A Monster Calls ( film ) - wikipedia A Monster Calls ( film ) A Monster Calls Theatrical release poster Directed by J.A. Bayona Produced by Belén Atienza Mitch Horwits Jonathan King Screenplay by Patrick Ness Based on A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness from an idea by Siobhan Dowd Starring Sigourney Weaver Felicity Jones Toby Kebbell Lewis MacDougall Liam Neeson Music by Fernando Velázquez Cinematography Óscar Faura Edited by Bernat Vilaplana Jaume Martí Production companies Apaches Entertainment Telecinco Cinema Peliculas La Trini Participant Media River Road Entertainment Distributed by Focus Features ( United States ) Universal Pictures ( Spain ) Summit Entertainment ( International ) Release date September 10, 2016 ( 2016 - 09 - 10 ) ( TIFF ) October 7, 2016 ( 2016 - 10 - 07 ) ( Spain ) December 23, 2016 ( 2016 - 12 - 23 ) ( United States ) January 1, 2017 ( 2017 - 01 - 01 ) ( United Kingdom ) Running time 108 minutes Country Spain United States Language English Budget $43 million Box office $47.2 million A Monster Calls is a 2016 dark fantasy drama film directed by J.A. Bayona and written by Patrick Ness, based on his novel of the same name. The film stars Sigourney Weaver, Felicity Jones, Toby Kebbell, Lewis MacDougall, and Liam Neeson, and tells the story of Conor ( MacDougall ), a child whose mother ( Jones ) is terminally ill ; one night, he is visited by a giant tree - like monster ( Neeson ), who states that he will come back and tell Conor three stories. A Monster Calls premiered at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival on September 10, 2016. It was then released in Spain on October 7, 2016, and in the United Kingdom on January 1, 2017. In the United States, the film began a limited release in on December 23, 2016, followed by a wide release on January 6, 2017. It received positive reviews, being praised for its themes, directing, performances and visual effects. The film has grossed $47.2 million worldwide. Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Production 3.1 Filming 4 Release 5 Reception 5.1 Box office 5.2 Critical response 5.3 Accolades 6 References 7 External links Plot Twelve - year - old Conor O'Malley must face his mother 's terminal cancer, his strict grandmother, his estranged father, and his school bully, Harry. One night at 12 : 07 a.m., Conor is visited by the tree - like Monster, who tells Conor it has come to tell him three true stories, after which Conor must tell the Monster his own story : the truth behind his nightmare, which Conor refuses to do. First story An old king who has lost his entire family ( his sons being killed in fierce battles and his wife committing suicide because of this ), save a young grandson, remarries a beautiful young woman. He dies before the prince comes of age, and many believe the queen poisoned the king. Not wanting to hand the kingdom over to the prince in a year, she plots to marry the prince and remain queen. The prince runs away with a farm girl he loves. They stop and sleep under a yew tree ( the Monster ), but in the morning he finds the young woman murdered. The prince tells the villagers that the queen, a witch, must have done it, and they rally to overthrow her. Before the commoners can reach the queen, the Monster carries her away to a far - off land where she lives out the rest of her life in peace. Though she was indeed a witch, she did not kill the farm girl or the king, who actually died of old age. The prince had murdered the farm girl himself in order to inspire his people to back him into overthrowing the queen. After the queen was taken to safety by the Monster, the prince continued to rule the kingdom in the grandfather 's place. Second story An apothecary follows old traditions and beliefs, using herbs and brews to cure ailments. His business becomes less popular as a local parson tells his congregation not to accept the apothecary 's old ways. When the parson 's two daughters become sick, the parson asks the apothecary to save their lives after all other resources are exhausted. When the apothecary asks why he should help a man who has turned people away from his skills and denied him the yew tree, his best source of healing ingredients, the parson promises to give him the tree and deliver the parishioners to him as customers. Yet the apothecary says that he can not help, and the girls die. The Monster awakens from the yew tree to destroy the parson 's house and raze it to the ground as punishment. While the apothecary was a greedy man, he was a healer and would have saved lives, including the girls ', if the parson had allowed him his way of life. The parson was a man of belief, but was willing to discard his beliefs when they were in the way. The healing traditions followed by the apothecary require belief in order to work ; without the parson 's, the apothecary was unable to treat the two girls. Belief is half the cure. Third story A man was invisible because no one ever saw him. Tired of this, he summoned the Monster to ensure people would notice him. After people do notice him however, the man finds himself more alone than before. Fourth story Conor must confront his nightmare to tell the fourth story. His mother has been pulled to the edge of a cliff by a sudden collapse of the ground, and Conor must hold her hand to save her from falling. Eventually, his grip fails and his mother falls. The Monster forces Conor to confess the truth : Conor loosened his grip on purpose. While he could have held on longer, he let go in order to stop the pain of having to hold on. Through the Monster, Conor ultimately understands that although he does not want his mother to die, it is something he must accept, and he must not feel guilty for wanting it to be over so he does not have to feel pain anymore. After this, Conor returns, with the Monster by his side, to comfort his mother one last time, and she dies at 12 : 07. He returns home with his grandmother, with whom he has reached an understanding, and she gives Conor the room that used to be his mother 's. In the room, he finds his mother 's old art book, which depicts the stories that were told to him by the Monster, and a drawing of his mother as a child with the Monster. Cast Lewis MacDougall as Conor O'Malley Max Golds as 5 - year - old Conor Sigourney Weaver as Mrs. Clayton, Conor 's strict grandmother who has a tense relationship with him. Felicity Jones as Elizabeth `` Lizzie '' Clayton, Conor 's mother who is diagnosed with an unspecified terminal illness. Toby Kebbell as Liam O'Malley, Conor 's father who is divorced from Lizzie and now lives in the United States. Liam Neeson as the `` Monster '' ( voice and motion capture ), a giant humanoid yew tree. Tom Holland, who worked with Bayona on The Impossible, served as the stand - in for the Monster during one week of production. Neeson also appears uncredited in a photograph as Conor 's grandfather. James Melville as Harry, a school bully who frequently targets Conor. Geraldine Chaplin as the head teacher of Conor 's school. Production Focus Features bought the rights to the book in March 2014. Patrick Ness, the book 's author, served as the film 's screenwriter, with J.A. Bayona hired as director. On April 23, 2014, Felicity Jones joined the film to play the boy 's mother. On May 8, Liam Neeson was cast to voice the Monster, and on August 18, Sigourney Weaver joined to play the boy 's grandmother. On August 19, Toby Kebbell was also cast in the film. On September 3, author Ness tweeted that Lewis MacDougall had been set for the lead role in the film. On September 30, Geraldine Chaplin joined the cast. Filming Principal photography began on September 30, 2014, in Spain and Britain. On October 9, the filming began on location in Preston, Lancashire, Rivington Pike ( Chorley / Horwich ), Blackpool Pleasure Beach and Marsden Denshaw. Liam Neeson, who voices the titular tree creature, was not on set throughout the shooting process, and completed his motion - capture performance during a two - week period beforehand, with MacDougall in the room. Release Originally scheduled for an October 2016 release, the film was delayed in order to avoid competition from Jack Reacher : Never Go Back, Boo ! A Madea Halloween, Ouija : Origin of Evil, and Keeping Up with the Joneses. It was rescheduled for a limited roll out on December 23, 2016, followed by a wide release on January 6, 2017. The film was released in the United Kingdom on January 1, 2017, by Entertainment One and Lionsgate, and in India on January 6, 2017, by B4U Relativity. Reception Box office A Monster Calls grossed $3.7 million in the United States and Canada and $43.5 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $47.2 million, against a production budget of $43 million. In North America, the film had its wide release alongside the opening of Underworld : Blood Wars and the wide expansions of Hidden Figures and Lion, and was initially expected to gross around $10 million from 1,523 theaters over the weekend. However, after making just $659,000 on its first day, weekend projections were lowered to $2 million, which it ended up grossing, finishing 13th at the box office. In its second weekend of wide release it grossed $537,262 ( a drop of 74.2 % ) and in its third week made just $19,080 ( a drop of 96.4 % ) after being pulled from all but 42 theaters, one of the biggest third week theater drops in history. Critical response The aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes gives the film an approval rating of 88 % based on 232 reviews, and an average rating of 7.6 / 10. The site 's critical consensus reads, `` A Monster Calls deftly balances dark themes and fantastical elements to deliver an engrossing and uncommonly moving entry in the crowded coming - of - age genre ''. At Metacritic, the film has an average score of 76 out of 100 based on 40 critics, indicating `` generally favorable reviews ''. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of `` A '' on an A+ to F scale. Accolades List of awards and nominations Award Date of ceremony Recipient ( s ) Result Ref ( s ) AARP Annual Movies for Grownups Awards February 6, 2017 Best Supporting Actress Sigourney Weaver Nominated Best Intergenerational Film A Monster Calls Nominated Camerimage November 19, 2016 Golden Frog Award for Best Cinematography Óscar Faura Nominated Critics ' Choice Awards December 11, 2016 Best Young Performer Lewis MacDougall Nominated Best Visual Effects A Monster Calls Nominated Detroit Film Critics Society December 19, 2016 Best Supporting Actress Felicity Jones Nominated Empire Awards March 19, 2017 Best Sci - Fi / Fantasy A Monster Calls Won Best Male Newcomer Lewis MacDougall Nominated Evening Standard British Film Awards December 8, 2016 Breakthrough of the Year Lewis MacDougall Nominated Gaudí Awards January 29, 2017 Best Film A Monster Calls Won Best Non-Catalan Language Film A Monster Calls Won Best Director J.A. Bayona Won Best Production Director Sandra Hermida Won Best Art Direction Eugenio Caballero Won Best Film Editing Jaume Martí and Bernat Vilaplana Won Best Cinematography Óscar Faura Won Best Art Direction Eugenio Caballero Won Best Sound Peter Glossop, Marc Orts and Oriol Tarragó Won Best Special Effects Felix Bergés and Pau Costa Won Golden Tomato Awards January 12, 2017 Best British Movie 2016 A Monster Calls 2nd Place Best Kids / Family Movie 2016 A Monster Calls 3rd Place Goya Awards February 4, 2017 Best Film A Monster Calls Nominated Best Director J.A. Bayona Won Best Supporting Actress Sigourney Weaver Nominated Best Adapted Screenplay Patrick Ness Nominated Best Original Score Fernando Velázquez Won Best Cinematography Óscar Faura Won Best Editing Jaume Martí and Bernat Vilaplana Won Best Production Supervision Sandra Hermida Muniz Won Best Art Direction Eugenio Caballero Won Best Makeup and Hairstyles Marese Langan and David Martí Won Best Sound Peter Glossop, Marc Orts and Oriol Tarragó Won Best Special Effects Felix Bergés and Pau Costa Won London Film Critics ' Circle January 22, 2017 Young British / Irish Performer of the Year Lewis MacDougall Won Premios Feroz January 23, 2017 Best Drama Film A Monster Calls Nominated Best Director J.A. Bayona Nominated Best Screenplay Patrick Ness Nominated Best Main Actor Lewis MacDougall Nominated Best Original Soundtrack Fernando Velázquez Won Best Trailer A Monster Calls Nominated Best Film Poster A Monster Calls Nominated San Diego Film Critics Society December 12, 2016 Best Visual Effects A Monster Calls Nominated Saturn Awards June 28, 2017 Best Fantasy Film A Monster Calls Nominated Best Performance by a Younger Actor Lewis MacDougall Nominated St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association December 18, 2016 Best Visual Effects A Monster Calls Nominated Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association December 5, 2016 Best Youth Performance Lewis MacDougall Nominated Best Adapted Screenplay Patrick Ness Nominated Best Voice Performance Liam Neeson Won Best Motion Capture Performance Nominated References Jump up ^ `` A Monster Calls ( 12A ) ''. British Board of Film Classification. September 23, 2016. Retrieved September 23, 2016. ^ Jump up to : `` A Monster Calls ''. Toronto International Film Festival. Retrieved February 19, 2017. Jump up ^ Browne, Kit Simpson ( September 15, 2016 ). `` Patrick Ness Explains Why ' A Monster Calls ' Is Going To Make You Cry ''. Retrieved October 13, 2016. ^ Jump up to : `` A Monster Calls ( 2016 ) ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved April 5, 2017. Jump up ^ Schwerdtfeger, Conner ( September 24, 2016 ). `` The Strange Role Spider - Man Star Tom Holland Plays in ' A Monster Calls ' ''. Cinemablend. Retrieved September 24, 2016. Jump up ^ Fleming, Mike. `` Focus Features Makes $20 Million Deal For ' A Monster Calls ' Movie ''. Deadline.com. Retrieved 2014 - 04 - 09. Jump up ^ `` Focus Dates ' A Monster Calls ' For October 2016 ''. Deadline.com. 1970 - 01 - 01. Retrieved 2014 - 04 - 09. Jump up ^ `` Felicity Jones To Star In Juan Antonio Bayona 's ' A Monster Calls ' ''. deadline.com. 23 April 2014. Retrieved 24 April 2014. Jump up ^ McClintock, Pamela ( 8 May 2014 ). `` Cannes : Liam Neeson Joins ' A Monster Calls ' ''. hollywoodreporter.com. Retrieved 10 May 2014. Jump up ^ `` Sigourney Weaver Joins High - Profile ' A Monster Calls ' ''. hollywoodreporter.com. Jump up ^ `` ' Fantastic Four ' Actor Toby Kebbell in Talks to Join ' A Monster Calls ' ''. variety.com. Jump up ^ Espina, Alfonso ( September 4, 2014 ). `` Lewis MacDougall to Lead Adaptation of Patrick Ness ' ' A Monster Calls ' ''. upandcomers.net. Retrieved October 1, 2014. ^ Jump up to : `` Three Join ' A Monster Calls ' ''. deadline.com. September 30, 2014. Retrieved October 1, 2014. Jump up ^ `` ' A Monster Calls ' Begins Production ''. participantmedia.com. September 30, 2014. Archived from the original on October 3, 2014. Retrieved October 1, 2014. Jump up ^ `` Production Begins on A Monster Calls, Starring Liam Neeson ''. comingsoon.net. September 30, 2014. Retrieved October 1, 2014. Jump up ^ `` Hollywood film begins filming in Preston ''. lep.co.uk. October 9, 2014. Archived from the original on October 11, 2014. Retrieved October 10, 2014. Jump up ^ Ashley Lee ( December 8, 2016 ). `` ' A Monster Calls ' Speaks to Both Kids and Adults, Says Sigourney Weaver ''. The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 27, 2016. Jump up ^ `` Focus Features Sets A Monster Calls for October 14, 2016 ''. ComingSoon.net. Retrieved 2014 - 04 - 09. Jump up ^ Anthony D'Alessandro ( June 1, 2016 ). `` ' A Monster Calls ' A Week Later In October ''. Deadline.com. Retrieved June 2, 2016. Jump up ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony ( August 29, 2016 ). `` Focus Features ' ' A Monster Calls ' Dials Up Christmas Weekend Release ''. Deadline.com. Retrieved August 30, 2016. Jump up ^ Lloyd, Kenji ( June 19, 2016 ). `` A Monster Calls UK Release Date Set for January, The Tree Awakens on First Poster ''. Final Reel. Retrieved August 30, 2016. Jump up ^ `` A Monster Calls India Trailer ''. YouTube. Jump up ^ `` ' Hidden Figures ' is likely to draw crowds as ' Rogue One ' stays on top of the box office ''. Los Angeles Times. Jump up ^ `` ' Rogue One ' Does n't Want To Fall To ' Hidden Figures ' As Winter Storm Helena Closes Theaters ''. Deadline.com. Jump up ^ `` Uni / Blumhouse 's ' Split ' Is A Hit With High $39 M To $40 M+ ; ' Xander Cage ' Falls Down ''. Jump up ^ `` Biggest Theater Drops ''. Box Office Mojo. Jump up ^ `` A Monster Calls ( 2016 ) ''. Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved January 23, 2017. Jump up ^ `` A Monster Calls Reviews ''. Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved January 23, 2017. Jump up ^ CinemaScore on Twitter ( January 6, 2017 ). `` A Monster Calls ''. Retrieved June 1, 2017. Jump up ^ Rahman, Abid ( December 15, 2016 ). `` Denzel Washington 's ' Fences ' Leads Nominations for AARP 's Movies for Grownups Awards ''. The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 26, 2016. Jump up ^ `` Camerimage 2016 Main Competition Line - up ! ''. Camerimage. October 24, 2016. Retrieved November 11, 2016. Jump up ^ `` La La Land Leads with 12 Nominations for the 22nd Annual Critics ' Choice Awards ''. Critics ' Choice. December 1, 2016. Retrieved December 1, 2016. Jump up ^ Graham, Adam ( December 14, 2016 ). `` Local critics : ' Moonlight ', ' Manchester ' best of 2016 ''. The Detroit News. Retrieved December 15, 2016. Jump up ^ Nugent, John ( 19 March 2017 ). `` Three Empire Awards 2017 : Rogue One, Tom Hiddleston And Patrick Stewart Win Big ''. Empire. Retrieved 19 March 2017. Jump up ^ Moore, William ( November 17, 2016 ). `` Evening Standard British Film Awards - The Longlist ''. London Evening Standard. Retrieved November 29, 2016. Jump up ^ `` Guardonades - IX Premis Gaudí ''. Academia del Cinema. January 29, 2017. Retrieved March 3, 2017. Jump up ^ `` Golden Tomato Awards - Best of 2016 ''. Rotten Tomatoes. 12 January 2017. Jump up ^ Rolfe, Pamela ( December 14, 2016 ). `` Juan Antonio Bayona 's ' A Monster Calls ' Leads Goya Award Nominations ''. The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 16, 2016. Jump up ^ `` ' Moonlight ' and ' Love and Friendship ' Lead London Film Critics ' Circle Nominations ''. Variety. December 20, 2016. Retrieved December 20, 2016. Jump up ^ `` La lista completa de ganadores de los premios Feroz 2017 '' ( in Spanish ). El Huffinton Post. January 23, 2017. Retrieved January 25, 2017. Jump up ^ `` 2016 San Diego Film Critics Society 's Award Nominations ''. December 9, 2016. Retrieved December 9, 2016. Jump up ^ `` San Diego Film Critics Society 's 2016 Award Winners ''. December 12, 2016. Retrieved December 12, 2016. Jump up ^ McNary, Dave ( March 2, 2017 ). `` Saturn Awards Nominations 2017 : ' Rogue One, ' ' Walking Dead ' Lead ''. Variety. Retrieved March 3, 2017. Jump up ^ `` 2016 StLFCA Annual Award Nominations ''. St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association. December 12, 2016. Retrieved December 12, 2016. Jump up ^ `` The 2016 WAFCA Awards Nominations ''. December 3, 2016. Retrieved December 4, 2016. External links Official website A Monster Calls on IMDb A Monster Calls at the TCM Movie Database A Monster Calls at Metacritic A Monster Calls at Rotten Tomatoes A Monster Calls at AllMovie J.A. Bayona Films directed The Orphanage ( 2007 ) The Impossible ( 2012 ) A Monster Calls ( 2016 ) Jurassic World : Fallen Kingdom ( 2018 ) Television Penny Dreadful ( 2014 ) Empire Award for Best Sci - Fi / Fantasy Star Wars : Episode III -- Revenge of the Sith ( 2006 ) Pan 's Labyrinth ( 2007 ) Stardust ( 2008 ) Wanted ( 2009 ) Star Trek ( 2010 ) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows -- Part 1 ( 2011 ) Thor ( 2012 ) The Hobbit : An Unexpected Journey ( 2013 ) The Hobbit : The Desolation of Smaug ( 2014 ) X-Men : Days of Future Past ( 2015 ) Star Wars : The Force Awakens ( 2016 ) A Monster Calls ( 2017 ) Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=A_Monster_Calls_(film)&oldid=808548239 '' Categories : 2016 films English - language films 2010s drama films 2010s fantasy films American films American drama films American fantasy films Spanish films Spanish drama films Spanish fantasy films Films based on American novels Films based on British novels Films based on fantasy novels Films directed by J.A. Bayona Performance capture in film Participant Media films Focus Features films Universal Pictures films Entertainment One films Films with live action and animation Films about death Giant monster films Hidden categories : CS1 Spanish - language sources ( es ) All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from January 2017 Official website not in Wikidata Talk Contents About Wikipedia Català Čeština Deutsch Español Euskara فارسی Français Galego 한국어 Հայերեն Bahasa Indonesia Italiano Magyar Nederlands Norsk Português Русский ไทย Українська Tiếng Việt 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 3 November 2017, at 14 : 53. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: who was the tree in a monster calls
Answer: Liam Neeson