This is a remake of the French film The Intouchables (2011). In Germany and The Netherlands, it was the most successful French film in history. The same story has also been filmed as the Argentinian film Inseparables (2016).
The real-life relationship between Philippe Pozzo di Borgo and Abdel Sellou was depicted in the documentary A la vie, à la mort (2003).
English version (remake) of same 'based on the truth' 2011 French film The Intouchables (2011): the true story is shown in documentary A la vie, à la mort (2003), in which the real assistant helper was an (non-black) Algerian (refugee, Abdel Sellou): in the French film's end credits, the real Sellou is shown in archive footage.
Nicole Kidman earned a rare feat when two of her films landed first and second place at the box office in the same weekend for The Upside and Aquaman (2018). The second time this occurred was in 2013 with Jessica Chastain for Mama (2013) and Zero Dark Thirty (2012).
Although the film was originally developed/produced by The Weinstein Company, and still credited as such in the version of the film that originally premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2017, the company's and Harvey Weinstein's credits as executive producer do not appear in the theatrical version due to the bankruptcy of the company and the sale of the film to STX Entertainment.