Helluva Boss (film)

"""Things sure do happen, don't they?""

- Tagline

Helluva Boss is a 2024 American adult-animated black comedy adventure film directed by Vivienne Medrano in her directiorial debut and written by Medrano and Brandon Rogers. Based on the webseries of the same name, it stars Rogers, Richard Horvitz, Vivian Nixon, and Erica Lindbeck, who reprise their roles as the chracters from the series, along with newcomers Liev Schreiber, Bill Hader, Jack McBrayer, Seth Rogen, Jenny Slate, Kimiko Glenn, Patton Oswalt, John DiMaggio, and Michael Peña.

The film began development in late 2021 when Vivienne Medrano began developing a script for a feature film based on one of her projects. The project was pitched to A24, whom accepted it. Sony Pictures Entertainment then acquired co-producing rights to the film in early 2022.

Helluva Boss was released on April 5, 2024 in North America by A24 and in other territories by Sony Pictures Releasing International. The film received praise for its animation, humor, and voice acting, but received some criticism for its screenplay. It was a box-office success, grossing $105 million worldwide on a $16 million budget, making it the second highest-grossing film by A24 and the third highest-grossing R-rated animated film of all time.

Synopsis
"Join Blitzø (Brandon Rogers), Millie (Vivian Nixon), Moxxie (Richard Steven Horvitz), and Loona (Erica Lindbeck), the employees of the Immediate Murder Professionals, as they receive an influx of clients telling them to assassinate El Dicko (Liev Schreiber), one of the most wanted terriorists in the human world. Friendships will be tested as they venture into the human world, remaining secret from the humans. But the secret can't always last for long... which shouldn't be a problem, as things sure do happen!"

-Sony Pictures and A24

Plot
In hell, the employees of the Immediate Murder Professionals, Blitzø (Brandon Rogers), Moxxie (Richard Steven Horvitz), Millie (Vivian Nixon), and Loona (Erica Lindbeck), receive a number of clients that request the assassination of a long-time terrorist in the human world named El Dicko (Liev Schreiber). Due to his notorious history in the human world, I.M.P. have second-thoughts upon deciding whether they should go. But thanks to Blitzø's encouraging speech, they take no hesitation to accept the clients' request.

Meanwhile, in the human world, FBI agents Clark Davis (Bill Hader), Ryan Terry (Jack McBrayer), Henry McDonald (Seth Rogen), Jamie Lickers (Jenny Slate), Sue Baker (Kimiko Glenn), Stanley Lee (Patton Oswalt), and Manny Anderson (John DiMaggio) are aiming to arrest El Dicko. At the same, I.M.P. arrive in New York City.

TBA.

Voice cast
Vivienne Medrano and Gabe Frost appear as themselves respectively, who interact with the I.M.P. gang to talk about El Dicko. Nathan Lane, David Tennant, Mark Hamill, Ellen DeGeneres, Jimmy Kimmel, and Jimmy Fallon make uncredited cameos as talk show guests and hosts respectively.
 * Brandon Rogers as Blitzø, the leader of I.M.P. The "ø" in his name is silent, which therefore, makes his name technically pronounced "Blitz".
 * Richard Steven Horvitz as Moxxie, the husband of Millie and an employee of I.M.P.
 * Vivian Nixon as Millie, the wife of Moxxie and an employee of I.M.P.
 * Erica Lindbeck as Loona, a hellhound demon and the adoptive daughter of Blitzø. Also the receptionist of I.M.P.
 * Liev Schreiber as Dicker "El Dicko" Francis, the main antagonist of the film. He is a fugitive of the FBI's "Most Wanted" list.
 * FBI Agents:
 * Bill Hader as Clark Davis.
 * Jack McBrayer as Ryan Terry.
 * Seth Rogen as Henry McDonald.
 * Jenny Slate as Jamie Lickers.
 * Kimiko Glenn as Sue Baker.
 * Patton Oswalt as Stanley Lee.
 * John DiMaggio as Manny Anderson.
 * Michael Peña as Hernando, El Dicko's right-hand man.
 * Gabriel Iglesias as Juan, a human of a bar. He is hired by El Dicko to hunt down I.M.P.
 * Bryce Pinkham as Stolas, a Goetic Prince of Hell and a friend of Blitzø. Also the husband of Stella.
 * Georgina Leahy as Stella, Stolas' wife.
 * Barrett Wilbert Weed as Octavia, the daughter of Stolas and Stella.
 * Bobby Cannavale as Daryl, a demon in one of Moxxie's flashbacks.
 * Danny McBride as Ian Harvey, the President of the United States.
 * Roger Craig Smith as Brad, an emo-looking man hired by El Dicko and Hernando to drug the I.M.P. gang.
 * El Dicko's victims:
 * "Weird Al" Yankovic as James.
 * Tara Strong as Marcy.
 * Horvitz as Jack.
 * Lara Jill Miller as Tracy.
 * Jessica DiCicco as Ash.
 * Tom Kenny as Neil.
 * Charlyne Yi as Lisa.
 * Anna Akana as Carrie.
 * Haley Tju as Kelly.
 * Brock Baker as a VNN news anchor.

Development
In December 2021, Vivienne Medrano began developing a script for a feature film based on her webseries Helluva Boss. As one of her projects Hazbin Hotel, which also takes place in the same universe as Helluva Boss, was in development at A24, she pitched the script to the company, who accepted it. A24 then sold half of the production rights to Sony Pictures Entertainment in February 2022. In March 2022, Medrano revealed to IndieWire that she and Brandon Rogers were developing an R-rated animated film, with more details set to come in the future. IndieWire also said that it would be based around a past concept. This led to rumors saying that it was based around the Hazbin Hotel franchise. Later, in June 2022, Medrano revealed that she secured an undisclosed budget with financing company Good Universe.

The film was formally announced at San Diego Comic-Con 2022 as a collaboration project between A24, Sony Pictures, Good Universe, New Eden Pictures, and SpindleHorse Toons, with Medrano set to direct the film. It was scheduled for release on February 16, 2024, but was pushed back to its revised April 5, 2024 date.

Production on the film wrapped on February 23, 2024.

Casting
In SDCC, it was announced that the main cast of the series would reprise their roles for the film. In August 2022, Liev Schreiber, Bill Hader, Seth Rogen, and Kimiko Glenn were attached to the project as lead characters. Later, in October 2022, Jack McBrayer, Michael Peña, and Patton Oswalt joined the voice cast. John DiMaggio and Jenny Slate would later be added as leads. It was also announced that Gabriel Iglesias, Bobby Cannavale, and Danny McBride would voice characters in the film.

Animation
SpindleHorse Toons, who worked on the Helluva Boss series, provided the animation for the film from March to December 2023. The company used the Toon Boom Harmony software to animate the film, as it was smooth and easy to render. There were also instances of CGI animation, mainly on background and camera movements. The ending credits were animated by Laundry.

Music
Series composer Jefferson Friedman returned to compose the score of the film alongside newcomer Christopher Lennertz, who would also compose themes for the film, including an extended version of the "I.M.P. Jingle." Matt Novack and Christopher French would also return, albeit through additional music. Two original songs were written by Parry Gripp, Sam Haft, and Lyle Rath for the film, which include: "Without You", and "Anything for My Friends."

Release
Helluva Boss premiered at the South by Southwest Festival on March 18, 2024. Sony Pictures Releasing distributed the film on April 3 to overseas territories, which include: France, Belgium, and the Netherlands. It then released the film to other countries for the following two days before it was released in North America on April 5, 2024 by A24.

The film was originally set to release on February 16, 2024, but was pushed back to April 12, 2024. It was then moved up a week to avoid competition with The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim.

Marketing
A website dedicated to I.M.P. was published online as a tie-in to the film. It contains info about the company, its employees, and a number that could be dialed.

Home media
The film was released on digital download on June 7, 2024 and then 4K UHD, Blu-Ray, and DVD on July 5, 2024.

Box office
In the United States and Canada, the film grossed $68.2 million and grossed $37.3 million in other territories.

Critical reception
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 79% based on 149 critics with an average rating of 6.64/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Helluva Boss may be offense to some for its raunchy humor, but it still provides huge laughs and somewhat heartwarming moments." On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 76 out of 100 based on 37 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences on CinemaScore gave the film a grade of "A-" on an "A+ to F" scale, and PostTrak said that 77% of audiences gave the film a positive review, with 62% saying they'd recommend it.

IndieWire gave the film a B+, saying: "Helluva Boss is one movie that feels like a middle finger to religion, but at the same time, still does what its known for: action." Yuri Retz of The New York Times described the film as a "helluva ride", stating that with its good animation and outstanding voice acting, it can make its way up to the places that South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut and Sausage Party made.

The Guardian gave the film a two out of five stars for its excessive use of language and over-the-top violence, though saying that "it was expected anyway, as it was never aimed at kids to begin with."

Controversy
Several days after the release of Helluva Boss, controversy emerged on X (formerly Twitter) involving numerous users who claimed to be artists and animators on the film. The users claimed that director Vivienne Medrano were treated poorly and forced to work overtime for free. According to one user, around 50 employees went uncredited in the film. An investigation conducted by the Los Angeles Times in May 2024 confirmed the comments were inaccurate, and were suspected they were made to damage the film's audience reception. The users' accounts were disabled the next week, with producer Gabe Frost commenting on the controversy, calling it "painful and sickening to watch."

Taglines

 * "Witness the massacre." -Poster tagline
 * "Things sure do happen, don't they?" -Secondary tagline
 * "He's got the hang of it." -Blitzø's poster's tagline
 * "A little ruff to handle." -Loona's poster's tagline