Never Let Me Go was a 2010 film directed by Mark Romanek, based on the novel by Kazuo Ishiguro, starring Keira Knightley, Carey Mulligan, and Andrew Garfield. It was produced by DNA Films, a British production company known for films like The History Boys, and co-produced with Film4 and Fox Searchlight Pictures. The film had a $15 million budget but only grossed $9 million worldwide, making it a box office disappointment despite critical acclaim.

1. Never Let Me Go

2. The Film
• Never Let Me Go is a 2010 film staring Keira
Knightley, Carey Mulligan and Andrew
Garfield, directed by Mark Romanek.

3. Producers
• DNA films produce Never Let Me Go.
• This production company mainly produces
British films such as The History Boys and the
Danny Boyle films 28 Days Later and Sunshine.
• The film is also a co-production between DNA
Films, Film4 and Fox Searchlight Pictures.

4. Distributors
• The film was distributed by 20th Century Fox
worldwide, though was also distributed by
Warner Bros. in the Netherlands.

5. The Cast
• Keira Knightley – Knightley is perhaps most famous for the Pirates of the
Caribbean films she has done, though is also well known for British films such
as Atonement and Pride and Prejudice. She has most recently starred in A
Dangerous Method, about psychologists Freud and Jung. As an attractive and
popular young actress, she naturally makes the film appeal to a wider
audience.
• Carey Mulligan – Mulligan is a successful British actress who has recently
broken through to wide audiences with films like An Education. Most
recently, she starred opposite Ryan Gosling in Drive and Michael Fassbender in
Shame. Being able to hold her own against actors such as these, she was
naturally chosen to provide a strong and powerful lead performance.
• Andrew Garfield – Garfield has now broken through to a very wide audience
given that he is playing Peter Parker/Spiderman in the new ‘Amazing Spider
Man’ film. However, he has also delivered very strong and popular
performances in films such as The Social Network and Boy A. Despite not
being particularly well known at the time, he is a very talented actor and is
highly capable in more challenging films such as this.

6. Marketing
• The poster for Never Let Me Go includes some of
its accolades, specifically that it opened the BFI
London Film Festival. It also includes a quote from
a positive review of it. In this way, the film
promises to be of high quality, making it appeal to
regular filmgoers.
• A trailer for the film can also be found here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXiRZhDEo8A

7. Budget
• Never Let Me Go had a $15 million budget.
This makes it higher than the usual low-
medium British film, which explains why it is a
co-production between DNA Films, Film4
(both fairly low-key production companies)
and Fox Searchlight Pictures, which tends to
finance reasonably large films.

8. Box Office Earnings
• Never Let Me Go had a worldwide cinema
gross of 9 million dollars, which is in fact lower
than its budget.
• It took $111,744 in its opening weekend.
• It also made an extra 1.8 million dollars in DVD
revenue.