This Is Us

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Lore & Background

The film was first announced by the band while on The Today Show in New York's Rockefeller Plaza on 12 November 2012, followed by confirmation it would be directed by Morgan Spurlock. Spurlock, who had unsuccessfully negotiated to direct Justin Bieber: Never Say Never and Katy Perry: Part of Me 3D, took on the film because of the band's fast-track rise to stardom. Filming started in Tokyo on 17 January 2013, shot in 3D with 4K resolution RED Epic digital cameras. A majority of the movie was shot in London at the O2 arena in early April. The film is not scripted, with the footage genuine and the band acting 'naturally.' Harry Styles admitted the cameras following them around was scary but said the film gives them the opportunity to show more personality and how they relax when not on stage. Niall Horan remarked that the film crew had access to all areas, even filming them in the toilet.

In Their Own Story

The world premiere was held in Leicester Square, London on 20 August 2013. Germany gave an early screening on 27 August 2013, with some countries releasing it on 28 August 2013, a day before the United Kingdom. The film was released in the UK on 29 August 2013 and rolled out internationally on 30 August 2013, with most markets reached by the end of September 2013. As part of marketing, the band allowed fans to upload pictures that would appear on a version of the theatrical poster. An initial teaser trailer was released on 8 February 2013, followed by a second trailer on 25 June 2013 that teased a snippet of 'Best Song Ever,' the lead single from their third studio album Midnight Memories. The film grossed $28.9 million in North America and $38.5 million in other countries, for a worldwide total of $68.5 million. It is currently the fourth highest-grossing concert film and made a net profit of $18 million. It topped the box office on its opening weekend, earning $17,000,000.

Reader's Guide

On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 64% based on 91 reviews, with an average rating of 5.8/10. The critical consensus reads: 'It's mostly for the converted, but One Direction: This Is Us will be fun for fans – and it offers just enough slickly edited concert footage to entertain the casual viewer.' On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 49 out of 100, based on 27 critics, indicating 'mixed or average reviews.' Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of 'A' on an A+ to F scale. The audience was 87% female and 65% under the age of 17. The Seattle Times gave it 2 stars out of 4, with Roger Moore calling it 'a chipper, cheerful portrait with nary a discouraging word in it.' New York Daily News gave a more positive rating of 3 out of 5 stars. The A.V. Club gave the film a grade of B−. On 9 September 2013, Sony announced an 'extended fan cut' to be released on 13 September, including an additional 20 minutes of footage with four new songs.

Did You Know?

• The film was shot in 3D with 4K resolution RED Epic digital cameras, which director Morgan Spurlock said gave a cinematic appeal.
• The film features appearances from acclaimed director Martin Scorsese and his daughter Francesca, comedian Chris Rock, and footballer Cristiano Ronaldo.
• The film made a net profit of $18.3 million when factoring together all expenses and revenues.
• It is the third concert film to top the box office, after the Hannah Montana and Michael Jackson films.
• An 'extended fan cut' was released on 13 September 2013 with an additional 20 minutes of footage and four new songs.