National Champions (film)

2021 American film by Ric Roman Waugh

National Champions

Theatrical release poster

Directed by| Ric Roman Waugh
Written by| Adam Mervis
Based on| National Champions
by Adam Mervis
Produced by|

* Basil Iwanyk
* Brendon Boyea
* Greg Economou

Starring|

* Stephan James
* J. K. Simmons
* Alexander Ludwig
* Lil Rel Howery
* Tim Blake Nelson
* Andrew Bachelor
* Jeffrey Donovan
* David Koechner
* Kristin Chenoweth
* Timothy Olyphant
* Uzo Aduba
* Julian Horton

Cinematography| Khalid Mohtaseb
Edited by| Gabriel Fleming
Music by| Jonathan Sanford

Production
companies

* Thunder Road Films
* game1

Distributed by| STXfilms

Release date

* December 10, 2021 (2021-12-10) (United States)

Running time

| 116 minutes
Country| United States
Language| English
Budget| $8 million
Box office| $475,488[1]

National Champions is a 2021 American sports drama film directed by Ric Roman Waugh, based on the play of the same name by Adam Mervis. The film stars Stephan James, J. K. Simmons, Alexander Ludwig, Lil Rel Howery, Tim Blake Nelson, Andrew Bachelor, Jeffrey Donovan, David Koechner, Kristin Chenoweth, Timothy Olyphant, and Uzo Aduba.

National Champions was released in the United States on December 10, 2021, by STX Entertainment. The film received generally mixed reviews from critics and underperformed at the box office, grossing less than $500,000 against its $8 million budget. It was also the last film released by STX as STX restructured its operations and transitioned to a distribution deal with Lionsgate.[2]

## Plot

[edit]

A star collegiate quarterback ignites a players' strike hours before the biggest game of the year in order to fight for fair compensation, equality, and respect for the athletes who put their bodies and health on the line for their schools.

## Cast

[edit]

* Stephan James as LeMarcus James
* J. K. Simmons as Coach James Lazor
* Alexander Ludwig as Emmett Sunday
* Lil Rel Howery as Coach Ronnie Dunn
* Tim Blake Nelson as Rodger Cummings
* Andrew Bachelor as Taylor Sheridan
* Jeffrey Donovan as Mark Titus
* David Koechner as Richard Everly
* Kristin Chenoweth as Bailey Lazor
* Timothy Olyphant as Elliott Schmidt
* Uzo Aduba as Katherine Poe
* Julian Horton as Orlando Bishop

Additionally, Russell Wilson, Malcolm Jenkins, Jemele Hill, Mike Greenberg, French Montana, Karl-Anthony Towns, and Steve Levy all appear as themselves in the film.

## Production

[edit]

On April 27, 2021, Stephan James and J. K. Simmons were confirmed to star.[3] In May 2021, Uzo Aduba, Alexander Ludwig, Andrew Bachelor, David Koechner, Tim Blake Nelson, Timothy Olyphant, Kristin Chenoweth, Jeffrey Donovan, and Lil Rel Howery were added to the cast.[4][5] Principal photography began on May 17, 2021, in New Orleans, and was scheduled to conclude on June 11.[6] The film was shot on an $8 million budget.[7] Jonathan Sanford composed the film's score.[8]

## Release

[edit]

The film was theatrically released in 1,197 theaters by STX Entertainment on December 10, 2021.[7][9] It was originally scheduled for release on November 24, 2021.[10] The film was released on Blu-ray and DVD on March 8, 2022, by Universal Studios Home Entertainment.[11]

## Reception

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### Box office

[edit]

Boxoffice Pro projected the film would earn between $750,000 and $2.5 million in its opening weekend.[12] However, the film opened below estimates, earning $301,028 in its first three days to finish thirteenth at the box office. Men made up 68% of the audience during its opening, with those above the age of 45 comprising 47% of ticket sales. The ethnic breakdown of the audience showed that 49% were European Americans, 15% Hispanic and Latino Americans, 22% African American, and 14% Asian or other.[7][13] In its second and final weekend, the film earned $34,818 in 898 theaters for an average of $38 per screen.[14] As of December 2021, its second-weekend drop of 88.4% ranks as the second-biggest of all time.[15]

### Critical response

[edit]

Stephan James and J. K. Simmons received praise for their performances.

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 66% of 58 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.1/10. The website's consensus reads: "National Champions is well-acted and timely, even if it undercuts its own effectiveness with cheesy dialogue and gimmicky plot twists."[16] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 52 out of 100, based on 15 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[17] Audiences polled by PostTrak gave it an average score of 63%, with 45% saying they would definitely recommend it.[7] Critics generally praised Stephan James and J. K. Simmons for their performances but criticized the story and its attempts at humor. Others noted the blatant product placement and compared the film negatively to High Flying Bird (2019), recommending viewers watch it instead.[18] Writing for The New York Times, Glenn Kenny said "the movie dilutes its impact with lackluster direction of samey scenes — people in hotel rooms speechifying — and a distracting nighttime soap subplot."[19] The Chicago Reader's Adam Khatib wrote, "While not a perfect film, National Champions does express the discourse around an important issue in a compelling way."[20]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "National Champions (2021)". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved December 24, 2021.
2. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (March 4, 2023). "MGM Delivering Record Opening For Amazon With 'Creed III' Set To KO $51M+ – Saturday Box Office". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 4, 2023.
3. ^ Wiseman, Andreas (April 27, 2021). "Stephan James & J.K. Simmons To Star In College Football Drama National Champions For STX, Ric Roman Waugh & John Wick Outfit Thunder Road". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on April 27, 2021. Retrieved April 27, 2021.
4. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (May 13, 2021). "Uzo Aduba, Alexander Ludwig, David Koechner, Timothy Olyphant & More Part Of STX Sports Drama National Champions". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on May 13, 2021. Retrieved May 13, 2021.
5. ^ N'Duka, Amanda (May 19, 2021). "National Champions: Kristin Chenoweth, Jeffrey Donovan & Lil Rel Howery Board STX Sports Drama". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on May 19, 2021. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
6. ^ "Film and TV Projects Going Into Production – National Champions". Variety Insight. Archived from the original on May 5, 2021. Retrieved April 27, 2021.
7. ^ a b c d D'Alessandro, Anthony (December 12, 2021). "West Side Story Isn't Kicking Up With $10M+ Opening: What That Means Right Now During Another Pandemic Holiday – Sunday Update". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
8. ^ "Jonathan Sanford Scoring Ric Roman Waugh's National Champions". Film Music Reporter. October 6, 2021. Retrieved October 9, 2021.
9. ^ Grobar, Matt (November 10, 2021). "STXfilms Pushes Back Dates For Drama National Champions And Thriller Violence Of Action; Latter Film Starring Chris Pine & Ben Foster Gets New Title". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved November 10, 2021.
10. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (June 29, 2021). "STX Dates Queenpins, National Champions, Violence Of Action & Untitled Guy Ritchie Movie For 2021 & Beyond". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved June 29, 2021.
11. ^ "National Champions Blu-Ray Release". Releases. Retrieved February 27, 2022.
12. ^ Robbins, Shawn (December 9, 2021). "Weekend Box Office Forecast: West Side Story and National Champions". Boxoffice Pro. Retrieved December 10, 2021.
13. ^ "Domestic 2021 Weekend 50". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved December 14, 2021.
14. ^ "Domestic 2021 Weekend 51". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved December 21, 2021.
15. ^ "Biggest Second Weekend Drops". Box Office. Retrieved January 30, 2025.
16. ^ "National Champions". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved March 4, 2024.
17. ^ "National Champions". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved December 10, 2021.
18. ^ Multiple sources:
* Henderson, Odie (December 10, 2021). "National Champions". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved December 17, 2021.
* Leydon, Joe (December 9, 2021). "National Champions Review: College Athletes Push Back Against a System That Exploits Them". Variety. Retrieved December 17, 2021.
* Podolski, Mark (December 14, 2021). "National Champions brings awareness to pressing issues in big-time college football". The News-Herald. Retrieved December 17, 2021.
* Floyd, Thomas (December 16, 2021). "Review: National Champions scores a point by taking on the NCAA, but loses in the end". The Spokesman-Review. Retrieved December 17, 2021.
19. ^ Kenny, Glenn (December 9, 2021). "National Champions Review: A College Football Revolution". The New York Times. Retrieved December 17, 2021.
20. ^ Khatib, Adam (December 15, 2021). "National Champions". Chicago Reader. Retrieved January 6, 2022.

## External links

[edit]

* National Champions at IMDb

* v
* t
* e

Films directed by Ric Roman Waugh

* In the Shadows (2001)
* Felon (2008)
* Snitch (2013)
* Shot Caller (2017)
* Angel Has Fallen (2019)
* Greenland (2020)
* National Champions (2021)
* Kandahar (2023)
* Greenland: Migration (TBA)

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