Critical response
The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 83% of 200 reviews of the film were positive, with an average rating of 7.50/10. The site's critics consensus reads: "With his sturdy cast and confident direction, Sean Penn has turned a complex work of nonfiction like Into the Wild into an accessible and poignant character study."[10] Metacritic assigned the film an average score of 73 out of 100 based on 38 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[11]
Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film four stars out of four and described it as "spellbinding". Ebert wrote that Emile Hirsch gives a "hypnotic performance", commenting: "It is great acting, and more than acting." Ebert added, "The movie is so good partly because it means so much, I think, to its writer-director, Sean Penn."[12]
Accolades
| Award | Date of ceremony | Category | Recipients | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Academy Awards[13] | February 24, 2008 | Best Supporting Actor | Hal Holbrook | Nominated |
| Best Film Editing | Jay Cassidy | Nominated | ||
| Golden Globe Awards[14] | January 13, 2008 | Best Original Song – Motion Picture | "Guaranteed" | Won |
| Best Original Score – Motion Picture | Michael Brook, Kaki King, Eddie Vedder | Nominated | ||
| Critics' Choice Movie Awards | January 7, 2008 | Best Film | Into the Wild | Nominated |
| Best Actor | Emile Hirsch | Nominated | ||
| Best Supporting Actor | Hal Holbrook | Nominated | ||
| Best Supporting Actress | Catherine Keener | Nominated | ||
| Best Director | Sean Penn | Nominated | ||
| Best Writer | Nominated | |||
| Best Song | "Guaranteed" | Nominated | ||
| American Cinema Editors | February 17, 2008 | Best Edited Feature Film – Dramatic | Jay Cassidy | Nominated |
| César Awards | February 27, 2009 | Best Foreign Film | Into the Wild | Nominated |
| Chicago Film Critics Association Awards | December 13, 2007 | Best Picture | Nominated | |
| Best Screenplay – Adapted | Sean Penn | Nominated | ||
| Best Supporting Actor | Hal Holbrook | Nominated | ||
| Cinema Audio Society | February 16, 2008 | Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing for Motion Pictures | Nominated | |
| Directors Guild of America Awards | January 26, 2008 | Best Director – Film | Sean Penn | Nominated |
| Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards | February 1, 2008 | Best Foreign Film – English Language | Nominated | |
| Gotham Awards | November 27, 2007 | Best Feature Film | Into the Wild | Won |
| Breakthrough Actor | Emile Hirsch | Nominated | ||
| Grammy Awards | February 10, 2008 | Best Song Written for Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media | "Guaranteed" | Nominated |
| Mill Valley Film Festival | October 14, 2007 | Best Actor | Emile Hirsch | Won |
| National Board of Review | December 5, 2007 | Breakthrough Performance – Male | Won | |
| Palm Springs International Film Festival | January 5, 2008 | Director of the Year Award | Sean Penn | Won |
| Rising Star Award Actor | Emile Hirsch | Won | ||
| Rome Film Festival | October 27, 2007 | Jury Award | William Pohlad, Art Linson and Sean Penn | Won |
| São Paulo International Film Festival | November 1, 2007 | Best Foreign Language Film | Sean Penn | Won |
| Satellite Awards | December 16, 2007 | Best Original Song | "Rise" | Nominated |
| Screen Actors Guild Awards | January 27, 2008 | Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture | The cast of Into the Wild | Nominated |
| Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role | Emile Hirsch | Nominated | ||
| Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role | Hal Holbrook | Nominated | ||
| Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role | Catherine Keener | Nominated | ||
| USC Scripter Award | February 2, 2008 | USC Scripter Award | Sean Penn (screenwriter), Jon Krakauer (author) | Nominated |
| Writers Guild of America Awards | February 9, 2008 | Best Adapted Screenplay | Sean Penn | Nominated |
Top ten lists
The American Film Institute listed the film as one of ten AFI Movies of the Year for 2007.[15][16]
National Board of Review named it one of the Top Ten Films of the Year.[17]
Into the Wild also ranks 473rd in Empire magazine's 2008 list of the 500 greatest movies of all time.[18]
The film appeared on many critics' top ten lists of the best films of 2007.[19]
- 1st: Ben Lyons, The Daily 10[20]
- 2nd: Ann Hornaday, The Washington Post[19]
- 2nd: Tasha Robinson, The A.V. Club[19]
- 3rd: James Berardinelli, ReelViews[19]
- 3rd: Kevin Crust, Los Angeles Times[19]
- 3rd: Peter Travers, Rolling Stone[21]
- 4th: Kyle Smith, New York Post[19]
- 5th: Claudia Puig, USA Today[19]
- 5th: David Germain, Associated Press[22]
- 5th: Joe Morgenstern, The Wall Street Journal[19]
- 6th: Carrie Rickey, The Philadelphia Inquirer[19]
- 6th: Steven Rea, The Philadelphia Inquirer[19]
- 7th: A.O. Scott, The New York Times (tied with The Diving Bell and the Butterfly)[19]
- 7th: Noel Murray, The A.V. Club[19]
- 9th: Christy Lemire, Associated Press[22]
- 10th: Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times[23]
Box office
In North America, Into the Wild initially opened in limited release in four theaters and grossed $212,440, posting a per-theater average of $53,110. For the next several weeks, the film remained in limited release until it expanded to over 600 theaters on October 19, 2007; in its first weekend of wide release, the film grossed just $2.1 million for a per-theater average of $3,249. As of December 25, 2008, the film grossed $18,354,356 domestically and $37,281,398 internationally. In total, the film has grossed $55,635,754 worldwide.[24]
Home media
Into the Wild was released on March 4, 2008, on standard DVD,[25] Two-Disc Special Collector's Edition DVD,[26] and standard HD DVD.[27] The special edition DVD and HD DVD contain two special features entitled The Story, The Characters and The Experience. The Blu-ray Disc edition was released in France on July 16, 2008.[28] The Blu-ray edition for the US was released on December 16, 2008.[29]
