<Tr> <Th> Box office </Th> <Td> $100.1 million </Td> </Tr> <P> Where the Wild Things Are is a 2009 fantasy drama film directed by Spike Jonze . Written by Jonze and Dave Eggers, it is adapted from Maurice Sendak's 1963 children's book of the same name . It combines live - action, performers in costumes, animatronics, and computer - generated imagery (CGI). The film stars Max Records and features the voices of James Gandolfini, Paul Dano, Lauren Ambrose, Forest Whitaker, Catherine O'Hara, and Chris Cooper . The film centers on a lonely eight - year - old boy named Max who sails away to an island inhabited by creatures known as the "Wild Things," who declare Max their king . </P> <P> In the early 1980s, Disney considered adapting the film as a blend of traditionally animated characters and computer - generated environments, but development did not go past a test film to see how the animation hybridizing would result . In 2001, Universal Studios acquired rights to the book's adaptation and initially attempted to develop a computer - animated adaptation with Disney animator Eric Goldberg, but the CGI concept was replaced with a live - action one in 2003, and Goldberg was dropped for Spike Jonze . The film was co-produced by actor Tom Hanks through his production company Playtone and made with an estimated budget of $100 million . Where the Wild Things Are was a joint production between Australia, Germany, and the United States, and was filmed principally in Melbourne . </P> <P> The film was released on October 16, 2009, in the United States, on December 3 in Australia, and on December 17 in Germany . The film was met with mostly positive reviews and appeared on many year - end top ten lists . However the film flopped commercially at the box office, making $100.1 million from a budget of $100 million . The film was released on DVD and Blu - ray on March 2, 2010 . </P>

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