Dream Horse
Dream Horse is a 2020 sports comedy-drama film directed by Euros Lyn from a screenplay by Neil McKay. The film stars Toni Collette, Damian Lewis, Owen Teale, Joanna Page, Karl Johnson, Steffan Rhodri, Anthony O'Donnell, Nicholas Farrell, and Siân Phillips, and follows the true story of Dream Alliance, a horse that raced in the Welsh Grand National. It had previously been the subject of the documentary, "". "Dream Horse" had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on 24 January 2020 and was released in the United States on 21 May 2021, by Bleecker Street and in  the United Kingdom on 4 June 2021, by Warner Bros. Pictures. Synopsis. The film tells the true story of Dream Alliance, an unlikely race horse bred by Welsh bartender Jan Vokes. With very little money and no experience, Jan convinces her neighbours to chip in their earnings to help raise Dream in the hopes he can compete with the racing elites. The group's investment pays off as Dream rises through the ranks with grit and determination and goes on to race in the Welsh Grand National. Production. It was announced in March 2019 that Euros Lyn was directing the  film, with Toni Collette and Damian Lewis cast in the lead roles. Owen Teale, Joanna Page, Nicholas Farrell, Siân Phillips and Karl Johnson were added in May. Filming began by May 2019 in Wales. Release. "Dream Horse" had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on 24 January 2020. The film was originally scheduled to be released in the United Kingdom on 17 April 2020, and in the United States on 1 May 2020, but these were delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The film was eventually released to theaters on May 21, 2021 and was released on DVD , July 20, 2021. Reception. Box office. "Dream Horse" grossed $796,000 from 1,254 theaters in its opening weekend. Females made up 62% of the audience, with 85% being over the age of 25. Critical response. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, of reviews are positive, with an average rating of . The site's critics consensus reads, "Spurred on by an excellent Toni Collette, "Dream Horse" has a comfortably crowd-pleasing gait that makes the most of the story's familiar formula." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 68 out of 100, based on 22 critics , indicating "generally favorable reviews". According to PostTrak, 81% of audience members gave the film a positive score, with 57% saying they would definitely recommend it.