How Everything, Everywhere Turned From Indie Intrigue To Awards Juggernaut

It’s hard to make a splash in today’s cinematic landscape if you’re not promoting an entry into a major franchise, but Everything Everywhere All At Once did just that with its mind-blowing first trailer. It’s hard to keep track of how much attention it garnered with that initial debut, but the trailer now has 23 million views on A24’s YouTube channel alone.

But of course it was not the TRUE beginning of Tout Partout; Daniel Scheinert told Vulture that he and co-director Daniel Kwan “began researching the multiverse in 2010,” inspired by the documentary Sherman’s March. It wasn’t until March 2022 that he finally saw the light of day in full…at SXSW.

March 11, 2022: Everything, Everywhere, All at Once opens SXSW to rave reviews

The film festival circuit is where Oscar campaigns really begin, and Austin’s SXSW festival is the next big thing after Sundance. SXSW in particular had an impressive slate of opening night films, including 2019’s Us by Jordan Peele, 2018’s A Quiet Place, and Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves for its upcoming 2023 run. Everything Everywhere were enough to stoke the early excitement.

But the proof is in the pudding (or, er, hot dog fingers?), and the rave reviews immediately started rolling in. IGN was among the first to call it a masterpiece in our opinion 10/10 out of the festival, with Rafael Motamayor writing that it’s “a complex film that encompasses a variety of subjects, but it does justice to all of them with a carefully written script, wonderful performances and a healthy dose of quirky humor to counter its dark history.

But we were far from the only ones.

“Everything Everywhere All At Once is the most fun I’ve had at the movies…ever,” tweeted critic Karl Delossantos after the premiere of SXSW. It is a “magical triumph of cinematic storytelling”, added Trace Thurman.

“Deranged. Hyperkinetic. Infinitely energetic. Heartfelt. Focused,” delighted Richard Whittaker.

At this point, the hype was undeniable, at least among filmmaking circles.

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April 16, 2022: A24 doubles the number of theaters, continues to grow and cashes in

After this successful third week, A24 doubled the number of theaters where Everything Everywhere could be seen, growing from 1,250 to 2,200 screens and adding $6.1 million to its total this weekend. The rest, as they say, is box office history.

Over the next few months, everything everywhere all at once would open in several international territories and add more IMAX screens. In the summer it was a real sleeping shot, crossing $100 million worldwide at the box office in July even after being rented out. It is the first A24 film to do so; Previously, the studio’s highest-grossing film was Adam Sandler’s Uncut Gems, which made half that with $50 million.

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