The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel is a 2011 British comedy-drama film directed by John Madden. The screenplay, written by Ol Parker, is based on the 2004 novel "These Foolish Things" by novelist Deborah Moggach, and features an ensemble cast consisting of Judi Dench, Celia Imrie, Bill Nighy, Ronald Pickup, Maggie Smith, Tom Wilkinson and Penelope Wilton, as a group of British pensioners moving to a retirement hotel in India, run by the young and eager Sonny, played by Dev Patel. The movie was produced by Participant Media and Blueprint Pictures on a budget of $10 million.

Producers Graham Broadbent and Peter Czernin first saw the potential for a film in Deborah Moggach's novel with the idea of exploring the lives of the elderly beyond what one would expect of their age group. With the assistance of screenwriter Ol Parker, they came up with a script in which they take the older characters completely out of their element and involve them in a romantic comedy.

Principal photography began on 10 October 2010 in India, and most of the filming took place in the Indian state of Rajasthan, including the cities of Jaipur and Udaipur. Ravla Khempur, an equestrian hotel which was originally the palace of a tribal chieftain in the village of Khempur, was chosen as the site for the film hotel.

The film was released in the United Kingdom on 24 February 2012 and received positive reception from critics; "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel" opened to strong box-office earnings in the United Kingdom, and topped the box office after its second weekend on release. It became a surprise box-office hit following its international release, eventually grossing nearly $137 million worldwide.

It was ranked among the highest-grossing 2012 releases in Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom, and as one of the highest-grossing speciality releases of the year. A sequel, "The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel", began production in India in January 2014, and was released on 26 February 2015.
Q859369
comedy-drama
Concept
Q51516
John Madden
PER
Q6073899
Ol Parker
PER
Q3020878
Deborah Moggach
PER
Q1154757
ensemble cast
Concept
Q28054
Judi Dench
PER
Q467502
Celia Imrie
PER
Q207179
Bill Nighy
PER
Q4356744
Ronald Pickup
PER
Q172653
Maggie Smith
PER
Q211322
Tom Wilkinson
PER
Q544165
Penelope Wilton
PER
Q1749879
pensioner
UNK
Q668
India
LOC
Q245075
Dev Patel
PER
Q2793276
Participant Media
ORG
Q934624
Graham Broadbent
PER
Q40664045
Peter Czernin
PER
Q860626
romantic comedy
Concept
Q1256415
Principal photography
Concept
Q1437
Rajasthan
LOC
Q66485
Jaipur
LOC
Q200340
Udaipur
LOC
Q60235440
Ravla Khempur
LOC
Q15844925
Khempur
LOC
Q7539815
surprise box-office hit
UNK
Q408
Australia
LOC
Q664
New Zealand
LOC
Q16203908
The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
MEDIA
Q668
India
LOC
Q830295
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
MEDIA
Q830295
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
MEDIA
2011-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
2011
DATE
2004-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
2004
DATE
2010-10-10T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
10 October 2010
DATE
2012-02-24T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
24 February 2012
DATE
2012-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
2012
DATE
2014-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
January 2014
DATE
2015-02-26T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
26 February 2015
DATE
+10^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
10
NUMBER
+137^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
137
NUMBER
director
screenwriter
after a work by
cast member
cast member
cast member
cast member
cast member
cast member
cast member
cast member
production company
producer
narrative location
publication date
follows
narrative location