon realizing that Paul withheld the news of Live Aid from him, Freddie fires him. In retaliation, Paul publicly reveals details about Freddie's sexual activities.
Freddie returns to London and reconciles with his bandmates, persuading them to play at Live Aid. After learning that he hasHIV, Freddie reveals his condition to his bandmates, but dismisses their sympathy and requests that it be kept a secret from the public, wishing to make music for as long as he has left. On the day of Live Aid, Freddie reconnects with Hutton, Mary, and his family, and heeds his father'sZoroastrian maxim, "Good thoughts, good words, good deeds". Freddie and the band deliver an outstanding performance at Live Aid, helping to increase donations.
Plans for a film about Queen were revealed in September 2010 by the band's guitaristBrian May. Covering the period up toLive Aid in 1985, the film was to featureSacha Baron Cohen as Freddie Mercury, withGraham King to co-produce, andPeter Morgan to write the screenplay.[25] May confirmed in April 2011 that the production was moving forward. He approved of Baron Cohen as Mercury but had reservations about the project's possible direction. The band's concerns focused on avoiding any harm to Mercury's legacy.[26]
In July 2013, Baron Cohen left the project due to creative differences. Allegedly, he had wanted a "grittyR-rated tell-all" focused on Mercury, while Queen hoped for a PG-rated film about the band.[27] May said later in 2013 that Baron Cohen had left the project on good terms. Comments by May and Roger Taylor suggested that Baron Cohen was too well known as a comedian and prankster (due largely to his fictional personaeAli G andBorat), and that his presence in the film would be distracting.[28] In March 2016, Baron Cohen spoke about misunderstandings with Queen about the subject and events of the film, in particular, whether the story ought to continue past Mercury's 1991 death. He also mentioned artistic disagreements with the band over the composition of the production team, referring specifically to Cohen recruiting Morgan,David Fincher, andTom Hooper.[29][30]
Following Baron Cohen's departure, in December 2013,Ben Whishaw was mentioned as a possible replacement to play Mercury. Also at this time,Dexter Fletcher was selected as the film's director.[31] Fletcher removed himself from the project early the following year, amid reports of creative disagreements with King.[32] In August 2014, Whishaw suggested that the film was not progressing well and that there had been scripting problems.[33] Whishaw left the project seven months later.[34] Rumours followed in 2015 that Baron Cohen had rejoined the project,[34] or that Whishaw might return.[35]
In November 2015, screenwriterAnthony McCarten became attached to the project, which now had the working title ofBohemian Rhapsody after Queen'ssong of the same name.[35] Developing a fresh take on the story from his interviews with May and Taylor, he delivered his first draft in February 2016. A year later,Bryan Singer was in talks to take over as director,Rami Malek was cast as Mercury, and the film was fast-tracked by20th Century Fox andNew Regency.[36] It was reported in 2015 thatJohnny Flynn was due to play Roger Taylor and thatGemma Arterton would play Mercury's partner Mary Austin.[37]
In May 2017, Malek confirmed that he had conducted recordings atAbbey Road Studios and had consulted Taylor and May.[38] The same month,Entertainment Weekly reported that Taylor and May were serving as music producers.[38] In August 2017,Justin Haythe was revealed to have penned another draft of the script.[39]
Susie Figgis was responsible for casting and suggesting Malek.[40] On 4 November 2016, it was announced thatRami Malek would star asFreddie Mercury,[41] after the producers saw his work inMr. Robot.[42] He had to make a pre-recording atAbbey Road Studios, which was sent to Queen members for approval.[43] On 21 August 2017, additional cast members were announced:Ben Hardy as drummer Roger Taylor,Gwilym Lee as lead guitarist Brian May, andJoseph Mazzello as bass guitaristJohn Deacon.[18] On 30 August 2017, it was reported thatAllen Leech had been cast in the film to play Mercury's personal manager, Paul Prenter, who worked for him from 1977 to 1987, when he was fired for betraying Mercury by selling his personal information to UK newspapers.[20]
On 6 September 2017,Lucy Boynton was cast to play Mercury's long-term girlfriend, Mary Austin.Lindsey Stirling,Bryce Dallas Howard,Maria Bello andAshley Johnson were also considered.[17] On 11 September 2017,Mike Myers joined the cast to playEMI executive Ray Foster,[21] and on 22 September 2017,Aaron McCusker was added to play Mercury's long-term boyfriend Jim Hutton.[22] On 26 September 2017, it was announced thatAidan Gillen had been cast asJohn Reid, Queen's second manager, from 1975 to 1978, who took over fromNorman Sheffield ofTrident Studios; whileTom Hollander was set to playJim Beach, Queen's third manager, who took over from John Reid in 1978.[44] The film includes cameos by current Queen vocalistAdam Lambert as a truck driver and the film's editorJohn Ottman as a live TV director. Luke Deacon, son of John Deacon, also makes a cameo appearance as a college student, attending the pub where Smile plays.[45][46]
Pre-production began in July 2017 in the United Kingdom, withprincipal photography commencing in London in September 2017.[47] Queen archivist Greg Brooks was instrumental in helping recreate each scene to make it as true to life as possible. He worked daily with Fox for months from the beginning, providing answers to questions.[48] There were about a hundred extras, who were all individually scanned 360° and digitally replicated to imitate a larger crowd.[46] The entire Live Aid performance was filmed on a giant set at the former airfieldRAF Bovingdon, but in the final cut "We Will Rock You" and "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" were cut out.[46]
When Malek was contacted about playing Mercury, he had only a casual knowledge of Queen. To embody Mercury, Malek had to work many intense sessions with a movement coach (as well as learn to talk with prosthetic teeth).[49] Malek's protruding teeth were crafted by artist Chris Lyons.[50] Besides examining Mercury's movements, they also watched footage ofLiza Minnelli, who was an inspiration to Mercury's stage moves.[51] Malek took singing and piano lessons and had an accent coach.[51] He said, "I had to re-create things he did on the fly, onstage. There were many days I said to myself, 'This is a lost cause.'" After finishing the film, Malek said that he became a "Queen super-fan", specifying, "I see Freddie as the best performer of all time... I never ceased to be astonished by this man."[49] While Malek sang some parts in the film, producers inserted vocal stems from Queen songs as well as filling in parts with Canadian vocalistMarc Martel, a winner of the Queen Extravaganza Live Tour auditions.[49][52]
Dexter Fletcher stepped in as replacement after Bryan Singer's firing.
On 1 December 2017,The Hollywood Reporter reported that 20th Century Fox had temporarily halted production due to the "unexpected unavailability" of directorBryan Singer. Sources said that Singer had not returned to the set after the Thanksgiving week (20–26 November). Discussions began about replacing him. CinematographerNewton Thomas Sigel stepped in to direct during Singer's non-showings.[53] Singer's absence was reportedly due to "a personal health matter concerning Bryan and his family".[54] With under three weeks left on the shoot, Singer requested a filming hiatus as his mother was extremely ill.[55] Other sources claimed that Malek and the crew had grown tired of Singer's behaviour, who was reportedly arriving late to set and clashing with Malek. Tom Hollander briefly quit the film over issues with Singer but was convinced to return. On 4 December 2017, Singer was fired as director, with about two weeks of scheduled principal photography remaining.[56][57]
On 6 December 2017,Dexter Fletcher was announced as Singer's replacement[58][55] and on 15 December, filming resumed with Fletcher directing.[59] Fletcher later estimated that two-thirds of the principal photography had been completed when he joined the production, saying, "I came into the last few weeks of principal photography and editing and the bits and pieces like that... I was looking at two complete [acts] in a good film, and [I had to] not let it down."[60]
On 30 January 2018,Gwilym Lee posted to social media that filming had finished.[61] Visual effects were provided byDNEG and supervised byPaul Norris.[62]
According to theDirectors Guild of America, only one director can be named for a film, and the DGA has sole control over who that will be.[60][63] Although Fletcher replaced Singer with two weeks left in the production, Singer had hired the cast, crew and shot most of the film. Producer Graham King announced in June 2018 that Singer would receive the directing credit on the finished film. Fletcher received an executive producer credit.[7][64]
John Ottman, a frequent collaborator of Singer, edited the film's soundtrack.[65] The film lacks an original underscore, deviating from previous Singer-Ottman collaborations on which the latter has also served as composer.[66] An official soundtrack album was released byHollywood Records andVirgin EMI Records on CD, cassette and digital formats on 19 October 2018. The album contains several Queen hits and 11 previously unreleased recordings, including five tracks from their 21-minuteLive Aid performance in July 1985, which have never before been released in audio form. Vinyl releases (including a picture disc bundle) followed in February and April 2019. The soundtrack became the sixth-best-selling album of 2019.[67][68][69]
The world premiere ofBohemian Rhapsody took place in London atWembley Arena, on 23 October 2018.[70] It was released in the United Kingdom on 24 October 2018 inIMAX, and in the United States on 2 November 2018, by20th Century Fox. The film had previously been scheduled for release on 25 December 2018.[71]In November 2018,John Ottman announced in an interview that an extended version of the film with cut-out scenes may be released, in a yet unknown format.[46] On 1 January 2019, it was announced that there would be specialsing-along screenings simultaneously in cinemas across the United Kingdom with the first screening atLeicester Square'sPrince Charles Cinema with others on 11 January 2019.[72][73] There were also many sing-along screenings in South Korea and Japan.[74]
In China, the film had a limited release on 22 March 2019.[75] Three minutes of the film was censored,[76] including scenes depicting drugs and homosexuality.[77] Part of Rami Malek's Oscar speech, where he referred to Freddie Mercury as "a gay man, an immigrant," was alsocensored in China.[78]
In Egypt, the film was subjected to several cuts before it was permitted to be screened. As Rami Malek is ofEgyptian descent, his Oscar win for his portrayal of Freddie Mercury drew congratulations fromEgyptian media and government figures. However, Neela Ghoshal ofHuman Rights Watch stated that the country deserved "an Oscar for hypocrisy" given its prohibition on homosexuals appearing in the media.[79]Member of ParliamentMohamed Ismail criticised Malek's win, stating: "He is trying to [spread] homosexuality among the youth... The award has a specific goal, which is to corrupt morality in theArab world. Rami Malek is a bad example. If he was in Egypt, he would have been hanged."[80]
20th Century Fox Home Entertainment released the film in the United States on DVD,Blu-ray andUltra HD Blu-ray on 19 February 2019; with a digital version released 22 January. The UK digital release was scheduled for 23 February 2019, with DVD and Blu-ray/4K Ultra HD on 18 March 2019. The home release includes an extended version of the Live Aid sequence, a 16-minute featurette, a 22-minute documentary, and trailers.[81][82][83]
In the United Kingdom, it surpassedAvengers: Infinity War to become the fastest-selling digital download film of all time, selling 265,000 downloads in eight days.[84] It also set the record for the biggest debut on physical disc formats, selling 465,000 discs in its first week. It went on to sell 853,000 units in four weeks, including 388,600 digital sales.[85]
In the United States, 73% of unit sales in the first week were on Blu-ray Disc, with 13% from the 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray version.[86] Home video sales in the United States and Canada are estimated to have generated over$49.6 million as of 6 December 2019[update], including $19,333,115 in DVD sales and $41,562,971 in Blu-ray sales.[87]
The first trailer for the film was released on 15 May 2018 and with more than 5 million views in the first 24 hours, it was the top trending video on YouTube.[93] Television writer and producerBryan Fuller criticized the trailer for focusing on Mercury's relationship with women as opposed to men, and also highlighted the absence of the singer'sAIDS diagnosis from the synopsis. Instead, it is simply referred to as "a life-threatening illness".[94] With the release of the trailer, Queen reached three of the top 20 positions on theBillboardHot Rock Songs chart: "Bohemian Rhapsody", "Another One Bites the Dust" and "We Are the Champions".[95] In total, the studio spent $121 million promoting the film.[96]
On 11 June 2018, atCineEurope in Barcelona, an early showing of the film closed the show, with appearances by Rami Malek and producer Graham King and special appearances by Brian May and Roger Taylor, who were playing a concert ofQueen + Adam Lambert in Barcelona.[97]
Bohemian Rhapsody grossed $216.7 million in the United States and Canada, and $694.1 million in other territories, for a total worldwide gross of $910.8 million, against a production budget of about $52 million.[6]
On 11 November, it surpassedStraight Outta Compton ($201.6 million) to become thehighest-grossingmusical biopic of all time.[98]Bohemian Rhapsody went on to set box office records for the highest-grossing biographical film untilOppenheimer (2023),[74][99][100] and the highest-grossingLGBT film.[101] It also set the record for the highest-grossing conventional drama film (it was surpassed byJoker in 2019).[102] It is Fox's fourth highest-grossing film, and their fifth highest outside of North America.[103]
Deadline Hollywood calculated the net profit of the film to be $350.8 million, when factoring together all expenses and revenue, making it the fourth most profitable release of 2018.[96] However, in November 2021, after McCarten sued producer Graham King over lack of payments, it was revealed 20th Century Fox wrote down the film as a $51 million loss, an act attributed toHollywood accounting.[104]
In the United Kingdom, the film had preview screenings on its opening night of 24 October 2018, grossing £1.62million ($2.22 million) from 575 venues, with a per-screen average of £2,817 ($3,859).[105] It went on to gross$12.5 million from 1,250 screens in its opening weekend, finishing first at the box office.[106] It grossed another$7.4 million in its second weekend,[107] remaining at number-one and grossing £20.4 million ($27.95 million) through 12 days.[108]
In the United States and Canada,Bohemian Rhapsody was released alongsideThe Nutcracker and the Four Realms andNobody's Fool, and was originally projected to gross $26–30 million in its opening weekend.[109] By the week of its release, weekend estimates had reached $35–40 million.[110][4] It made $18.4 million on its first day, including $3.9 million from Thursday night previews. It went on to debut to $51.1 million, topping the box office and marking the second-best opening for a musical biographical picture, behindStraight Outta Compton ($60.2 million in August 2015).[5] The film made $31.2 million in its second weekend, finishing second, behind newcomerThe Grinch, and $15.7 million in its third, finishing behindFantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald andThe Grinch.[111][112]
In its fourth weekend the film made $13.8 million, and $19.3 million over the five-day Thanksgiving frame, finishing fifth.[113] On 1 December, it passed $162 million at the domestic box office, surpassingStraight Outta Compton as the highest grossing musical biopic in the United States.[114] In its 10th weekend of release the film was added to 199 theatres over the previous week for a total of 1,080, and made $2.4 million.[115] In its 12th weekend of release the film made $2.3 million from 1,117 theatres, crossing the $200 million mark.[116] In the film's 13th week of release, following the announcement of its fiveOscar nominations, it was added back to an additional 246 theatres (for a total of 1,423) and made $2.6 million.[117]
In its second weekend of international release, the film topped the worldwide box office, grossing $72.5 million in international markets. New markets included France ($7.7 million), Mexico ($5.8 million), Germany ($5.7 million) and Australia ($5.7 million).[107] By its fourth weekend the film was still holding strong, adding an additional $45.5 million from 78 markets, for a running total of $256.4 million. Through four weekends of international release, the film's largest markets were the UK ($45.3 million, passingLa La Land), followed by South Korea ($24.5 million), France ($18.38 million), Australia ($16.8 million) and Mexico ($15.5 million).[118] On 12 December, the film surpassed $433 million at the international box office, becoming the highest-grossing musical biopic ever overseas.[114]
The film became the biggest 2018 release in 13 international markets, including Japan ($88.6 million), Italy ($30.5 million) and the Netherlands ($19.3 million), as of 20 January 2019[update].[119] The film's largest overseas markets were in East Asia,[120] with the largest-grossing market being Japan,[74] where it became thehighest-grossing film of 2018.[121][122] The film crossed 7million tickets sold and¥10 billion grossed at the Japanese box office, with the IMAX version crossing¥1 billion,[123] becoming the highest-grossing IMAX release ever in Japan.[120] It also crossed$115 million there,[124] and is thehighest-grossing live-action musical film in Japan, passingBeauty and the Beast (2017).[123] As of 31 March 2019,Bohemian Rhapsody has sold 9,220,250 tickets and grossed¥12,739,285,680 in Japan.[125]
In South Korea, the film debuted at number two at the box office and by the fourth week took over the number one spot.[126] After a short drop for two weeks, the film reclaimed the number one spot in its seventh week, which is a first for a Hollywood film.[127] As the second-largest grossing market outside of North America, the film has amassed $77 million, as of 1 February 2019, and has become the sixthhighest-grossing foreign film ever in South Korea, with nearly 10 million tickets sold. It is the most successful musical film ever released in South Korea.[6][128][127][129]
The film grossed $29.4 million in Spain, $16.4 million in Russia and $14.4 million in Brazil, as of 3 February 2019[update].[130] In China, where the film received an art house release after having its content edited, it debuted to $11.6 million, setting the all-time record for a National Alliance of Arthouse Cinemas release.[131]
Rami Malek's performance as Freddie Mercury garnered critical acclaim, earning him theAcademy Award for Best Actor.
Onreview aggregatorRotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 60% based on 419 reviews, and an average rating of 6.1/10. The website's critical consensus reads: "Bohemian Rhapsody hits a handful of high notes, but as an in-depth look at a beloved band, it offers more of a medley than a true greatest hits collection."[132] OnMetacritic, the film has aweighted average score of 49 out of 100, based on 50 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[133] Audiences polled byCinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale, whilePostTrak reported filmgoers gave it an 88% positive score and a 75% "definite recommend".[5] The critical response toBohemian Rhapsody made it one of the worst-reviewed films to win a Best Picture award at theGolden Globe Awards (lowest Rotten Tomatoes score sinceOut of Africa in 1986—60% compared toBohemian Rhapsody's 62% at the time of the awards), or to be nominated for Best Picture at theAcademy Awards (lowest Rotten Tomatoes score sinceExtremely Loud & Incredibly Close in 2012—46% at the time of the awards).[134][135][136]
Owen Gleiberman ofVariety wrote: "Rami Malek does a commanding job of channeling Freddie Mercury's flamboyant rock-god bravura, but Bryan Singer's middle-of-the-road Queen biopic rarely lives up to the authenticity of its lead performance."[137] Paul Whitington, writing for theIrish Independent, gave the film 3/5 stars, saying: "Bohemian Rhapsody is not big on subtlety: it tells Freddie's story loudly, taking dramatic shortcuts, over-neatly conflating events and reducing most of the surrounding characters to single dimensions. Some of the dialogue's a bit heavy-handed too, but I must say I was thoroughly entertained."[138]
For theEvening Standard, Craig McLean wrote: "Bohemian Rhapsody is triumphant entertainment. The post-production special effects have done their job: the Live Aid scenes are convincingly epic. The actors have done their job, too, notably Malek, who oozes pure Mercury."[139] ForTime,Stephanie Zacharek wrote: "In strict filmmaking terms,Bohemian Rhapsody is a bit of a mess. Some of its scenes connect awkwardly, and it hits every beat of disaster and triumphs squarely, like a gong. Yet if it has many of the problems we associate with 'bad' movies, it has more ragged energy than so many good ones, largely because of Rami Malek's performance as Mercury, all glitter and muscle and nerve endings." She described it as "a movie for sensualists, not quality-control experts".[140]
ChiefGuardian pop criticAlexis Petridis described the portrayal of Mercury as "sanitized", writing: "Bohemian Rhapsody is a film that plays so fast and loose with the truth, it ends up seeming faintly ridiculous: you start out nitpicking about minor chronological errors... and end up with your jaw on the floor."[141]Guardian film critic Steve Rose described it as a "rock slog with a troubling moralistic subtext".[142] Although he praised Malek's performance, David Ehrlich ofIndieWire gave the film a grade of "D+", criticising Singer's direction and calling the film "royally embarrassing". He wrote: "Queen's music may have been unclassifiable, but their movie is as trite and textbook as it gets." He described the film as a "terrible and self-indulgent piece of revisionist history, where the legend is always prioritized over the truth, even when the truth was surely far more interesting."[143]
ForThe Spectator, Jasper Rees describedBohemian Rhapsody as "a succession of predigested clichés", writing "you are overcome by the sapping impression that almost nothing happened the way it's being presented." He concluded: "The costumes and wigs are splendid, and the songs are still up to snuff. But this homage to a showman is more famine than feast."[144] Olly Richards wrote forEmpire that the film was "a safe, competent, decidedly non-scandalous biopic. It treats the life of Freddie Mercury with cautious affection, happy to play within the rules when depicting a man who did anything but." However, he described Malek as "spectacular", concluding: "If the script hits a lot of bum notes, Malek is always perfectly in key."[145]Peter Travers ofRolling Stone wrote: "In struggling to make a salable PG-13 movie out of an R-rated rock life,Bohemian Rhapsody leaves you feeling that something essential and elemental is missing", but said to put Malek "high on the list for best film performances of 2018," as the actor "digs so deep into the role that we can't believe we're not watching the real thing."[146]
Dave Calhoun wrote forTime Out: "It boasts a film-stealing, possessed performance by Rami Malek, who pouts, struts and quips as Mercury, turning the rest of the cast into bit-part players... The movie, though catchy and often seductive, is an act of brazen myth-making. Facts and chronology are tossed aside in favor of a messianic storyline... Much is left out, or fiddled with." He added, "don't expect anything more than a safe gloss over the Queen tale... its attitude toward sex and drugs is coy and uncomfortably close to the small-world thinking it claims to dismiss."[147] Despite calling the film "uneven,"Chicago Tribune film critic Katie Walsh stated: "Malek keeps it going with his sheer will and talent."[148] In a negative review, Soumya Srivastava of theHindustan Times still asserted that the character was "played to a toothy perfection by Rami Malek."[149] Johnny Oleksinski of theNew York Post was less impressed with Malek's performance, writing: "It's a surface-level performance — physically galvanizing, but with no substance."[150]
The film received criticism for its portrayal of Mercury's gay relationships. Aja Romano wrote forVox: "Bohemian Rhapsody is a movie that consciously tries to position a gay man at its center while strategically disengaging with the 'gay' part as much as it can, flitting briefly over his emotional and sexual experiences and fixating on hisplatonic relationship with an ex-girlfriend instead."[151] Likewise, Olly Richards wrote: "There are some poor, strange choices when deciding where to focus, not least committing so much time to his relationship with Mary Austin and virtually none to any happy gay relationship, romantic or otherwise."[145] Owen Gleiberman wrote that the film "treats Freddie's life – his sexual-romantic identity, his loneliness, his reckless adventures in gayleather clubs – with kid-gloves reticence, so that even if the film isn't telling major lies, you don't feel you're fully touching the real story either."[137]
Brian May responded to the critical reviews by stating that the "mistake that critics made was reviewing the trailer instead of reviewing the film. They jumped to conclusions. Once people stake their claim, it's hard for them to withdraw."[152]Fraser Nelson, editor ofThe Spectator, wrote: "Don't believe the critics. If you like Queen's music, see the Queen film," and he likened the critics' negative reaction to the film to the original reaction to the song "Bohemian Rhapsody" and the popular musicalWe Will Rock You.[153] Also writing forThe Spectator,Toby Young described the film's success at the Academy Awards as "a triumph over snobby film critics".[154]
When the film was nominated and won awards for Best Editing, several sequences, in particular the scene where the band first meets John Reid, were criticised online for poor editing and continuity errors. EditorJohn Ottman, aware of these lapses, explained that they were the result of mixing scenes that had been shot by Singer and Fletcher, as well as in response to the producers' notes and test audience feedback, wishing that he could have handled them differently.[165][166]
The film has been criticized for fictionalizing, exaggerating or rearranging events in the band's career and Mercury's personal life.[167] McCarten defended the film by explaining that this was for dramatic effect, saying: "We're making a movie here, not a documentary."[168] The visual blogInformation Is Beautiful deduced that, while taking creative licence into account, the film was 79.9% accurate when compared to real-life events, calling it "a fairly truthful account represented in a massively compressed [and] edited timeline" and suggested the fictionalised elements were "probably symbolic of the band's constant infighting."[169]
The formation of Queen was not as simple as portrayed in the film.[170] Mercury had knownTim Staffell, Smile's lead singer and bassist, from art college, and had expressed interest in joining the band prior to Staffell's departure. Additionally, Smile had more than three members.[171] Mercury also shared a flat with Roger Taylor prior to joining the band, and had run a stall at theKensington Market with him.[172]
Deacon was not the original bassist, but the fourth.[170]
During the recording session scene for "Bohemian Rhapsody", all four band members are shown recording overdub vocals, though Deacon did not sing backing vocals on the recorded version of the song.
The character of Foster is fictional, and is loosely based on EMI chief Roy Featherstone, who was actually a fan of the band. Although Featherstone and others initially refused to release "Bohemian Rhapsody" as a single due to its length, the label eventually agreed to release it as the lead single fromA Night at the Opera due to public demand, which was in fact the result of airplay byKenny Everett as depicted in the film. Queen had in fact been signed with EMI since the release oftheir debut album in 1973, and remained with the label for the remainder of their career.[170]
Some songs are shown out of chronological order with respect to the band's career. For example, "We Will Rock You" was written in 1977, not in 1980 as depicted in the film.[173] As well, "Another One Bites the Dust" was written and released in 1980, but in the film it is shown being made in 1981. The band is shown performing "Fat Bottomed Girls" during their first US tour in 1974, but that song was not written until 1978.[174]
Reid was not fired as Queen's manager after an argument with Mercury over his solo career as portrayed in the film. The band and Reid parted amicably in 1978 by mutual agreement and for different reasons.[174][175]
The Rio de Janeiro concert did not take place in 1979, but duringthe firstRock in Rio festival in January 1985 (thus approximately six months before Live Aid);[173] the live version for "Love of My Life" used in the film is taken from the 1985 Rio concert, and labelled as such in the accompanying official soundtrack for the film.
Mercury's solo career was not a cause of resentment in the band. His solo debut album,Mr. Bad Guy, was released in April 1985.[176] Prior to this, Taylor had released the single "(I Wanna) Testify" in August 1977, and the albumsFun in Space andStrange Frontier in April 1981 and June 1984, respectively. May had released the EPStar Fleet Project in October 1983.
Although not explicitly claimed in the film, Queen never disbanded during Mercury's lifetime, so Live Aid was not a reunion.
Queen did not start assigning songwriting credits to the whole band in 1985 before Live Aid; their 1986 albumA Kind of Magic still had individual writing credits. The only Queen albums which credit the band as a whole areThe Miracle (1989) andInnuendo (1991).
Queen did not have any major concerns about performing at Live Aid, nor were they a last-minute addition. They had released the albumThe Works in 1984 and thentoured worldwide. The final show of the tour was eight weeks before Live Aid. They were "extremely well-rehearsed" for the show and did not have to get back into shape as a band.[170]
The backstory of Mercury's family was not as dramatic as portrayed in the film. The family were not forced to flee their hometown in Zanzibar but were given six months to move toMiddlesex.[173] The film also suggests that Mercury was sent to boarding school because of his behaviour, and portrays his indifference to hisParsi background and decision to change his name as a source of tension with his family. Mercury's mother Jer claimed in a 2012 interview withThe Daily Telegraph that Mercury was sent to boarding school in India in hope for a better education; Mercury "kept a strict division between his work and his home all his life", and throughout his upbringing and adulthood was known to be respectful towards his family. May also stated that Mercury's parents were ultimately supportive of the band and would attend Queen's concerts if they were performing nearby. Both Jer and Mercury's sister Kashmira also claimed that while Mercury was not devoutly religious and preferred not to disclose his beliefs with the media, he was proud of his ancestry in private. Although not shown in the film, Mercury's funeral service was conducted in accordance with Zoroastrian customs.[177][178][179]
According toVanity Fair, the film leaves out many details about Mercury's relationships with Austin and Hutton, "tweaking and glossing over precious facts".[180]
Mercury did not meet Austin on the same night he joined the band. Austin had briefly dated May, but did not meet Mercury until he was already a band member.[170]
Hutton was not a server at one of Mercury's parties; he was a hairdresser at the Savoy Hotel who met Mercury at a nightclub.[170] They first met in 1983 and not in 1981, as portrayed in the film.[174]
The film's treatment of Mercury's HIV diagnosis received particular criticism,[11][12] with Jasper Rees describing it inThe Spectator as "the most callous rearrangement of the facts".[144] Although Mercury suspected he had HIV in 1983, he was not officially diagnosed until 1987, two years after Live Aid. Taylor said that the other band members were not made aware of his condition until early 1989.[181]
The portrayal of Paul Prenter was also met with some debate. Both May and Taylor have said that Prenter's partnership with Mercury was a source of friction within Queen. In his bookQueen 3-D, May wrote, "He [Prenter] was certainly responsible for leading Freddie off on a different path, and it would be fair to say that we parted on terms that were less than good." Taylor said in the Queen documentaryDays of our Lives that "He [Prenter] was a very, very bad influence upon Freddie, hence on the band."[171] However, Prenter's family have said that he and Mercury were never in a relationship; that he was not disowned by his family for his sexuality; and that he did not withhold details concerningLive Aid from Mercury.[10] In real life, Prenter did not work for Reid; he was a former radio DJ who became Mercury's PA in 1977, two years after the release ofA Night at the Opera.[182] He also did not disclose details of Mercury's sex life on a German talk show, but in a 1987 interview forThe Sun newspaper after he no longer worked for the band.[183] According to Mark Blake's bookIs This the Real Life?, Queen roadie Peter Hince claimed that Prenter was fired for holding a party in Mercury's home without permission.[171]
In August 2021, guitarist Brian May revealed that there were ideas being thrown around for a sequel toBohemian Rhapsody, though it would be a matter of topping the original and could possibly take years to get the screenplay right.[184]
^abSinger was replaced byDexter Fletcher towards the end of principal photography; in accordance withDirectors Guild of America guidelines, Singer retained sole director credit, while Fletcher is credited as an executive producer.[7]
^UntilOppenheimer passed it with a $912.7 million gross as of 18 September 2023[13][14]
^The cast re-enacted the entire performance, but it was edited down significantly in post-production. The full re-enacted performance is included on the home media release.
^Deacon, Queen, official, Freddie Mercury, Brian May, Roger Taylor, John."QueenOnline.com".queenonline.com. Retrieved7 September 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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