The Pathological Optimist

2017 | Biography, Documentary

Synopsis

In the center of the recent Tribeca Film Festival scandal surrounding his film VAXXED: From Cover-up to Controversy stands Andrew Wakefield, discredited and stripped of his medical license for his infamous study suggesting a link between the MMR vaccine, bowel disease, and autism. THE PATHOLOGICAL OPTIMIST takes us into the inner sanctum of Wakefield and his family from 2011- 2016 as he fights for his day in court in a little known defamation case against the British Medical Journal. Wakefield attempts to clear his name as the media-appointed Father of the Anti-vaccine movement. Director Miranda Bailey weaves a delicate portrait of a man who is THE PATHOLOGICAL OPTIMIST utilizing a never-before-seen, full access look at the man at the center of one of the biggest medical and media controversies of our times.

Scores

Overall Score
20.1
Popularity Percentile (Year)
6.6%
Box Office Percentile (Year)
11.5%
Review Aggregate
65.8

Critic Consensus

60.0% Fresh • 5 critic reviews

Critic reception is mixed, with 60% of 5 logged reviews marked Fresh. Across reviews, critics repeatedly emphasize character-driven, emotional, visually striking. Common reservations focus on uneven tone, even when reviewers praise standout elements.

character-drivenemotionalvisually strikingthought-provokingrealisticuneven tone

Cast

CastYearReported SalaryInflation AdjustedNotes
N/A

Aggregated Reviews

Rotten Tomatoes critic score60.0
RT critic review count5
Rotten Tomatoes audience score85.0
RT audience rating count50
IMDb rating4.8
IMDb votes181

Box Office ?

CategoryYearReportedInflation Adjusted
Domestic2017$11,222$14,363
International2017N/AN/A
Worldwide2017$11,222$14,363

Earnings / Profitability

Estimated net revenues and net expenses for films based on reported and estimated numbers. This income statement should be considered most viable for the first 24 months after the inital movie's release (ie after most lucrative pay windows).
CategoryYearReportedInflation Adjusted
Revenues
Theatrical Net Revenue2017$5,611$7,181
Digital Rentals ?2017$337,000$431,322
Digital Purchases ?2017$376,000$481,237
Physical Rentals ?2017$252,000$322,531
Physical Purchases ?2017$723,000$925,357
TV & Streaming Revenue2017$59,400$76,025
Total Revenues2017$1,753,011$2,243,654
Expenses
Budget ?2017$198,000 (est)$253,417 (est)
Print & Advertising (P&A) ?2017$80,000 (est)$102,391 (est)
Participations2017$70,000$89,592
Residuals ?2017$88,000$112,630
Interest & Overhead2017$39,600$50,683
Total Expenses2017$475,600$608,714
Movie Net Profit or Loss2017$1,277,411$1,634,940

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