By Mark Hughes, Forbes.com
In a weekend dominated by summer franchise tentpole releases Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga and The Garfield Movie, director Andrew Hyatt’s true story Sight — based on Dr. Ming Wang’s autobiography From Darkness to Sight, adapted for the screen by cowriters Hyatt, John Duigan, and Buzz McLaughlin — plays as counter-programming for adult viewers look for something down to earth at the box office.
I expect Sight to debut to about $2-2.5 million in North America, but it might see a strong hold on Memorial Weekend if older audiences turn out enough for the four-day holiday. From there, the film’s prospects depend on how limited the release is and whether viewers are in the mood for this sort of entertainment at the multiplex.
The truth is, it’s rare for an adult drama to stand out in the summer season, especially if it’s got a limited release, and especially if the appeal is more targeted toward faith-based and older adults. These target demographics will reward in the long run with PVOD and other rentals, since the budget is low enough that box office doesn’t have to do much lifting for ancillary markets and revenue streams to do the rest.
But I suspect most of those who seek Sight — whether you’re a person of some particular religious faith or spirituality, an atheist, an agnostic, or however you believe or don’t believe — will be rewarded with a new perspective into an incredible biography and life’s work that brought vision to so many and changed the world. That’s a statement about Dr. Wang, of course, but it also reflects his personal aspirations and dedication to follow in the footsteps of that faith.
This is easily Hyatt’s best work to date, and cinematographer Michael Balfry — who also photographed the new Avatar: The Last Airbender streaming series, as well as Resident Alien — also does some particularly nice work here. The opening minutes do so much visually to set the tone and sense of place, as well as isolating Dr. Wang.
