Demolition

Demolition is a 2015 American comedy-drama film directed by Jean-Marc Vallée and written by Bryan Sipe. It stars Jake Gyllenhaal, Naomi Watts, Chris Cooper, and Judah Lewis. The film opened the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival and was theatrically released on April 8, 2016, by Fox Searchlight Pictures.

Plot
Grieving investment banker Davis Mitchell (Jake Gyllenhaal) returns to work after losing his beloved wife in a tragic car accident. After writing a letter to complain about a vending machine, Mitchell receives a phone call from Karen (Naomi Watts), a customer service rep from the company. Karen becomes moved by his complete honesty, while Davis finds someone to lend a sympathetic ear. As his new friendship with Karen and her son grows, Mitchell finds the strength he needs to rebuild his life.

Cast

 * Jake Gyllenhaal as Davis Mitchell
 * Naomi Watts as Karen Moreno
 * Chris Cooper as Phil
 * Judah Lewis as Chris Moreno
 * C.J. Wilson as Carl
 * Polly Draper as Margot
 * Malachy Cleary as Davis' Dad
 * Debra Monk as Davis' Mom
 * Heather Lind as Julia

Box office
In the United States and Canada, pre-release tracking suggested the film would gross $2–3 million from 854 theaters in its opening weekend, trailing fellow newcomers The Boss ($20–24 million projection) and Hardcore Henry ($7–10 million projection). It ended up grossing just $1.1 million in its opening weekend, finishing 15th at the box office.

Critical response
Demolition received mixed reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a rating of 52%, based on 130 reviews, with an average rating of 5.8/10. The site's consensus reads, "Demolition benefits from a stellar cast, even if their solid work isn't always enough to prop up a confused story that aims for profundity but too often settles for clichés." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 49 out of 100, based on 42 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".