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The Schmooze

RBG Documentary Is A Surprise Box Office Hit

This summer, instead of watching a Star Wars prequel or a soulless superhero blockbuster, you might want to go watch a real superhero winning the greatest battle of our time: A Supreme Court Justice triumphing over the forces of injustice — and the patriarchy. RBG, the documentary about the life of this living icon, is quietly sweeping the movie world.

The movie’s been out for less than a month and its already earned $4 million from showings on 375 screens, as per Vanity Fair’s reporting. If this sounds like chump change to you, consider that the majority of documentary films don’t even break $1 million.

The film’s got a 94% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and a solid 7.4/10 on IMDb. The film, chronicling the life of this unparalleled doyenne of common sense in politics, was called a “hagiograohy with a cheeky aspect” by David Edelstein at Vulture. The New York Times called it a “jaunty assemblage of archival material.” It’s a portrait of a woman who never swerved from her mission of making the world a more just place — a real superhero movie, no special effects needed.

Shira Feder writes. She’s at [email protected]

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