Ocean's Eight Information

Ocean's 8 (stylized onscreen as Ocean's Eight) is a 2018 American heist comedy film directed by Gary Ross and written by Ross and Olivia Milch. The film acts as both a continuation and a spin-off from Steven Soderbergh's Ocean's trilogy and features an ensemble cast, including Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett, Anne Hathaway, Mindy Kaling, Sarah Paulson, Rihanna, Helena Bonham Carter, and Awkwafina. The film follows a group of women led by Debbie Ocean, the sister of Danny Ocean, who plan a sophisticated heist of the annual Met Gala in New York City.

Following the release of Ocean's Thirteen in 2007, Soderbergh stated he had no intentions of making a fourth film, citing his desire to have the series "go out on top". However, an all-female spin-off was announced in October 2015, with much of the cast signing on by August 2016. Filming took place from October 2016 to March 2017 around New York City.

Ocean's 8 premiered at Alice Tully Hall on June 5, 2018 and was released by Warner Bros. Pictures in the United States on June 8, 2018, 11 years to the day of the release of Ocean's Thirteen. The film has grossed over $275 million worldwide and received a lukewarm critical response, with praise for the performances of the cast (particularly Bullock, Blanchett, and Hathaway) but criticism for the routine storyline.

Plot

Following release from prison, Debbie Ocean, younger sister of the late Danny Ocean, meets with her former partner-in-crime Lou to convince her to join a heist that she planned while serving her sentence. Debbie and Lou assemble the rest of their team: Rose Weil, a disgraced fashion designer who is deeply in debt with the IRS; Amita, a jewelry maker and friend of Debbie"?s who is eager to move out of her mother"?s house and start her own life; Nine Ball, a computer cracker; Constance, a street hustler and pickpocket; and Tammy, a profiteer and another friend of Debbie's who has been secretly selling stolen goods out of her family"?s suburban home.

Debbie plans to steal the Toussaint, a $150 million Cartier necklace, from the Met Gala in five weeks, and use Met Gala co-host Daphne Kluger, a dim-witted and snobby actress, as an unwitting mule who will wear the necklace into the gala. After the team manipulates Daphne into choosing Weil as her stylist, Weil and Amita go to Cartier to convince them to let Daphne wear the Toussaint, as well as surreptitiously digitally scan it to later manufacture a cubic zirconia duplicate.

Debbie hunts down Claude Becker, an art dealer who ratted her out to the police when they were discovered for art fraud, which led to her arrest and imprisonment. Debbie manipulates Daphne to invite Becker as her date to the gala. Lou realizes that Debbie is out for revenge on Becker, but Debbie reassures her that everything will be fine.

Weil discovers a flaw in the plan: The Toussaint can only be unclasped using a special magnet carried by the bodyguards hired by Cartier. Nine Ball enlists her younger sister, Veronica, to build a similar magnet in time for the gala. As the gala begins, Daphne consumes soup that Lou spiked, causing her to vomit in the restroom, where Constance takes the necklace. When the necklace is discovered to be missing, the museum is evacuated and searched; Tammy "finds" the duplicate necklace in order to end the search. Meanwhile, Amita retrieves the real necklace and begins disassembling it. She retools it into several pieces of jewelry, and gives them to Constance to slip it to each member of the team. One of the real diamonds is planted on Becker.

Soon after the gala, the necklace is identified as fake when returned to Cartier, and John Frazier, an insurance fraud investigator, is called in. Frazier, who has a history with the Ocean family, notices Debbie's presence and suspects her involvement in the heist, but unable to find any evidence against her solid alibi. Debbie assures Frazier that she does not know where the necklace is, but she may know where part of it is. Dropping her dimwitted persona, Daphne is revealed to have been in on the plan, tipped off by Weil's bad acting, and Debbie and Lou invited her in to keep her from ratting them out. Daphne visits Becker for a romantic evening, where she finds the diamonds planted on him by Debbie during the gala, and sends a picture to Frazier so that he can obtain a warrant to arrest Becker for stealing the necklace. To further frame Becker, Debbie sells pieces of the necklace to actresses disguised as elderly socialites, who in turn sell the jewelry and deposit the money into an account in his name. Becker is arrested.

As the eight celebrate their victory, Daphne asks Debbie and Lou how they each made so much money from the sale of one necklace. Lou reveals that while the gala was being evacuated, Lou and "The Amazing" Yen were stealing some of the Crown Jewels on display during the Gala, which makes their cuts higher than expected. Each member of the team goes their separate ways with their money: Amita goes to Paris with a man she met on Tinder; Weil pays off her debts and opens her own store; Constance buys a spacious loft in the city and becomes a YouTuber; Tammy expands her business in selling stolen goods; Nine Ball opens a pool bar; Daphne becomes a director; Lou goes on a cross-country road trip; and Debbie returns to Danny"?s grave to raise a toast to him with a martini in his honor.

Cast

• Sandra Bullock as Debbie Ocean, a professional thief and Danny Ocean's sister.
• Cate Blanchett as Lou, Debbie"?s girlfriend and partner in crime.
• Anne Hathaway as Daphne Kluger, an air-headed celebrity.
• Mindy Kaling as Amita, a jewelry maker.
• Sarah Paulson as Tammy, a suburban mom and profiteer.
• Awkwafina as Constance, a loudmouthed street hustler and pickpocket.
• Rihanna as Nine Ball, a talented hacker.
• Helena Bonham Carter as Rose Weil, a ditzy, disgraced fashion designer.
• Richard Armitage as Claude Becker, an art dealer who framed Debbie for a crime he instigated.
• James Corden as John Frazier, an insurance fraud investigator.

Additionally, Dakota Fanning appears as Penelope Stern, a celebrity who Kluger is jealous of, and Nathanya Alexander appears as Veronica, Nine Ball's younger sister. Elliott Gould and Shaobo Qin reprise their roles from the previous films as Reuben Tishkoff and "The Amazing" Yen, respectively. Matt Damon and Carl Reiner were also set to reprise their respective characters Linus Caldwell and Saul Bloom, but their scenes were cut. Marlo Thomas, Dana Ivey, Mary Louise Wilson and Elizabeth Ashley appear as elderly actresses who help the crew shift their stolen gems. Celebrities who cameo as themselves in the film include Anna Wintour, Zayn Malik, Katie Holmes, Maria Sharapova, Serena Williams, Kim Kardashian, Adriana Lima, Desiigner, Kylie Jenner, Alexander Wang, Nina Cuso, Kendall Jenner, Gigi Hadid, Lily Aldridge, Olivia Munn, Jamie King, Zac Posen, Hailey Baldwin, Derek Blasberg, Sofia Richie, Heidi Klum, and Lauren Santo Domingo.

Production

After the release of Ocean's Thirteen, Steven Soderbergh stated that there would not be an Ocean's Fourteen, noting that George Clooney wanted "to go out strong" with the third film. In December 2008, Soderbergh again said that a fourth film in the franchise was unlikely, this time citing the recent death of Bernie Mac, who had appeared in the earlier films. However, a female focused spin-off was in development as of October 2015. Helena Bonham Carter, Cate Blanchett, Mindy Kaling and Elizabeth Banks were later announced to star in the film, though Banks' presence turned out to be a rumor that did not materialize.

In August 2016, Bullock, Blanchett, Bonham Carter and Kaling were confirmed to star, with Anne Hathaway, Rihanna, Awkwafina and Sarah Paulson closing deals to fill the cast. During production on the film, Dakota Fanning and Damian Lewis were spotted on set, with Lewis's casting being confirmed in December 2016 and Fanning confirming her casting in March 2017. However, Lewis does not appear in the finished film.

On November 11, 2016, Richard Robichaux was also cast in the film. That same month, Matt Damon stated he would appear in the film, reprising his role from the Ocean's Trilogy; however, his scene was not included in the finished film. In January 2017, James Corden joined the cast as an insurance broker who begins to grow suspicious of the group. That same month, it was revealed Anna Wintour, Alexander Wang, Zac Posen, Derek Blasberg, Lauren Santo Domingo, Kim Kardashian, Kendall Jenner, Kylie Jenner, Katie Holmes, Olivia Munn, Hailey Baldwin and Zayn Malik were announced to cameo in the film. That same month, Richard Armitage joined the cast of the film.

Filming

Principal photography on the film began on October 25, 2016, in New York City. In March 2017, Blanchett said production had officially been completed.

On May 5, 2017, it was announced that filming was to continue on Staten Island at the former Arthur Kill Correctional Facility, which Broadway Stages is still in the process of acquiring after an initial rejection.

Box office

After premiering at Alice Tully Hall in New York City on June 5, 2018, Ocean's 8 was released by Warner Bros. to theaters in North America on June 8. In the United States and Canada, Ocean's 8 was released alongside Hotel Artemis and Hereditary, and was projected to gross around $45 million from 4,145 theaters in its opening weekend, although some tracking firms had it debuting with as low as $30 million. Deadline Hollywood noted that it was tracking on-par with the 2016 all-female Ghostbusters reboot (which opened to $46 million), and had more interest from audiences than the likes of fellow female-led comedies The Heat ($39.1 million debut), Spy ($29.1 million) and Girls Trip ($31.2 million). The film made $4 million from Thursday night previews, including $100,000 from additional early screenings Wednesday night, and $15.8 million on its first day (including previews). It went on to debut to $41.6 million, the highest of the franchise, not factoring in inflation; 69% of its audience was female. In its second weekend the film made $19 million, finishing second behind newcomer Incredibles 2. In its third weekend the film earned $11.7 million, finishing third behind Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom and Incredibles 2.

Overseas the film was released in 16 countries alongside the United States and made $12.2 million in its opening weekend. Its largest markets were Australia ($4.7 million), Mexico ($2.6 million) and Brazil ($1.7 million). By its third week of release (where it made $26.9 million), the film had an international total of $70.9 million. Its largest markets were Australia ($10.2 million), South Korea ($8.6 million), the UK ($5.9 million), Mexico ($5.4 million) and Brazil ($4.2 million).

, Ocean's 8 has grossed $138.2 million in the United States and Canada, and $137.3 million in other territories, for a total worldwide gross of $275.5 million, against a production budget of $70 million.

Critical reception

According to several media outlets, Ocean's 8 received a generally lukewarm response from critics. On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 67% based on 255 reviews, and an average rating of 6.2/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Ocean's 8 isn't quite as smooth as its predecessors, but still has enough cast chemistry and flair to enjoyably lift the price of a ticket from filmgoers up for an undemanding caper." At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating to reviews, the film has a weighted average score of 61 out of 100, based on 50 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". According to BBC News, while critical reviews of the film were "broadly positive", "most had some reservations". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale, the same score earned by Ocean's Eleven and Thirteen.

Writing for Rolling Stone, Peter Travers gave the film 3 out of 4 stars and praised the cast, saying, "Ocean's 8 is a heist caper that looks gorgeous, keeps the twists coming and bounces along on a comic rhythm that's impossible to resist. What more do you want in summer escapism?" Alonso Duralde of TheWrap called the film "slick, charming and funny," though added it never quite kicks into high gear" and said, "Cinematographer Eigil Bryld gives the proceedings the high-gloss of a SkyMall catalog, which is appropriate for a movie about robbing a legendary Cartier necklace at fashion's most exclusive event...And between the sheen and the talented performers, Ocean's 8 does eventually coast on froth and good will."

Varietys Owen Gleiberman said it is "clever enough to get by" and wrote "Ocean's 8 is a casually winning heist movie, no more and no less, but like countless films devoted to the exploits of cool male criminals, it lingers most...as a proudly scurrilous gallery of role models." Michael Phillips of the Chicago Tribune gave the film 2 out of 4 stars and said, "Some movies are more about parallel play than actual playground interaction, and despite a screenful of terrifically skillful talents, Ocean's 8 never quite gets its ensemble act together. It's smooth, and far from inept. But it isn't much fun. That's all you want from a certain kind of heist picture, isn't it? Fun?"

Kaling and Blanchett attributed the lukewarm reception to the dominance of male critics and a lack of diversity among mainstream film reviewers. In an interview with Yahoo! Movies, Kaling cited actress Meryl Streep's criticism of Rotten Tomatoes and said, "There is obviously an audience out there who want to watch things like [Ocean's 8], what I work on, what Sarah [Paulson] works on ... I think white men, critics would enjoy [the movie], would enjoy my work, but often I think there is a critic who will damn it in a way because they don't understand it, because they come at it at a different point of view, and they're so powerful, Rotten Tomatoes." Several film writers strongly disagreed that the film's reception was dictated by the gender and ethnicity of the critics. Guy Lodge, a chief film critic for Variety, highlighted the fact that several female reviewers, including Emily Yoshida from Vulture and Time magazine's Stephanie Zacharek, concurred with the general lukewarm response.

Possible sequel

Sandra Bullock said in an interview that a sequel to Ocean's 8 is possible.