Araceli

Araceli is a 2019 American computer-animated fantasy adventure comedy film produced by Sony Pictures Animation and Frenzy Animation. It was directed by Henri Dosclz with co-direction by Cody Cameron from a screenplay written by Mike Reiss, Seth Grahame-Smith, Alec Sokolow, and Joel Cohen, and stars the voice of Bella Thorne as the titular role, along with Elijah Wood, Tati Gabrielle, Bobby Cannavale, Benjamin Bratt, Carla Gugino, John C. Reilly, and Minnie Driver. The film follows a teenage Latina girl named Araceli who gets washed miles away from her home so she, alongside with her two friends, embarks on a journey to find her missing home before it is too late.

The film had its initial world premiere in Los Angeles on February 12, 2019, and was theatrically released in the United States on March 1, 2019, by Sony Pictures Releasing under Columbia Pictures in 3D, Digital 3D, Dolby Cinema, IMAX, and IMAX 3D. Araceli proved to be a huge box office success, receiving generally positive reviews from critics, with most praising the animation, humor, screenplay, the voice performances, and emotional depth. It grossed $849 million worldwide against a budget of $70 million, becoming the sixth highest-grossing animated film of 2019, as well as Sony Pictures Animation's second highest-grossing film.

A sequel, titled Araceli II, was announced and is scheduled to be released on August 18, 2023, while a television series, titled Araceli's Adventures, premiered on Cartoon Network in May 2020. In addition, a prequel film is also announced.

Plot
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Cast
More to be added
 * Bella Thorne as Araceli, a Latina girl who longs to find her missing home.
 * Elijah Wood as Harold, a teenage boy whom Araceli befriends.
 * Tati Gabrielle as Regan, Araceli's good friend.
 * Bobby Cannavale as Ron
 * Benjamin Bratt as Burro, Araceli's father.
 * Carla Gugino as Lexa, Araceli's mother.
 * John C. Reilly as Juan
 * Minnie Driver as Kayla, Araceli's caretaker and mentor.

Additional Voices

 * Isabella Acres
 * Stephen Apostolina
 * Holly J. Barrett
 * David Cowgill
 * Brian T. Delaney
 * Jessica DiCicco
 * Robin Atkin Downes
 * Giselle Eisenberg
 * Eddie Frierson
 * Jessica Gee-George
 * Jackie Gonneau
 * Danielle Judovits
 * Lex Lang
 * Marcella Lentz-Pope
 * Caitlin McKenna
 * Scott Menville
 * Max Mittelman
 * Heidi Brook Myers
 * Constance Parng
 * Jacqueline Pinol
 * Michelle Ruff
 * Keith Silverstein
 * Dennis Singletary
 * Melissa Sturm
 * Fred Tatasciore
 * Kirk Thornton
 * Marcelo Tubert
 * Kari Wahlgren
 * Joe Whyte
 * Lisa Wilhoit
 * Debra Wilson
 * Matthew Wolf
 * ViviAnn Yee

Production
Based on a concept by Henri Dosclz, Araceli originally began production at DreamWorks Animation in 2011. However, the project was cancelled due to creative differences but was later revived and announced in October 2016 by Sony Pictures Animation. Dosclz directed the film alongside Cody Cameron with the screenplay written by Mike Reiss, Seth Grahame-Smith, Alec Sokolow, and Joel Cohen, while Marcus Crawford produced under Frenzy Animation.

In April 2018, it was announced that Bella Thorne, Elijah Wood, Tati Gabrielle, Bobby Cannavale, Benjamin Bratt, Carla Gugino, Minnie Driver, and John C. Reilly had joined the film's voice cast.

Music

 * Main article: Araceli/Soundtrack

On June 13, 2018, it was announced that Lorne Balfe would compose the score for the film. The soundtrack was released on March 1, 2019 by Sony Classical Records.

Theatrical
Araceli was released in the United States on March 1, 2019, in IMAX and 3D. It was previously scheduled to be released on March 29, 2019, then on February 22, 2019 before being moved back to its current release date. The film was released in China on April 19, 2019.

Marketing
The first trailer was released via Sony Pictures Entertainment's YouTube channel on June 12, 2018, and debuted before Incredibles 2 three days later. The first official trailer was released on September 17, 2018, being attached to Puppet Pals Forever. The second official trailer was released on December 13, 2018, being attached to Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.

On March 16, 2019, Sony published the screenplay online.

Home media
Araceli was released on digital on June 11, 2019 and on Blu-ray, Ultra HD Blu-ray, and DVD on June 25, 2019 by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.

Box office
Araceli grossed $322.3 million in the United States and Canada and $527.5 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $849.8 million. On March 9, 2019, the film surpassed Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse to become Sony Pictures Animation's highest grossing film of all time domestically. On March 15, 2019, the film grossed $576.2 million, surpassing The Smurfs ($563.7 million) to become the highest grossing Sony Pictures Animation film of all time worldwide until Ico beat it with $1.212 billion worldwide in November. Deadline Hollywood calculated the film's net profit as $402 million, accounting for production budgets, marketing, talent participations, and other costs; box office grosses and home media revenues placed it sixth on their list of 2019's "Most Valuable Blockbusters".

United States and Canada
In the United States and Canada, Araceli held early screenings at 1,000 theaters on February 16, 2019, and grossed $2.3 million, which is the highest advanced screening total of all time for a Sony film. The film was released alongside A Madea Family Funeral, and was initially projected to gross $55–60 million at 3,892 theaters in its opening weekend with rivals projecting a $70 million opening. However, after making $43.2 million on its first day (including $11.8 million from Thursday night previews) which is the biggest of all time for a Sony Pictures Animation film, estimates were raised to $95–110 million.

The film ended up grossing $123.4 million in its opening weekend, which is the biggest opening of all time for Sony Pictures Animation as well as the biggest animated March opening. The film had a steep drop of 72% on its second Friday ($12.04 million), the steepest Friday-to-Friday drop for a SPA film. In its second weekend, the film dropped a huge 69.5% to $37.6 million and fell to second place behind newcomer Captain Marvel ($153.4 million). In its third weekend, the film dropped 45% and grossed $20.6 million while remaining in second place. The film grossed $10.5 million in its fourth weekend while dropping 49% and landing in third place. The film grossed $9.2 million in its fifth weekend while remaining in fourth and dropped to seventh in its sixth weekend grossing $4.8 million while crossing $300 million domestically. The film fell out of the top 10 by its seventh weekend. The film re-entered the top 10 in ninth place with a gross of $2.7 million by its ninth weekend and later grossed $2.3 million in its tenth weekend while placing at tenth. It once again fell out of the top ten in its eleventh weekend with a $901,973 weekend gross. The film ended its domestic run on June 13, 2019, after 105 days.

Internationally
In other territories, the film made $109.7 million internationally alongside its North American opening. In the United Kingdom, the film had preview screenings on its opening night on February 28, 2019, grossing £1.84 mi ($2.1 million) from 575 venues. It went on to gross $11.3 million from 1,250 screens in its opening weekend, finishing first at the box office. It made $5.5 million in its second weekend, finishing first at the box office. It made $2.3 million in its third weekend.

As of May 8, 2019, the biggest overseas markets are China ($112.2 million), the United Kingdom ($58.9 million), Japan ($32.5 million), Australia ($30.6 million), Germany ($28.7 million), and Russia ($24.6 million). The film made $31.6 million on its opening day in China and $63.2 million over the weekend.

Critical response
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, Araceli holds an approval rating of 76% based on 312 reviews, with an average rating of 8.3/10. The site's consensus reads, "Even if the storyline doesn't hold up that well, Araceli is still an outstanding experience for its colorful animation, smart writing and talented voice cast." Metacritic, another review aggregator, assigned the film a weighted average score of 69 out of 100, based on 49 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A–" on an A+ to F scale.

Sequel and prequel

 * Main article: Araceli II

On March 7, 2019, it was announced that a sequel is in development with Dosclz returning to direct from a screenplay by himself. Dosclz has also announced that a prequel film based on younger versions of Araceli's parents is in production as well. On April 10, 2019, Sony Pictures Animation announced that the sequel is scheduled to be released on May 27, 2022, with Thorne reprising her role as Araceli. On October 26, 2019, it was announced that the release date was pushed back to March 4, 2022. By November 1, the release date was pushed back again to July 15, 2022. In April 2020, the release date was pushed back once again, this time to April 14, 2023 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On August 3, 2021, the release date was moved back to March 31, 2023. On September 16, 2022, the film was pushed back to August 18, 2023.

Television series

 * Main article: Araceli's Adventures

On August 28, 2019, it was confirmed that a television series based on Araceli will be produced for Cartoon Network. By October 2019, the series is announced as Araceli's Adventures and would premiere on Cartoon Network worldwide on May 9, 2020, developed by Nelvana in partnership with Sony Pictures Animation. Sony Pictures Television handles distribution in the United States, while Nelvana distributes the series outside the United States.