“They said it would never happen,” the account for “Hundreds of Beavers” posted on March 4, 2025. “Long live indie cinema! $150,000 budget and a dream.” When Mike Cheslik and Ryland Brickson Cole Tews debuted their slapstick comedy about an applejack salesman facing off against hundreds (possibly thousands) of beavers in an attempt to win the heart of a pelt merchant’s daughter at Fantastic Fest in 2022, it’s doubtful that anyone involved could have predicted the Cinderella story that was in their future. Despite the overwhelming praise that came out of the fest (including Matt Donato’s glowing review for /Film), Cheslik and Tews rejected the distribution offers that came their way and instead chose the path of self-distribution. They bet on themselves, and it paid off handsomely.

“Hundreds of Beavers” was shot in rural Wisconsin and Michigan across 12 weeks in the bitter, north-Midwest winter. As anyone who hears the phrase “lake effect” and feels their body tense up can attest, those sorts of conditions are hell to make a movie in, let alone a movie that demands the physical comedy stylings of Abbott and Costello, Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin, and The Three Stooges. But in 2024, “Hundreds of Beavers” exploded in popularity thanks to a touring theatrical run and a video-on-demand release. Now, the underdog comedy, winner of the Best Stunt in a Non-Action Film award at the annual Vulture Stunt Awards, and one of the best movies of 2024, has crossed the million dollar mark at the box office.

“Back when we hit $100,000 at the box office, we were told that $100,000 is the new one million for truly independent releases, so we popped the champagne,” said lead producer Kurt Ravenwood in a statement to IndieWire. “At this point we are so out of champagne that we have resorted to drinking moonshine my grandpa has in his basement. We are very drunk, very happy, and so thankful to all of the indie theaters who took a chance on us. We hope this encourages more filmmakers and studios to make movies for the big screen.”

If you ask me, every studio in the world should be looking for their next “Hundreds of Beavers” — and by that, I mean a brilliant slice of micro-budget brilliance bursting with originality that’s wholly unique from anything else being made.

There’s no getting around it — the theatrical experience is in trouble. As more and more people wait for movies to hit streaming instead of making the trek to the theater, creative solutions are required to get people into the door. The industry cannot survive on vibes, A-list celebrity casting decisions, and novelty popcorn buckets alone. Instead of merely touring “Hundreds of Beavers” as a film projected onto the screen, the team has turned screenings of the film into legitimate events. Starting the tour in the Midwest where audience sensibilities are more in-tune than on the coasts, The Great Lakes Road Show launched at the start of 2024, complete with comedy, Q&As and sometimes a spontaneous beaver wrestling (like, legitimate wrestling; click here to see Tews deliver an airplane spin into a spine-buster to one of the beavers). There’s no telling what sort of hijinks Team Beaves (that’s what I call them in my heart) are going to bring, which makes every screening a once-in-a-lifetime event.

Theatrical booker Jessica Rosner has been helping the film find a home in theaters across the globe, and it was thanks to screenings in Germany that the film was able to make it past the one million dollar mark. Sure, that sounds like chump change compared to the billions brought in by movies like “Inside Out 2,” but we’re not talking about a massive IP with marketing support from the largest entertainment conglomerate on the planet. Rather, we’re talking about a black and white film made for less money than a down payment on a house in Los Angeles — one where a dude gets his lights punched out by someone in a beaver mascot suit so hard, he has cartoon birds spinning around his head.

Cheslik and Tews (and the rest of Team Beaves) are straight-up operating on an entirely different level than anyone else in the low-budget space, and the landscape of cinema would be better if the folks in charge accepted that the future of film are authentic, algorithm-proof stories that inspire audiences to come out in feral droves. Sometimes, that means it’s turning up for a gothic vampire that makes them want to “bounce on it crrrrrazy styleuhh,” and sometimes, it’s a movie about a guy kicking the snot out of some beavers.

Audiences are craving innovative ideas and have been screaming for years about their desire for original films. How has the industry responded? By continuing to shovel out data-driven, homogenous slop, only to stand around looking shocked when it’s rejected by the masses for the fifth time in a row. So, it shouldn’t be surprising that people are punching their way through the wilderness to turn up for a movie like “Hundreds of Beavers.” 

Has there been a better title card drop in any movie of the last decade? I think not. Can all the CGI know-how in the world come close to replicating the unbridled hilarity of watching a grown man run from a full screen of actors in mascot costumes? Absolutely not. Could some crayon-eating loser plug a prompt into ChatGPT and produce even a fraction of the comedic wit found in this movie? Also no. This movie works as the result of the human touch and a willingness to swing for the fences when everyone “in charge” is demanding filmmakers play it safe.

The triumphant performance of “Hundreds of Beavers” is inspiring because it’s confirmation that filmmakers can reject the “proven avenue of success” and still find an audience. It’s also proof positive that people are eager for stories about and by filmmakers from all over the country. “Hundreds of Beavers” could not be replicated by someone who hasn’t endured the harsh Midwest winters or had personal beef with a small rodent that won’t seem to leave you alone, and it certainly cannot be reproduced by someone with access to the faucet of a money hose that can “fix” problems instead of trusting your instincts and embracing what Cheslik called during his interview with /Film “funny little failures.” Movies are magic, but movies are also mayhem, and “Hundreds of Beavers” delivers both in abundance.

These Midwest weirdos deserve every shiny red penny that comes to them. I can’t wait to see what flavor of absurdity they’ll bring to us next.