The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones is a 2013 urban fantasy film based on the first book of The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare. It was directed by Harald Zwart, with a script written by Jessica Postigo. The film stars Lily Collins as Clary Fray, a teenager from New York City who meets a group of Nephilim known as the Shadowhunters while also discovering her own heritage and her family history. The cast also includes Jamie Campbell Bower, Robert Sheehan, Kevin Zegers, Lena Headey, Kevin Durand, Aidan Turner, Jemima West, Godfrey Gao, CCH Pounder, Jared Harris, and Jonathan Rhys Meyers.
The film's development began when Constantin Film optioned the film rights to the book series. Casting announcements started in 2010, with Collins being the first actress attached to the project. Principal photography took place in Ontario between August and November 2012. It is an international co-production between Canada and Germany.
The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones premiered in Los Angeles on August 12, and was released on August 21, 2013, by Entertainment One in Canada and by Constantin Film in Germany. It was released in the United States on the same day by Screen Gems. The film was a box-office bomb, grossing $95.3 million worldwide against a production budget of $60 million and received generally negative reviews from critics for its plot and lack of originality.
The film was originally intended to launch a film series and to continue with a sequel based on the second book, City of Ashes, that was in development with Sigourney Weaver set to join the cast. However, it was postponed indefinitely and ultimately cancelled due to the film's poor performance. A reboot television series, titled Shadowhunters, premiered in 2016 on Freeform and ran for three seasons.
Plot New York teenager Clary Fray begins seeing and drawing a strange symbol, worrying her mother Jocelyn and family friend, Luke Garroway. At a crowded nightclub with friend Simon Lewis only Clary witnesses Jace Wayland and his accomplices killing a man. The next day at a coffee shop with Simon, Clary is confronted by Jace, who questions why she can see him when no one else can. Meanwhile, two men, Emil Pangborn and Samuel Blackwell, arrive at the Fray apartment searching for a cup. Jocelyn calls Clary, telling her to stay away and warn Luke about someone named Valentine; she then drinks a potion putting her in a deep sleep. Returning home, Clary finds her mother missing, and is attacked by a dog-like creature. Jace, who is a "Shadowhunter", appears and kills it, explaining that it, like the "man" killed at the nightclub, was a demon.
The Frays' neighbor, Madame Dorothea, is a witch and helps Jace deduce that Pangborn and Blackwell seek the Mortal Cup, a lost artifact. Jace and Clary, along with Simon, go to Luke's antique store. Pangborn and Blackwell are interrogating Luke who, to protect Clary and Jocelyn, claims he cares nothing about the Frays and only wants the Cup. The trio escapes to the Shadowhunter Institute, a hidden cathedral-like building, where Jace treats Clary, who was stung by an attacking demon. She and Simon meet two other Shadowhunters, siblings Alec and Isabelle Lightwood, and Shadowhunter leader, Hodge. Invisible to mortals, Shadowhunters are half-human, half-angel demon slayers. Clary has inherited her Shadowhunter mother's powers, including drawing temporary magical runes on the skin. The Cup is one of three Mortal Instruments given to the first Shadowhunter by the Angel Raziel. Shadowhunters are either descended from other Shadowhunters or made by drinking from the Cup. Valentine Morgenstern, a Shadowhunter who betrayed the order, and now seeks the Cup to control both Shadowhunters and demons.
Jace takes Clary to the City of Bones, a sanctuary beneath a cemetery. While attempting to unlock Clary's blocked memories, the Silent Brothers uncover a connection to Magnus Bane, the High Warlock of Brooklyn. At Bane's nightclub, he tells Clary that Jocelyn had him block knowledge of the Shadowhunter world from Clary's mind. When Vampires kidnap Simon, Jace, Alec, Isabelle, and Clary trail them to their hideout. They find Simon, but vampires outnumber them. During their battle, werewolves intervene and save them.
As Simon recovers at the institute, Clary notices two puncture marks on his shoulder, while he discovers he no longer needs eyeglasses. Clary shares an evening with Jace, ending in a kiss. When Simon jealously confronts Clary about it, she downplays the incident, angering Jace. Simon confesses he loves Clary, who does not reciprocate his feelings.
Clary realizes the Cup is hidden inside one of Madame Dorothea's tarot cards that her mother painted as a gift. The group goes to Dorothea's apartment, where a demon has replaced her. Simon and Jace kill it, but Alec is lethally stung. Clary retrieves the Cup card, and they return to the institute. Hodge summons Magnus Bane to heal Alec.
Clary removes the Cup from the card and gives it to Hodge, who betrays them by summoning Valentine through a portal and giving him the Cup. When Valentine reveals he is Clary's father, she refuses to join him. She jams the Cup back into the card, then escapes through the portal that transports her to Luke's store. Luke, revealed to be one of the werewolves who fought the vampires, confirms that Valentine is her father. Clary also had an older brother named Jonathan, who died as a toddler. Luke and his werewolf pack go to the institute with Clary to battle Valentine who summons demons through a roof opening. Simon finds Jocelyn, still unconscious, at the institute. He and Isabelle close the opening with help from a repentant Hodge.
Clary and Jace fight Valentine, who claims Jace is his son. Clary tricks Valentine by giving him a replica Cup, then pushes him into the portal, destroying it. Jocelyn is rescued but remains unresponsive at the hospital. Clary uses her new-found powers to repair the apartment. Jace arrives, confessing he needs her. He disbelieves they are siblings and plans to uncover the truth. Realizing she belongs in the Shadowhunter world, Clary returns to the Institute with Jace.
Cast Lily Collins, Jamie Campbell Bower, Robert Sheehan,Kevin Zegers and Godfrey Gao promoting the film
Lily Collins as Clary Jamie Campbell Bower as Jace Robert Sheehan as Simon Kevin Zegers as Alec Lena Headey as Jocelyn Kevin Durand as Pangborn Aidan Turner as Luke Jemima West as Isabelle Godfrey Gao as Magnus Bane CCH Pounder as Dorothea Jared Harris as Hodge Jonathan Rhys Meyers as Valentine
Production Pre-production
While shopping the film prospect around, author Cassandra Clare had difficulty finding a studio interested in making a film with a female in the lead role. Studios asked her to switch the lead to a male character, which she refused. The film is a co-production of the Germany company Constantin Film Produktion GmbH and Canadian company Don Carmody Productions and a co-production with Unique Features. Scott Stewart had initially been attached to direct the film, but he left to produce a television series based on Legion. Harald Zwart replaced him shortly after.
Casting On December 9, 2010, it was announced that Lily Collins had been cast in the role of Clary Fray. Alex Pettyfer was originally offered the role of Jace Wayland, but turned it down. Alexander Ludwig, Ed Speleers and Leebo Freeman tested for the role but it went to Jamie Campbell Bower. Xavier Samuel, Nico Tortorella, Max Irons, and Douglas Booth were also in consideration.
Filming Principal photography took place between August 20 and November 7, 2012, on location in Toronto and Hamilton, Ontario, and New York City.
Music
Two soundtracks were released for the film: The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) was released by Republic Records in stores and digital retailers on August 20, 2013. Upon its first week, the album debuted at #32 on the US Billboard 200. The same day, Atli Örvarsson's score was released into a separate album, for physical purchase and digital download.
The soundtrack is headlined by Demi Lovato, Zedd, Colbie Caillat, AFI remixed by LA Riots, and Jessie J among others. It is a collaboration between trance DJs Myon & Shane 54 with Seven Lions, as well as a song by Bryan Ellis, produced by Brian West. Some songs, including Lovato's "Heart by Heart" and Caillat's "When the Darkness Comes", were recorded specifically for City of Bones. Zedd "scored for a key scene in the film". Caillat's "When the Darkness Comes" were released as the first promotional single on July 9, 2013. "Almost Is Never Enough", performed by Ariana Grande and Nathan Sykes was released as the second single from the album on August 19, 2013, and debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at number 84.
Beth Crowley had also written a song inspired by the book called "Warrior". "All I Need" by Radiohead was the song used in the trailer for the film.
Release A teaser trailer was released in November 2012, and a second trailer was released March 2013. The film was originally due for release on August 23, 2013, but was pushed back two days earlier, on August 21, 2013. The film secured broad European distribution deals at Cannes.
The film premiered on August 12, 2013, at the Cinerama Dome in Hollywood.
Marketing
According to the Los Angeles Times, $60 million was spent on marketing. Kulzer, Constantin's co-president, stated "$60 million has been spent worldwide on prints and advertising...." and went on to explain the importance of managing expectations.
Home media The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones was released on DVD and Blu-ray on December 3, 2013, by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.
Reception Critical response
On the critical response aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a rating of 13% based on 126 reviews, with an average rating of 3.9/10. The site's critics consensus reads: "The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones borrows ingredients from seemingly every fantasy franchise of the last 30 years—but can't seem to figure out what to do with them." Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 33 out of 100 based on 35 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".
The Telegraph's Robbie Collin gave the film one out of five stars, saying, "This gothic teen fantasy is one of the most disastrous page-to-screen adaptations in memory". Collin added "the plot is an incomprehensible tangle of dead ends and recaps, and afterwards you realise only two things have stuck: the story's countless unsubtle borrowings from very recent pop culture... and a brief aside in which we learn one of the earliest demon-hunters was Johann Sebastian Bach." Michael Rechtshaffen from The Hollywood Reporter also gave it a negative review, saying, "Certainly not the first and very unlikely the last studio attempt at launching a Twilight/Hunger Games franchise of their very own, The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones is a bona fide saga all right—just not in a good way" adding "Despite the overstuffed assortment of vampires, werewolves, warlocks and demons of all shapes and sizes, The Mortal Instruments seldom feels like anything more than a shameless, soulless knockoff." New York Daily News also gave it a negative rating of 1 star out of 5; critic Jordan Hoffman wrote, "This one is by far the worst of the Twilight copies. And when that bunch includes The Host and I Am Number Four, that's saying something." Hoffman added, "Despite an avalanche of back story, the film is merely an excuse to hop from one spookily dressed set to another. Alas, the titular City of Bones is more of a basement. Other than a gag about a cache of weapons beneath every church altar, there's hardly a moment of levity or imagination. For a film that is wall-to-wall fantasy, you've seen all of this before, in much better movies."