Development

On 2 April 2014, it was announced Thea Sharrock would direct the film.^[10] Before casting Emilia Clarke knew she wanted to audition for this role as she said "That's just kind of an interesting concoction I hadn't read before".^[11] On 2 September 2014, Emilia Clarke and Sam Claflin were cast in the film.^[6] Steve Peacocke was cast on 24 March 2015,^[12] with Jenna Coleman and Charles Dance cast on 2 April 2015.^[8]On 9 April 2015, Janet McTeer joined the cast;^[7] Brendan Coyle, Matthew Lewis, Samantha Spiro, Vanessa Kirby and Ben Lloyd-Hughes joined the cast the next day.^[9] Sam Claflin's thoughts after filming were "This was probably the most physically challenging thing that I’ve ever done”.^[13]

Filming

Principal photography began in 29 April 2015 and ended on 26 June 2015.^[14][15] The film was shot in various locations in the United Kingdom, including Pembroke Castle in Pembroke, Wales (the Traynors' estate); Wytham Abbey in Oxfordshire, England (the Traynors' home within the castle walls); Sandown Park Racecourse in Esher, Surrey, England (horse race and airport check-in scenes); Harrow, London (Lou's family home) and Chenies Manor House in Chenies, Buckinghamshire, England (wedding scenes), while Mallorca, Spain, stands in for Mauritius.^[16][17]

Box office

Me Before You grossed $56.2 million in North America and over $152 million in other territories for a total of $208.3 million, against a budget of $20 million.^[4]

In North America, Me Before You opened on 3 June 2016 alongside Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows and was expected to gross around $15 million from 2,704 theaters in its opening weekend.^[23] The film grossed $1.4 million from its Thursday night previews and $7.8 million on its first day.^[24] In its opening weekend the film grossed $18.3 million, finishing third at the box office behind Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows ($35.3 million) and X-Men: Apocalypse ($22.3 million).^[25]

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 54% based on reviews from 180 critics, and an average rating of 5.5/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Me Before You benefits from Emilia Clarke and Sam Claflin's alluring chemistry, although it isn't enough to compensate for its clumsy treatment of a sensitive subject."^[26] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 51 out of 100 based on 36 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".^[5] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.^[27]

Chris Nashawaty of Entertainment Weekly gave it a grade of B+ and wrote: "It may not quite rise to the level of a classic three-hankie tearjerker, but it's proof that sometimes one or two hankies is more than enough to get the job done."^[28][29][30]

Accolades

Controversy and protests

The film sparked criticism from many in the disability rights movement, who perceive an underlying message that people with disabilities are a burden on their families and carers, and claim the film promotes the view that people are better off dead than disabled.^[34] They view the film as advocacy of suicide so that their loved ones can "live boldly".^[35][36] Others found the film exploitative of the disability community by stirring the emotions of viewers without actually aiding disabled people by accurate representation or employment in acting roles, while pointing out the casting of non-disabled actors as disabled characters.^[37] The #MeBeforeEuthanasia backlash was led by celebrities with disabilities including Liz Carr, Penny Pepper,^[38] Mik Scarlet^[35] and Cherylee Houston^[39] in the United Kingdom, and Dominick Evans and Emily Ladau^[40] in the United States, as well as activists from Not Dead Yet in both countries.^[41] Protests in the United States occurred in cities including Los Angeles, New York City, Boston, Hartford, Denver, Atlanta, Chicago, Baltimore and Philadelphia.^[42][43] There were also protests in Australia.^[44]

In response to the backlash, author Jojo Moyes said the story was inspired by her own family where relatives required 24-hour care, as well as a real-life news story about a quadriplegic man who convinced his parents to take him to a centre for assisted suicide. About Traynor's decision she said: "The fact is, in the film as in the book, nobody else agrees with what he decides to do. This is not by any means sending out a message. It's just about one character – it's nothing more than that."^[45]