Synopsis
Published in Paris in 1954, The Story of O was an immediate bestseller and literary scandal: an elegantly written S&M fantasy that had all the hallmarks of being an autobiographical account by the pseudonymous Pauline Réage. In 1994 Dominique Aury, a mild-mannered, dowdy editor for France's prestigious Gallimard press, revealed her authorship. Pola Rapaport explores Aury's inspiration, recreating the world of '50s literary Paris and setting it against dramatic sequences that bring the infamous book to life. The author and various French intellectuals expound on the thorny relationship between sexuality and power, submission and freedom, liberation and non-being. Even today, The Story of O mystifies in its power and confounds in its contradictions.
Scores
Popularity Percentile (Year)
82.5%
Box Office Percentile (Year)
10.6%
Critic Consensus
78.4% Fresh • 204 critic reviews
Critic reception is largely positive, with 78% of 204 logged reviews marked Fresh. Across reviews, critics repeatedly emphasize political, suspenseful, thought-provoking. Most critics frame the film as an effective delivery of its core style and intent.
politicalsuspensefulthought-provokingtragicvisually strikingemotionaldarkgrittyhistoricalpsychological
Cast
| Cast | Year | Reported Salary | Inflation Adjusted | Notes |
|---|
| Eric Bana | 2005 | $5,477,000 | $8,797,000 | (est) |
| Daniel Craig | 2005 | $3,371,000 | $5,415,000 | (est) |
| Ciarán Hinds | 2005 | $2,538,000 | $4,077,000 | (est) |
| Mathieu Kassovitz | 2005 | $2,075,000 | $3,334,000 | (est) |
| Hanns Zischler | 2005 | $1,775,000 | $2,852,000 | (est) |
| Geoffrey Rush | 2005 | $1,563,000 | $2,510,000 | (est) |
Aggregated Reviews
Rotten Tomatoes critic score79.0
RT critic review count210
Rotten Tomatoes audience score83.0
RT audience rating count250,000
IMDb rating7.0
IMDb votes113
Box Office ?
| Category | Year | Reported | Inflation Adjusted |
|---|
| Domestic | 2005 | $11,728 | $18,838 |
| International | 2005 | N/A | N/A |
| Worldwide | 2005 | $11,728 | $18,838 |
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).
| Category | Year | Reported | Inflation Adjusted |
|---|
| Revenues |
| Theatrical Net Revenue | 2005 | $5,864 | $9,419 |
| Digital Rentals ? | 2005 | $27,000 | $43,369 |
| Digital Purchases ? | 2005 | $4,000 | $6,425 |
| Physical Rentals ? | 2005 | $1,497,000 | $2,404,551 |
| Physical Purchases ? | 2005 | $3,593,000 | $5,771,245 |
| TV & Streaming Revenue | 2005 | $75,000 | $120,469 |
| Total Revenues | 2005 | $5,201,864 | $8,355,477 |
| Expenses |
| Budget ? | 2005 | $250,000 (est) | $401,562 (est) |
| Print & Advertising (P&A) ? | 2005 | $80,000 (est) | $128,500 (est) |
| Participations | 2005 | $208,000 | $334,099 |
| Residuals ? | 2005 | $373,000 | $599,130 |
| Interest & Overhead | 2005 | $50,000 | $80,312 |
| Total Expenses | 2005 | $961,000 | $1,543,603 |
| Movie Net Profit or Loss | 2005 | $4,240,864 | $6,811,874 |
Similar Movies
| Poster | Movie | Year | Match | Overall | Est. Profit |
|---|
 | Fahrenheit 9/11 | 2004 | Shared genres: 1 | 87.4 | $149,890,766 |
 | Free Solo | 2018 | Shared genres: 1 | 87.1 | $25,984,082 |
 | Bowling for Columbine | 2002 | Shared genres: 1 | 86.1 | $62,944,215 |
 | Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour | 2023 | Shared genres: 1 | 85.8 | $87,607,890 |
 | Jackass Forever | 2022 | Shared genres: 1 | 85.1 | $46,545,807 |
Tooltips
- Budget Estimated using Machine Learning
- Digital Rentals: PVOD, VOD, & On-Demand
- Marketing & distribution costs to release Movie in Theaters. Includes: Online & Offline Ads, Posters, Trailer Production, and physical or digital copies (formerly "prints") sent to cinemas.
- Net Digital Purchase Revenue
- Net Revenues for Physical Rentals: VHS, DVD, BluRay (when appropriate)
- Physical Purchases: VHS $69,000, DVD $3,516,000, BluRay $9,000
- Reported or Estimated Net Budget (after tax, product placements, & grants)
- Theatrical box office grosses split into Domestic, International, and Worldwide totals.
- Union-modeled residuals using SAG-AFTRA and WGA schedules as a simplified estimate proxy.
- reestimate_prior_estimate;covid_mult=1.00;peer_count=0;reg_box_pred=34094;reg_main_pred=575598
Budget Tooltip
Reported or Estimated Net Budget (after tax, product placements, & grants)
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