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A Rainy Day in New York: New Woody Allen film tops global box office thanks to coronavirus

Pandemic has worked in controversial film’s favour

Jacob Stolworthy
Thursday 14 May 2020 07:09 BST
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Woody Allen says he should be the poster boy for the Me Too movement

The new Woody Allen film, which has been disowned by members of its cast including Timothée Chalamet and Selena Gomez, seems to have become the biggest-selling film at the global box office.

A Rainy Day in New York is reported to have amassed more than $340,000 (£279,000) in South Korea since its release on 6 May, which puts it in the top spot due to the fact that cinemas around the world are closed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Box Office Mojo, which is usually a reliable source, places the film far ahead of its closest competitors, The Wretched ($69,000/£57,000 in the US), La Belle Epoque ($35,000/£29,000 in Australia) and the Pixar film Onward ($17,000/£14,000 in Norway).

A Rainy Day in New York was shelved amid accusations of sexual assault against Allen, which prompted Chalamet, Gomez and Rebecca Hall to donate a part of their salary to charity.

Hall admitted to feeling “regret” over working with Allen.

Jude Law, though, said he thought it was “a terrible shame” the film had been taken off the release calendar in the US.

“I’d love to see it. People worked really hard and put a lot in, obviously himself included,” he told the The New York Times in 2018.

The actor said he preferred to stay silent regarding the accusations against Allen.

A Rainy Day in New York, which has so far earned approximately $20.9m (£17.1m) after being released in other territories, will be released in the UK on 5 June.

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