In a whirlwind of surprise and delight, Timothée Chalamet's latest venture, "Marty Supreme," has shattered A24's records at the U.K. box office. Sources confirm that this dramedy, starring an ensemble that includes Odessa A'zion, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Tyler, The Creator, has officially become the studio's highest-grossing release across the Atlantic, with a staggering $8.6 million as of January 6th.
The film, which tells the story of the arrogant yet assured New Yorker Marty Mauser, surpassed the previous record-holder, Alex Garland's 2024 thriller "Civil War," in just under two weeks. It raked in $4.38 million over its opening weekend in around 130 locations, another new high for the indie studio and beating out awards contender "One Battle After Another," which grossed around $3.3 million in its first weekend in U.K. cinemas.
"Marty Supreme" was distributed by Entertainment Film Distributors in Britain, and its box office success was undoubtedly fueled by Chalamet's eyebrow-raising marketing tactics. These included global pop-ups for "Marty" merchandise—London's queue was made up of thousands of fans and resellers desperate to get their hands on anything orange ping-pong ball-adjacent—and listing Britain's Got Talent singer Susan Boyle among his list of British heroes.
Chalamet's character, loosely based on '50s table tennis champion Marty Reisman, embarks on a self-destructive pursuit of greatness and has allowed the actor to run wild with the tagline "Dream Big." When Chalamet told BBC News that Boyle "dreamt bigger than all of us" while taking to the BGT stage in 2009, it surprised many that he even knew her name. "Who wasn't moved by that?" asked the star, and she was swiftly gifted the iconic "Marty Supreme" jacket, to the delight of nostalgic Brits.
In another unpredictable move, Chalamet put to bed the rampant online rumors that he's moonlighting as British rapper EsDeeKid by jumping on a remixed version of "4 Raws" before Christmas. The accompanying video—showing an unmasked Chalamet beside an obscured EsDeeKid, dropping bars about "Marty Supreme" and girlfriend Kylie Jenner—went viral.
As of January 5th, "Marty Supreme" has captivated critics and fans alike, grossing $57.5 million in the U.S. and Canada. Chalamet is currently one of the favorites for the Best Actor Academy Award and picked up the coveted Critics' Choice Award on Sunday.
