Dan's High School Life is a 2021 teen romance drama live-action/animated film produced and released by Richard Horwitz Studios. In the film, 14 year old Dan Valencia Lawrence lands himself into high school for the first time. While the year progresses, Dan gets stressed out due to the overloads of work that he's given and uses his great drawing skills to cope with himself.
The film was produced by Richard Horwitz in-house and released onto theaters on October 1, 2021, making it the first Richard Horwitz Studios film to be released without a simultaneous VOD release since Big Nate Goes for Broke in January 2020. It received mixed-to-positive reviews from critics, praising the animation and approach, but criticizing the story, and has grossed $385 million over its $70 million budget.
Plot[]
Coming soon!
Development[]
Release[]
Dan's High School Life was originally slated for release on August 27, 2021 but was pushed back to October 1 due to the COVID-19 pandemic in an announcement by Richard Horwitz Studios in September 2020. The film was released exclusively onto theaters, which makes it the first Richard Horwitz Studios film since 2020's Big Nate Goes for Broke to be released exclusively onto theaters.
Home media[]
The movie is slated to release onto digital VOD on November 19, 2021, followed by a traditional DVD, Blu-ray, and 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release 3 weeks after, on December 7, 2021. Tyson TV has also announced an exclusive streaming deal with Richard Horwitz Studios to host the film on their streaming app for 2 years from January 1, 2022.
Marketing[]
Richard Horwitz Studios paired up with Burger King to help produce kid's meal toys promoting the movie.
- The teaser trailer was uploaded on Richard Horwitz Studios' YouTube channel on October 14, 2020, and was shown before showings of The Croods: A New Age among others.
- The first theatrical trailer was uploaded on February 18, 2021 and was shown before showings of Tom & Jerry, Raya and the Last Dragon, Godzilla vs. Kong among others.
- The second theatrical trailer was uploaded on June 4, 2021 and was shown before showings of Spirit Untamed, The Boss Baby: Family Business, Space Jam: A New Legacy among others.
- A third trailer was released in August 2021 to air in Tyson TV commercial breaks.
- TV spots aired in between September 8, 2021 and October 15, 2021 and were also shown as ads on YouTube.
Reception[]
Box office[]
Dan's High School Life opened on October 1, 2021 in the United States alongside Venom: Let There Be Carnage and The Addams Family 2. On the film's opening weekend, the film made $41.2 million in the United States and Canada, ranking No. 2 behind Venom: Let There Be Carnage, followed by a 6.6% decline making $38.5 million on the second, still ranking No. 2. On the third weekend, the film made $25 million (a 35.1% decline) in the United States and Canada, still remaining at No. 2. On the fourth weekend it made $18.6 million in the United States and Canada.
As of December 19, 2021, the film made $162.4 million in the United States and Canada, and $223 million in overseas markets, for a worldwide total of $385.4 million.
Critical response[]
On film aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes, Dan's High School Life has an approval rating of 71% from 158 approved critics with an average rating of 5.9/10 and a consensus that reads "While it seems like a boring high school movie at first, Dan's High School Life manages to bring something new to the table and twist the formula in more ways than one." Metacritic, the film has an approval rating of 51 out of 100 from 24 approved critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".
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