Bob Marley: One Love, a film celebrating the legendary reggae musician, opened at No. 1 across several countries worldwide with an estimated gross of $80-million, including $51-million in North America. The movie broke the record for the biggest opening day for a music biopic in several markets, including the UK, New Zealand, and Jamaica, where the film boasts the biggest opening day for a movie ever.
Arriving in Philippine cinemas on March 13, Bob Marley: One Love was made with the close guidance and blessing of the Marley family, with two of Marley’s children – Ziggy and Cedella – and his wife, musician Rita Marley, at the helm as producers. Alongside them are executive producers Brad Pitt, Richard Hewitt, Orly Marley, and Matt Solodky, who assembled a cast that’s led by Kingsley Ben-Adir and Lashana Lynch as Bob and Rita Marley.
Director and co-writer Reinaldo Marcus Green acknowledges the scale and responsibility of creating a movie based on the icon. “There are films,” says Green. “And then there are films about Bob Marley.” During the process of making Bob Marley: One Love, Green says people always have a story to tell about the musician. “He had that power. He was everyone’s best friend, you know? ‘I saw him in concert…’ Or, ‘He changed my life when I was 15…’ People think they know Bob Marley, have a version of him in their mind, because of how we all connect with his music.”
With this film, Green hopes to give the audience a side of Bob Marley that not a lot of people have seen, based on real conversations with friends, family, and acquaintances. The authenticity that Bob Marley: One Love delivers is the direct result of collaborating so closely with the musician’s loved ones.
The result is a powerful snapshot of a legend whose calls for peace and togetherness made him a target. A man with faults and challenges like any other, but a force for change that did good for his family, friends, and the world.
