Bob Marley: One Love is now “Jamming” on streaming.
After a successful run at the box office, the Bob Marley biopic debuted Friday, April 12 on Paramount+ in the U.S. and Canada.
Additional international markets will be announced later, the streaming service said this week.
The film stars Kingsley Ben-Adir as late reggae legend Bob Marley. Additional cast members include James Norton, Tosin Cole, Umi Myers, Anthony Welsh, Nia Ashi, Aston Barrett Jr., Anna-Sharé Blake, Gawaine “J-Summa” Campbell, and Naomi Cowan.
Directed by New York native Reinaldo Marcus Green, the biopic premiered on Valentine’s Day.
Over its first weekend, it surpassed expectations and scored a domestic 3-day total of $28.6 million, according to BoxOfficeMojo.
To date, the Paramount Pictures release has collected just over $175 million at the worldwide box office.
The authorized biopic focuses on Bob Marley’s life — from his rise to fame in the 1970s to his death in 1981 at age 36 after battling melanoma.
There’s a specific focus on a period in the reggae legend’s life between 1976 and 1978, and how his music became a symbol of peace and unity during a time of political strife.
In 1976, assassins entered Marley’s home in Kingston, Jamaica, and opened fire injuring the musician, his wife Rita, and others. This attack occurred right before he was scheduled to play the “Smile Jamaica” concert, to help ease political tensions.
After the attack, Marley sought refuge in London, where he recorded his acclaimed album Exodus.
In 1978, he returned to Jamaica for the “One Love Peace Concert.” The film shows the historic moment when Marley brought rival political leaders on stage together during the concert.
Moviegoers gave the film high marks with an “A” CinemaScore. Critics disagreed, handing the film a low 43 percent score out of 100 on Rotten Tomatoes.
The consensus from critics was that the movie is a “standard biopic that doesn’t do justice to its brilliant subject.”
The film was produced by Marley’s children Ziggy and Cedella, and his wife Rita. Executive producers included Brad Pitt, Richard Hewitt, Orly Marley, and Matt Solodky.
Filming took place in Marley’s homeland of Jamaica.
In the featurette for the film, director Reinaldo Marcus Green discussed the importance of filming in Marley’s hometown of Kingston, Jamaica — including in the Trench Town neighborhood where the musician spent part of his childhood.
“We traveled Bob’s journey,” Green said in the video. “We shot up and down the streets of Trench Town to add authenticity.”
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