The Best Shakespeare Movie Ever Made Officially Finds a New Stage at HBO Max
Chloé Zhao’s historical drama Hamnet, starring Paul Mescal and Jessie Buckley, has reached a new audience through HBO Max, rising to fourth place on the platform’s global top 10 chart. The film explores Shakespeare’s family life and the grief that inspired his creation of Hamlet, and its renewed streaming popularity follows strong critical, awards and commercial success.
Based on Maggie O’Farrell’s novel, the film is set in late 16th-century Warwickshire and follows Agnes Hathaway, William Shakespeare and their children. After their 11-year-old son Hamnet dies from bubonic plague, Shakespeare channels his grief into Hamlet; the film earned $109 million worldwide against a $35 million budget, while Buckley won an Oscar for her performance.
- Hamnet has risen to fourth on HBO Max’s global top 10.
- The film links Shakespeare’s grief to the creation of Hamlet.
- It grossed $109 million and won major critical acclaim.