Arrival (2016)
Drama, Science Fiction, Mystery
The Kernel take
An 81 Kernel Score ("Universal Acclaim") with 90% positive reviews reflects Arrival's status as one of the best-reviewed science fiction films of its decade. Commercially it returned about 4.3× its reported $47M budget (marketing spend undisclosed) — a solid hit, if modest in scale next to studio blockbusters.
Director track record: Denis Villeneuve
Arrival's 81 sits above Denis Villeneuve's 75-point career average across these films, tied with Blade Runner 2049 as his second-highest score behind only Sicario (82).
Lead track record: Amy Adams
Arrival (81) is well above Amy Adams' 56-point average across these roles — one of her best-reviewed performances in this sample, trailing only The Master (86).
Box office
Budget $47M · Box office $203.4M
A -49.6% second-weekend drop is right at the typical range for a wide release, and the resulting 4.2× domestic multiplier is a solid, better-than-average hold for an adult-skewing science fiction drama — Arrival held up steadily rather than exploding or collapsing.