Knives Out is a 2019 American mystery film written and directed by Rian Johnson. Daniel Craig leads an eleven-actor ensemble cast as Benoit Blanc, famed private detective summoned to investigate the death of bestselling author Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer). Although police rule Harlan's case a suicide, Blanc suspects foul play and examines a host of clues and deceptive red herrings to ascertain his true manner of death. Johnson produced Knives Out with longtime collaborator Ram Bergman. Lionsgate managed the film's commercial distribution, and funding was sourced through MRC and a multimillion-dollar tax subsidy from the Massachusetts state government.
Johnson conceived Knives Out in the mid-2000s. Seeking to modernize the whodunit films of the mid-twentieth century, the director was inspired by his interest in big-screen movie adaptations of Agatha Christie's stories. Johnson then shifted his attention to creation of his 2017 film Star Wars: The Last Jedi, halting further progress on Knives Out. Development resumed the following year when Johnson wrote the screenplay in six or seven months. He devised a framework of tonal shifts to escalate tension between the characters, and informed elements of the story with his experience coping with intense culture war backlash to The Last Jedi. Principal photography began in October 2018 on a $40 million budget and wrapped that December. Shooting took place on location in suburban Boston. Nathan Johnson composed the film's classical score, which drew on an eclectic array of his and Rian's favorite symphonic movie scores. Knives Out has been read as work that investigates class warfare, wealth inequality, immigration, and race in contemporary American society.
Knives Out premiered at the 44th Toronto International Film Festival on September 7, 2019, and was distributed to American theaters on November 27 to major critical and commercial success. It was chosen as one of the year's top films by the National Board of Review and the American Film Institute, and finished the theatrical run grossing $312.9 million at the global box office. Critics distinguished the film's plot and actors for praise, though some aspects of the writing and performance drew criticism. It was nominated for multiple awards, among them three Golden Globes, a British Academy Film Award (BAFTA), and an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. Knives Out is the first entry of what became a franchise that includes two more films—Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022) and Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery (2025).
Plot[]
The family of Harlan Thrombey, a wealthy mystery novelist, attends his 85th birthday party at his Massachusetts mansion. The next morning, Harlan's housekeeper, Fran, discovers him dead with a slit throat. Police detectives Lieutenant Elliot and Trooper Wagner believe Harlan committed suicide, but private detective Benoit Blanc is anonymously hired to investigate. Blanc learns that Harlan had strained relationships with his family members, giving several of them possible motives for murder.
Unknown to Blanc, Harlan's nurse, Marta Cabrera, believes she injected Harlan with a lethal dose of morphine after mixing up his medications the night after the party. Harlan instructed her to create a false alibi and then slit his own throat. Marta cannot lie without vomiting, so she gives accurate but incomplete answers when questioned. She agrees to assist Blanc's investigation and conceals evidence incriminating her. At the reading of Harlan's will, Marta is bequeathed his entire fortune; the Thrombeys are shocked by this. Harlan's grandson Ransom helps Marta escape the family, but coerces her into confessing to him. He offers help in exchange for a portion of Marta's inheritance. Meanwhile, the other Thrombeys try to persuade or threaten Marta into renouncing the inheritance, to no avail.
Marta receives a blackmail note containing a partial photocopy of Harlan's toxicology report. She and Ransom drive to the medical examiner's office to find it burned down. Marta receives an email proposing a rendezvous with the blackmailer. Blanc and the police spot them, and after a brief car chase, Ransom is arrested. At the rendezvous, Marta finds Fran drugged. She performs CPR and calls an ambulance. She confesses to Blanc but discovers that she has already been implicated by Ransom. Out of moral obligation, Marta believes she must confess to the Thrombeys, which would invalidate the bequest under the slayer rule.
Back at the mansion, Marta finds Fran's copy of the full toxicology report, which shows Harlan had only trace amounts of morphine in his blood. Blanc reveals his deductions to the police, Marta, and Ransom: that Harlan had told Ransom about his will, and that Ransom had then swapped Harlan's medicines to ensure that Marta would accidentally kill him and thus be ineligible to claim the inheritance. However, Marta actually gave Harlan the correct medication, recognizing it without reading the label due to her experience as a nurse; she only believed she had poisoned Harlan after reading the label. When the death was reported as a suicide, Ransom anonymously hired Blanc to expose Marta. Fran saw Ransom tampering with the crime scene and sent him the blackmail note. After Ransom realized Marta was not responsible for Harlan's death, but Marta still thought she was, he forwarded the blackmail letter to Marta and burned down the medical examiner's office to destroy evidence of her innocence. He then overdosed Fran with morphine, intending for Marta to get caught with Fran's corpse.
The hospital calls; Marta relays that Fran survived and will implicate Ransom. He scoffs that since his attempt to kill Fran failed, his lawyers will help him escape arson and attempted murder charges. Marta then vomits on him, revealing that she lied: Fran is dead. Realizing he has confessed to the murder, and that the police officers recorded his confession, Ransom attacks Marta with a knife from Harlan's collection, which turns out to be a retractable stage knife. The police promptly arrest him.
Blanc tells Marta he suspected early on that she played a part in Harlan's death, noting a drop of blood on her shoe. He tells her that her innocence prevailed because she made ethical choices all along that obstructed Ransom's attempts to incriminate her. As Ransom is taken into custody, Marta watches from the balcony of what is now her mansion, with the Thrombeys gathered outside.
Cast[]
- Daniel Craig as Benoit Blanc, a private detective
- Chris Evans as Hugh Ransom Drysdale, Linda and Richard's son
- Ana de Armas as Marta Cabrera, Harlan's nurse
- Jamie Lee Curtis as Linda Drysdale, Harlan's eldest daughter
- Michael Shannon as Walt Thrombey, Harlan's youngest son
- Don Johnson as Richard Drysdale, Linda's husband
- Toni Collette as Joni Thrombey, the widow of Harlan's deceased son Neil
- LaKeith Stanfield as Detective Lieutenant Elliott
- Katherine Langford as Meg Thrombey, Joni's daughter
- Jaeden Martell as Jacob Thrombey, Walt's son
- Frank Oz as Alan Stevens, Harlan's counsel
- Riki Lindhome as Donna Thrombey, Walt's wife
- Edi Patterson as Fran, Harlan's housekeeper
- K Callan as Wanetta "Great Nana" Thrombey, Harlan's mother
- Noah Segan as Trooper Wagner, a police officer
- Christopher Plummer as Harlan Thrombey, an 85-year-old best-selling crime novelist.
- M. Emmet Walsh as Mr. Proofroc, a security guard
- Marlene Forte as Mrs. Cabrera, Marta's mother
- Shyrley Rodriguez as Alice Cabrera, Marta's sister
- Kerry Frances as Sally, Alan's assistant
- Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Detective Hardrock (voice cameo)
Themes[]
Knives Out has been read as work that investigates class warfare, wealth inequality, immigration, and race in contemporary American society.[4][5][6] In interviews organized for the press junket, Bergman, Johnson, and some of the actors expressed candid views of themes common in the Knives Out story, allowing multiple interpretations of the film.[7][4][8] Johnson stated the central story neither condemns nor subscribes to a single ideology; rather, it was designed to provoke all moviegoers to contemplate.[4] Moreover, he saw whodunits as well-suited to scrutinize institutional power, a belief influenced by Christie's writings, work he considered indicative of a woman who, while not political, was attuned to British society throughout her life.[9][4]
Class warfare[]
Knives Out ranks with other turn-of-the-decade films—such as Ready or Not, Parasite, Hustlers, and Joker (all 2019)—in which class warfare is the unifying theme.[10][11] The film makes literal class struggle by framing Harlan's death as an explicit tale of good versus evil, Marta emerging as the heroine because of her humanity.[4][10] Whereas Marta is distraught from the moment Harlan dies, the surviving Thrombeys are fractured by greed, fueled by their stakes in Harlan's publishing fortune. They are ruthless and oblivious of Harlan's demise in a quest for wealth they feel entitled to control and seize by any means.[10][12] In this sense, it is the Thrombeys, not the elusive suspect per se, who represent the true villains.[10] Yet, in spite of the family's contempt for her and the working class, Marta resists their coercion thanks to her wit and moral convictions.[10][13] Much emphasis is placed on the alternating points of view of Marta's ordeal to reinforce chasms between the classes.[14] Fast Company's Joe Berkowitz argues this device forms the film's class consciousness.[14]
Professor Eugene Nulman posits a Marxist interpretation of Knives Out. Marta is analyzed as an analog for healthcare workers made vulnerable in the COVID-19 pandemic by the failures of neoliberalism, and Nulman contends that the film presents the Thrombey family dynamic as an allegory for capitalism, each relative embodying bourgeois archetypes: the rentier class in Linda, the investor class in Walt, the celebrity class in Joni, the trust fund elite in Ransom, the right-wing establishment in Jacob, and the liberal establishment in Meg.[15][16] Harlan is the exception because his modest origins, class consciousness, and the family's exploitation of his labor define his circumstance.[16][17] For this reason, in Nulman's interpretation, Harlan's deliberate suicide and transfer of wealth to Marta are subversive acts that, alongside the Thrombeys' vilification of Marta (mirroring the status quo's counterrevolutionary force), suggest credence to the idea that capitalist exploitation can only be addressed by revolution.[15][17]
Race[]
Race was also examined in thematic studies of the film. Knives Out concentrates on a critique of white supremacy and liberal paternalism, comically depicting the Thrombey–Marta relationship through condescending affection and running gags about Marta's country of origin.[4][6] In his essay for White Supremacy and the American Media, professor Michael Blouin contests the film's analysis of white nationalism. Blouin argues that Knives Out resigns to Jeffersonian democratic ideals—liberal universalism, pragmatic reasoning, and an a priori sense of justice—that buttress a set of racialized assumptions. In doing so, in Blouin's words, all expressed antagonism is neutralized, therefore "depoliticizing a crisis that has so far proven to be resistant to the ideal prescribed by many white liberals."[18]
Narrative structure[]
In Knives Out, Johnson experiments with narrative structure to generate suspense. The film begins in a traditional whodunit format that is subverted by two tonal shifts.[19] The first shift arranges the plot as a thriller by establishing Marta's reckoning with the manner of Harlan's death, her own implication, and quest to evade the investigation's purview as a cause of conflict, thus framing Blanc as the antagonist. It is in the second shift that, through plausible deniability, Marta's innocence is unequivocal.[19] This posed a significant writing challenge as Johnson intended not only that Marta be a sympathetic character, but also be perceived as justified in her behavior. He was also keen to portray the extremes to which an innocent person might go when threatened with incarceration.[19]
Release[]
Marketing[]
Knives Out premiered at the 44th Toronto International Film Festival on September 7, 2019, part of the fest's special presentations lineup.[20] The film then headlined the 14th Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas as the closing title, before concluding its North American festival itinerary at the Chicago International Film Festival's Centerpiece showcase.[21][22] In Europe, Knives Out debuted at the 63rd BFI London Film Festival as one of the event's gala entries, held October 2–13, 2019.[23]
Lionsgate supervised the film's advertising campaign. They commenced the promotional cycle in April 2019 with a showcasing preview at CinemaCon, where the first teaser trailer of the film was revealed, followed by another trade show exhibit at CineEurope that June.[24][25] One critical aspect of the marketing campaign was aggressive social media engagement. Early tactics focused on feel-good messaging, the film's campy humor and Thrombey family enterprises—the lattermost featuring Shannon, Collette, and Curtis in character—through video parodies and mock advertisements developed using website building platforms.[26][27] The campaign resumed in the weeks following Knives Out's late November release, when Ransom's off-white knitted Aran sweater went viral, prompting a brief renaming of the film's official Twitter account to "Chris Evans' Sweater Stan Account" as well as a merchandise giveaway to maximize publicity.[28] Ads reportedly intrigued mostly men but showed strong appeal with women of all ages.[29] For licensed artwork, Johnson unveiled a set of colorful, brooding character posters in September 2019, each with the tagline, "Nothing brings a family together like murder."[30] The director additionally recorded interactive audio commentary to entice repeated business.[31]
Knives Out opened to theaters in North America and the United Kingdom on November 27, 2019.[23][32] The film's global rollout expanded to China, France, Australia, Russia, and 49 other overseas territories the second week.[33] Its final market was Japan, released on January 31, 2020.[34] Knives Out was seen by industry professionals as a potential hit based on interest sustained from enthusiastic pre-release reviews, the film's unique self-referentiality, and the ensemble's star power, especially Evans, Craig, and Curtis.[27] The success of the film was considered contingent on its ability to attract a broad audience rather than a niche demographic of adults.[26]
Home media[]
Lionsgate released Knives Out on digital formats on February 7, 2020, and on DVD, Blu-ray and 4K on February 25.[35] Physical copies include deleted scenes; a behind-the-scenes featurette; audio commentary from Johnson, Yedlin, and Noah Segan; an eight-part documentary; advertisements; and previously unaired press interviews.[35] It was the second-best selling DVD and Blu-ray release in its first week of US sales, selling 248,286 copies and earning $4.6 million.[36] By January 2023, the film had sold 1.47 million copies.[37] Knives Out is also available to authenticated Amazon subscribers via the company's Prime Video streaming service.[38]
Reception[]
Box office[]
Knives Out endured at the box office as a film targeting adults, in a theatrical season saturated with family blockbusters such as Frozen II.[39][40] It earned $165.4 million in the United States and Canada (52.8% of its earnings) and $147.5 million overseas (47.2%), for a worldwide total of $312.9 million, making it the 29th-highest-grossing film of 2019.[41] Of this figure, $82 million was estimated to have been yielded by the MRC–Lionsgate partnership in net profit, factoring in marketing, equipment, royalties, interest, and miscellaneous costs.[40] China was the most lucrative overseas market, and positive press buoyed the film's performance in that country.[39] The United Kingdom, Germany, Australia, and France represented some of the film's largest takings.[42]
In the United States, after securing $2 million from advanced screenings, Knives Out received a wide release across 3,391 theaters.[43][44] The film benefitted from a five-day tracking period thanks to the Thanksgiving holiday Thursday. This enhanced the first week sum to $41.7 million, ahead of the three-week old Ford v Ferrari and second to Frozen II, which was in its second weekend.[45] Knives Out's opening gross nearly doubled the prognosticators' pre-release estimates of $22–25 million.[43] CinemaScore polls conducted during opening night revealed the average grade moviegoers gave the film was A− on an A+ to F scale. Screenings attracted mostly men, and approximately 73% were over 25 years of age, 46% over 35, and 63% white.[45] The second weekend saw Knives Out take another $14.2 million from 3,461 theaters, remaining the number two film, and earnings dropped by about 35% the following week.[46][47] In the fourth weekend, the film slipped to the number five position with a gross of $6.5 million, its theater count narrowing to slightly above 2,500, though box office figures improved by 50% for the Christmas holiday week (seventh, with $9.7 million).[48][49] Knives Out remained one of the top ten highest-grossing films for ten weeks, and the theater count stayed above 2,000 at the end of the year.[39][42] By February 2020, the film's domestic gross topped $159 million.[50]
Overseas, Knives Out's overall November 27 week rank was second to Frozen II at $28.3 million.[51] China comprised the largest portion of the earnings with $13.5 million, followed by the United Kingdom ($3.8 million from 632 theaters), Russia ($2 million from 1,451 theaters), Australia ($1.9 million from 282 theaters), and France (third, with $1.5 million from 437 theaters).[51] Knives Out sustained the box office momentum in China and the UK into the second weekend, resulting in a 20% drop in revenue in the latter.[52] After four weeks it had earned $27.9 million in China and $13.7 million in Britain.[53] The film's overseas expansion continued into mid-December, marked by key releases in South Korea (fourth, $1.7 million from 686 cinemas), Italy (third, $1.2 million from 362 cinemas), and Mexico (second, $1.1 million from 871 cinemas).[52] Christmas period saw reinvigorated ticket sales in France, Australia, and Britain, and in Russia, the New Year holiday bolstered the film's box office by 152% over the prior week.[54][53] Knives Out debuted as the top-grossing movie in Brazil when it premiered the weekend of December 12, earning $1.1 million.[55] On its inaugural weekend elsewhere, the film took $2.7 million in Germany and $665,000 in Austria.[54] Within a month, Knives Out's international gross exceeded $100 million.[53]
Critical response[]
Knives Out opened to widely positive reviews, and, by the end of 2019, was considered one of the year's best films by the American Film Institute, National Board of Review, and the mainstream press in ranked lists.[56][57][58] A routinely discussed aspect in the media was the scriptwriting. Knives Out received notice for its unusual plot structure, with reviewers saying the film defied expectations by employing numerous narrative twists and satire of murder mystery tropes.Template:Efn Film critics had high regard for director Rian's comic treatment of a traditional detective story;Template:Efn it was described as "enjoyably, wackily serpentine",[59] with sardonic humor noted for its "sheen of smugness" by The New Yorker.[60] Although comparisons to source material based on tenor, humor, craftmanship, and faithfulness varied among professional opinions,Template:Efn the story's play on perspective among the characters produced favorable responses.Template:Efn According to Stephanie Zacharek for Time, the squabbling between characters who were avaricious, untrustworthy, and ostensibly driven by the same interest, provided the film's most entertaining moments.[59] The writing's political consciousness was cited among the strengths of Knives Out,[61][62][63] although the handling of ideas received occasional disapproval from others, such as The New York Times' Manohla Dargis and Uproxx, for being perceived as too vapid to resonate.[64][65] The least enthusiastic reviews accused the film of being convoluted, self-indulgent, and too reliant on exposition-dense dialogue to advance the story.[64][66][67] In December 2021, Knives Out's screenplay was listed number forty-nine on the Writers Guild of America's "101 Greatest Screenplays of the 21st Century (So Far)".[68]
The actors' performances was another major subject in the critiques. The Knives Out ensemble was warmly received, their work praised as "outstanding" and "wildly charismatic",[69][70] with rapport Vanity Fair ascribed to a shared conviction to the material.[62] Media were somewhat inclined to focus on Daniel Craig and Ana de Armas, but also gave individual notices to Jamie Lee Curtis, Toni Collette, Chris Evans, Don Johnson, Michael Shannon, Christopher Plummer, and Noah Segan for their acting.Template:Efn In particular, critics delighted in Craig's portrayal of an eccentric sleuth in expression and appearance,Template:Efn the actor noted for emanating an "infectious enjoyment" onscreen.[71] De Armas, whose portrayal was described as "superb" and "wonderful",[72][73] drew similarly strong assessments of her character work from the likes of San Francisco Chronicle's Mick LaSalle and The Atlantic, among others, in what was considered a breakout performance.[69][62][74] Though the two actors were singled out for further praise because of their onscreen chemistry in conversational scenes,[63][72] neither they nor their costars were free of criticism. Dissenting opinions judged Craig's Southern accent harshly,[64][75][76] and Uproxx believed de Armas, as a lesser skilled actor, was at odds with the dramatic depth of her role.[64] A few actors were regarded as underused because of the ensemble's large size, which Uproxx argued reduced their interactions to a "constant, white noise-esque drone of overacting".[64][70][72]
On the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, Knives Out holds an approval rating of Script error: No such module "Rotten Tomatoes data". based on Script error: No such module "Rotten Tomatoes data". reviews, with an average rating of Script error: No such module "Rotten Tomatoes data".. The website's critics' consensus reads: "Knives Out sharpens old murder-mystery tropes with a keenly assembled suspense outing that makes brilliant use of writer-director Rian Johnson's stellar ensemble."[77] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 82 out of 100, based on reviews from 52 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[78]
Accolades[]
Award | Date of ceremony | Category | Recipient(s) | Result | Template:Refh |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
AACTA International Awards | January 3, 2020 | Best International Supporting Actress | Toni Collette | Nominated | [79] |
Academy Awards | February 9, 2020 | Best Original Screenplay | Rian Johnson | Nominated | [80] |
Actors and Actresses Union Awards | March 9, 2020 | Best Actress in an International Production | Ana de Armas | Won | [81] |
Alliance of Women Film Journalists Awards | January 10, 2020 | Best Screenplay, Original | Rian Johnson | Nominated | [82] |
American Cinema Editors Awards | January 17, 2020 | Best Edited Feature Film – Comedy or Musical | Bob Ducsay | Nominated | [83][84] |
American Film Institute Awards | January 3, 2020 | Top Ten Films of the Year | Knives Out | WonTemplate:Efn | [57] |
Art Directors Guild Awards | February 1, 2020 | Best Contemporary Film | David Crank | Nominated | [85] |
Artios Awards | January 30, 2020 | Feature Big Budget – Comedy | Mary Vernieu, Angela Peri, and Brett Howe | Won | [86] |
Austin Film Critics Association Awards | January 7, 2020 | Best Original Screenplay | Rian Johnson | Nominated | [87][88] |
Best Ensemble | Knives Out | Won | |||
British Academy Film Awards | February 2, 2020 | Best Original Screenplay | Rian Johnson | Nominated | [89] |
Chicago Film Critics Association Awards | December 14, 2019 | Best Original Screenplay | Rian Johnson | Nominated | [90][91] |
Best Art Direction | Knives Out | Nominated | |||
Costume Designers Guild Awards | January 28, 2020 | Excellence in Contemporary Film | Jenny Eagan | Won | [92] |
Critics' Choice Movie Awards | January 12, 2020 | Best Acting Ensemble | Knives Out | Nominated | [93] |
Best Original Screenplay | Rian Johnson | Nominated | |||
Best Comedy | Knives Out | Nominated | |||
Detroit Film Critics Society Awards | December 9, 2019 | Best Breakthrough Performance | Ana de Armas | Nominated | [94] |
Dorian Awards | January 8, 2020 | Screenplay of the Year | Rian Johnson | Nominated | [95] |
Campy Film of the Year | Knives Out | Nominated | |||
Georgia Film Critics Association Awards | January 10, 2020 | Best Original Screenplay | Rian Johnson | Nominated | [82] |
Golden Globe Awards | January 5, 2020 | Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy | Knives Out | Nominated | [96] |
Best Actor – Musical or Comedy | Daniel Craig | Nominated | |||
Best Actress – Musical or Comedy | Ana de Armas | Nominated | |||
Golden Trailer Awards | July 22, 2021 | Most Original TV Spot (for a Feature Film) | "Knives Out Knives" (Viacom Velocity) | Nominated | [97] |
Best Viral Campaign for a Feature Film | "Knives Out Knives" (Viacom Velocity) | Nominated | |||
"Sweater" (ZEALOT) | Nominated | ||||
Hollywood Critics Association Awards | January 9, 2020 | Best Cast | Knives Out | Won | [82] |
Best Original Screenplay | Rian Johnson | Nominated | |||
Houston Film Critics Society Awards | January 2, 2020 | Best Picture | Knives Out | Nominated | [98][99] |
Best Screenplay | Rian Johnson | Won | |||
Imagen Awards | September 24, 2020 | Best Actress – Feature Film | Ana de Armas | Nominated | [100] |
London Film Critics' Circle Awards | January 30, 2020 | Film of the Year | Knives Out | Nominated | [101][102] |
National Board of Review Awards | January 8, 2020 | Top Ten Films | Knives Out | WonTemplate:Efn | [56] |
Best Ensemble | Knives Out | Won | |||
New York Film Critics Online Awards | December 7, 2019 | Best Ensemble Cast | Mary Vernieu | Won | [103] |
Online Film Critics Society Awards | January 6, 2020 | Best Picture | Knives Out | Nominated | [104] |
Best Original Screenplay | Rian Johnson | Nominated | |||
Best Acting Ensemble | Knives Out | Won | |||
Producers Guild of America Awards | January 18, 2020 | Best Theatrical Motion Picture | Rian Johnson and Ram Bergman | Nominated | [105] |
San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle Awards | December 16, 2019 | Best Original Screenplay | Rian Johnson | Nominated | [82] |
Satellite Awards | December 19, 2019 | Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy | Knives Out | Nominated | [106] |
Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy | Daniel Craig | Nominated | |||
Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy | Ana de Armas | Nominated | |||
Best Cast – Motion Picture | Knives Out | Won | |||
Saturn Awards | October 26, 2021 | Best Thriller Film | Knives Out | Won | [107][108] |
Best Actor | Daniel Craig | Nominated | |||
Best Supporting Actor | Chris Evans | Nominated | |||
Best Supporting Actress | Ana de Armas | Won | |||
Jamie Lee Curtis | Nominated | ||||
Best Editing | Bob Ducsay | Won | |||
Best Music | Nathan Johnson | Nominated | |||
Seattle Film Critics Society Awards | December 16, 2019 | Best Ensemble Cast | Knives Out | Nominated | [82] |
Best Screenplay | Rian Johnson | Nominated | |||
St. Louis Film Critics Association Awards | December 15, 2019 | Best Comedy | Knives Out | Nominated | [109] |
Writers Guild of America Awards | February 1, 2020 | Best Original Screenplay | Rian Johnson | Nominated | [110] |
Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Awards | December 8, 2019 | Best Original Screenplay | Rian Johnson | Nominated | [82] |
Best Ensemble | Knives Out | Won |
Sequels[]
Johnson was germinating ideas for a Knives Out sequel while the original film was still in theaters in 2019.[111][112] Lionsgate announced plans to develop the sequel in February 2020, but in March 2021, Netflix actually acquired the rights for two sequels for $469 million.[113][114] Although the terms of Lionsgate's distribution agreement gave the company bargaining leverage, Johnson and Bergman owned the film's intellectual property and pursued a new distribution deal in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, which severely hampered the immediate profit making viability of theaters.[115][116] Knives Out was followed by Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, released on Netflix on December 23, 2022 after a controversial one week platform theatrical rollout the previous November.[117] In the film, Blanc journeys to tech magnate Miles Bron's (Edward Norton) murder mystery-themed retreat to mingle with his circle of friends, but the event goes awry when two partygoers die under suspicious circumstances.[118] Glass Onion fared well in reviews by the media.[119]
A third film has been in development since 2023.[120] That October, Johnson talked about it in TheWrap: "I obviously couldn't work during the Writers Guild of America strike, and now that it's over, I'm diving in full force, and so it's coming along. I've got the premise, I've got the setting, I've got what the movie is in my head. It's just a matter of writing the damn thing".[121] The film, titled Wake Up Dead Man, is scheduled for release in 2025.[122]
External links[]
Knives Out at IMDb
- Template:First word Knives Out at AllMovieScript error: No such module "EditAtWikidata".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
- Knives Out at the TCM Movie Database
Knives Out at Rotten Tomatoes
- Template:Netflix title
References[]
- ↑ Knives Out.
- ↑ Roxborough, Scott (September 7, 2019). 'Knives Out' Director Rian Johnson on Shifting From 'Star Wars' to Agatha Christie-Style Whodunnit.
- ↑ Knives Out. IMDb.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 Chow, Andrew. "Inside the Creation of Knives Out, One of the Most Unexpectedly Subversive Films of the Year". Time. Archived from the original on December 1, 2019. Retrieved February 25, 2020.
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>
tag; no text was provided for refs nameduproxxreview
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Giorgis, Hannah (November 29, 2019). The Unlikely Hero of Rian Johnson's Knives Out.
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>
tag; no text was provided for refs namedvogue1
- ↑ Simon, Scott (November 30, 2019). Daniel Craig: 'Knives Out' Aims To Be One Of Those 'Grand Pieces Of Entertainment'.
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>
tag; no text was provided for refs namedgq
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 Willmore, Alison (November 26, 2019). Class Warfare Is All the Rage at the Movies.
- ↑ Rottenberg, Josh (October 7, 2019). From 'Knives Out' to 'Parasite': Why movies are tackling income inequality and class warfare.
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>
tag; no text was provided for refs namedvulturereview
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>
tag; no text was provided for refs namedslatereview
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Berkowitz, Joe (November 27, 2019). 'Knives Out' caps off a year full of genre movies about class struggle.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 Template:Harvnb
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 Template:Harvnb
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 Template:Harvnb
- ↑ Template:Harvnb
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 O'Falt, Chris (December 5, 2019). 'Knives Out': Rian Johnson Explains How He Built a Modern Murder Mystery (Spoilers).
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>
tag; no text was provided for refs namedthrreview
- ↑ Zilko, Christian (August 20, 2019). Fantastic Fest Announces Second Wave of Lineup, Rian Johnson's 'Knives Out' to Close Festival.
- ↑ Sobczynski, Peter (October 16, 2019). CIFF 2019: Preview of the 55th Chicago International Film Festival.
- ↑ 23.0 23.1 Wiseman, Andreas. "Rian Johnson's 'Knives Out' To Get European Premiere At London Film Festival", Deadline Hollywood, August 19, 2019.
- ↑ Couch, Aaron (April 4, 2019). Rian Johnson Unveils First 'Knives Out' Plot Details at CinemaCon.
- ↑ Tartaglione, Nancy. "Warner Bros Teases 'Joker', 'Birds Of Prey', 'Godzilla Vs Kong'; Studiocanal Goes 'Radioactive' – CineEurope", Deadline Hollywood, June 17, 2019.
- ↑ 26.0 26.1 D’Alessandro, Anthony. "'Knives Out' To Beat 'Once Upon A Time In Hollywood' Domestic B.O.: How Rian Johnson & Ram Bergman Hatched A Potential Franchise With $238M+ WW Hit", Deadline Hollywood, January 4, 2020.
- ↑ 27.0 27.1 D’Alessandro, Anthony. "'Frozen 2' Hooks $126M+ Holiday Record, 'Knives Out' A $42M Win For Original Pics, 2019 YTD Crosses $10B+: Thanksgiving B.O.", Deadline Hollywood, December 1, 2019.
- ↑ Syme, Rachel (December 18, 2019). "The Curious Case of Chris Evans's Sweater in "Knives Out"". The New Yorker. Archived from the original on May 10, 2023. Retrieved August 26, 2023.
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>
tag; no text was provided for refs namedestimates
- ↑ Trumbore, Dave (September 16, 2019). Rian Johnson Reveals the Cast of 'Knives Out' in Colorful New Character Posters (in en-US).
- ↑ Gemmill, Allie (December 21, 2019). Rian Johnson Reveals How to Listen to 'Knives Out' Audio Commentary in Theaters (in en-US).
- ↑ Fleming, Mike Jr. (December 13, 2018). Thanksgiving 2019: Lionsgate To Release MRC's Rian Johnson Murder Mystery 'Knives Out' With Daniel Craig & Killer Cast.
- ↑ Tartaglione, Nancy. "'Frozen 2' An Ice Machine With $739M Global As Elsa Continues Reign – International Box Office", Deadline Hollywood, December 1, 2019.
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>
tag; no text was provided for refs namedgerm
- ↑ 35.0 35.1 Squires, John (January 21, 2020). Rian Johnson's Knives Out Brings Murder and Mystery into Your Home This February.
- ↑ United States Combined DVD and Blu-ray Sales Chart for Week Ending March 1, 2020 (March 1, 2020).
- ↑ Knives Out. Nash Information Services, LLC.
- ↑ Crow, David (May 21, 2020). Knives Out Goes to Streaming on Amazon Prime in June.
- ↑ 39.0 39.1 39.2 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>
tag; no text was provided for refs nameddeadline2382
- ↑ 40.0 40.1 D'Alessandro, Anthony (April 15, 2020). 'Knives Out' Carves Out No. 18 On Deadline's 2019 Most Valuable Blockbuster Tournament.
- ↑ 2019 Worldwide Box Office. IMDb.
- ↑ 42.0 42.1 Rubin, Rebecca (February 11, 2020). Box Office: 'Knives Out' Carves Out $300 Million Worldwide (in en-US).
- ↑ 43.0 43.1 D'Alessandro, Anthony (November 7, 2019). 'Knives Out' Looks To Carve Out $22M-$25M Over 5-Day Thanksgiving Stretch.
- ↑ D'Alessandro, Anthony (November 24, 2019). 'Frozen 2' Thaws Frigid B.O. Marketplace With $130M+, Smashing November Animated Pic Opening Records.
- ↑ 45.0 45.1 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>
tag; no text was provided for refs nameddeadline422
- ↑ D'Alessandro, Anthony (December 8, 2019). 'Frozen 2' Leads Dreary December Weekend With $34M+, 'Playmobil' Plunges To $670K – Sunday Update.
- ↑ D'Alessandro, Anthony (December 15, 2019). How Sony Took 'Jumanji' To 'The Next Level' With A $60M+ Opening; 'Richard Jewell' & 'Black Christmas' Earn Lumps Of Coal.
- ↑ D'Alessandro, Anthony (December 22, 2019). 'Star Wars: Rise Of Skywalker' Lowers Lightsaber To $179M+, But Still 3rd Best December Opening; 'Cats' Oh Drat $6.5M, 'Bombshell' $5.1M – Sunday AM Early Update.
- ↑ D'Alessandro, Anthony (December 28, 2019). 'Star Wars: Rise Of Skywalker' Chasing 'Last Jedi' With $76M 2nd Weekend; 'Little Women' Not So Tiny With $29M 5-Day.
- ↑ D'Alessandro, Anthony (February 11, 2020). 'Knives Out' Tops $300M Worldwide As Moviegoers Keep Flinging Dollars At Rian Johnson Whodunit.
- ↑ 51.0 51.1 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>
tag; no text was provided for refs nameddeadline482
- ↑ 52.0 52.1 Tartaglione, Nancy (December 8, 2019). 'Jumanji: The Next Level' Notches $53M In Early Offshore Bow; Many Markets Up, But China Not Game; 'Frozen 2' Plows To $920M WW – International Box Office.
- ↑ 53.0 53.1 53.2 Tartaglione, Nancy (December 29, 2019). 'Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker' Climbs To $725M Global; 'Jumanji: The Next Level' Rocks Towards $500M WW – International Box Office.
- ↑ 54.0 54.1 Tartaglione, Nancy (January 5, 2020). 'Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker' Elevates To $919M Global; 'Jumanji' Swings Past $600M WW – International Box Office.
- ↑ Tartaglione, Nancy (December 15, 2019). 'Jumanji: The Next Level' Steps It Up To $213M Worldwide – International Box Office.
- ↑ 56.0 56.1 Lewis, Hilary (December 3, 2019). The Irishman Named Best Film by National Board of Review.
- ↑ 57.0 57.1 Nordyke, Kimberly (December 4, 2019). AFI Reveals 2019 Award Winners for Film and Television.
- ↑ Dietz, Jason. "Best of 2019: Film Critic Top Ten Lists", December 5, 2019.
- ↑ 59.0 59.1 Zacharek, Stephanie (November 26, 2019). "Knives Out Is a Delightful Whodunit Attuned to the Worries of the Modern World". Time. Archived from the original on August 5, 2023. Retrieved September 1, 2023.
- ↑ Lane, Anthony (November 22, 2019). "Pastiche and Politics in "Knives Out"". The New Yorker. Archived from the original on January 29, 2023. Retrieved September 1, 2023.
- ↑ Dowd, A.A (September 8, 2019). Rian Johnson Chases Star Wars with the Ingenious, Madly Entertaining Murder Mystery Knives Out.
- ↑ 62.0 62.1 62.2 Lawson, Richard (September 8, 2019). Knives Out Review: A Blissfully Fun Whodunnit, with a Dash of Politics.
- ↑ 63.0 63.1 Ehrlich, David (September 7, 2019). Knives Out Review: Rian Johnson's Hugely Entertaining Whodunnit Offers Sharp Takedown of White Entitlement.
- ↑ 64.0 64.1 64.2 64.3 64.4 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>
tag; no text was provided for refs nameduproxxreview2
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>
tag; no text was provided for refs namednytreview
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>
tag; no text was provided for refs namedvulturereview2
- ↑ Rothkopf, Joshua (November 25, 2019). Knives Out. Time Out.
- ↑ Pedersen, Erik (December 6, 2021). 101 Greatest Screenplays Of The 21st Century: Horror Pic Tops Writers Guild's List.
- ↑ 69.0 69.1 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>
tag; no text was provided for refs namedsfrev
- ↑ 70.0 70.1 Tallerico, Brian (November 25, 2019). Knives Out.
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>
tag; no text was provided for refs namedthrreview2
- ↑ 72.0 72.1 72.2 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>
tag; no text was provided for refs namedempirereview
- ↑ Zacharek, Stephanie (November 25, 2019). "The 10 Best Movies of 2019". Time. Archived from the original on November 25, 2019. Retrieved December 3, 2019.
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>
tag; no text was provided for refs namedatlanticreview
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>
tag; no text was provided for refs namedvarietyreview
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>
tag; no text was provided for refs namedwrapreview
- ↑ Template:Cite Rotten Tomatoes
- ↑ Template:Cite Metacritic
- ↑ Jackson, Angelique (January 3, 2020). Parasite Named Best Film at Australia's 2020 AACTA International Awards.
- ↑ Oscars: The Complete Winners List (February 9, 2020).
- ↑ Los repartos de Dolor y gloria y Estoy vivo triunfan en los 29º Premios de la Unión de Actores y Actrices (in es) (March 10, 2020).
- ↑ 82.0 82.1 82.2 82.3 82.4 82.5 Dietz, Jason (December 3, 2019). Best of 2019: Film Awards & Nominations Scorecard.
- ↑ McNary, Dave (December 11, 2019). Joker, Irishman, Parasite Receive ACE Eddie Awards Nominations.
- ↑ Giardina, Carolyn (January 17, 2020). Parasite, Jojo Rabbit Top American Cinema Editors' Eddie Awards.
- ↑ Giardina, Carolyn (February 1, 2019). Parasite, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood Win Art Directors Guild Awards.
- ↑ Schaffstall, Katherine (January 2, 2020). Artios Awards: 'Hustlers,' 'Knives Out,' 'Rocketman' Among Casting Society Film Nominees.
- ↑ Whittaker, Richard (January 3, 2020). Austin Film Critics Association Announces 2019 Award Finalists.
- ↑ Whittaker, Richard (January 7, 2020). Austin Film Critics Association Announces 2019 Awards.
- ↑ BAFTA Film Awards 2020: Full Winners List (February 2, 2020).
- ↑ Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood Leads Chicago Critics Nominations (December 12, 2019).
- ↑ Bennett, Anita (December 14, 2019). Chicago Film Critics Give Best Picture To Parasite And Best Director To Bong Joon Ho.
- ↑ Schmidt, Ingrid (January 28, 2020). Knives Out, Jojo Rabbit Take Home Honors at Costume Designers Guild Awards.
- ↑ Critics' Choice Awards: Once Upon a Time in Hollywood Named Best Picture; Full Winners List (January 12, 2020).
- ↑ Marini, Miriam (December 9, 2019). Detroit Film Critics Society announces 2019 winners.
- ↑ Beresford, Trilby (January 3, 2020). Parasite, Portrait of a Lady on Fire, Pain and Glory Lead Dorian Award Nominations.
- ↑ Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy - Golden Globes: Full List of Nominations (December 9, 2019).
- ↑ Golden Trailer Awards: A Quiet Place: Part II, Black Widow Among Winners (July 22, 2021).
- ↑ Haar, Pete Vonder (December 20, 2019). It's Hooray For Hollywood (and Marriage) As The Houston Film Critics Society Announces Its 2019 Nominees.
- ↑ Darling, Cary (January 3, 2020). Houston critics name Parasite best film.
- ↑ Lewis, Hilary (September 24, 2020). Dora and the Lost City of Gold Tops Imagen Awards.
- ↑ Grater, Tom (December 17, 2019). The Souvenir, The Irishman, 1917 Lead London Critics' Circle Film Award Nominees.
- ↑ Lodge, Guy (January 30, 2020). Parasite Tops London Film Critics' Circle Awards.
- ↑ Beresford, Trilby (December 7, 2019). Parasite Voted Best Picture by New York Film Critics Online.
- ↑ Anderson, Erik (January 6, 2020). Online Film Critics Society (OFCS): Parasite dominates with six wins.
- ↑ Vary, Adam B. (January 18, 2020). PGA Awards Winners: Complete List.
- ↑ 2019. International Press Academy.
- ↑ Hipes, Patrick (March 4, 2021). Saturn Awards Nominations: Star Wars: Rise Of Skywalker, Tenet, Walking Dead, Outlander Lead List.
- ↑ Tartaglione, Nancy (October 27, 2021). Saturn Awards Winners: Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker Leads With Five Prizes – Full List.
- ↑ 2019 StLFCA Annual Award Nominees. St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association (December 15, 2019).
- ↑ WGA Awards: Parasite and Jojo Rabbit Among Film Winners (February 1, 2020).
- ↑ Haylock, Zoe (January 5, 2020). Daniel Craig Will Be Back on the Case in Knives Out Sequel.
- ↑ 'Knives Out' Sequel in the Works, Story to Center on Daniel Craig's Detective Character (January 5, 2020).
- ↑ Hipes, Patrick (February 6, 2020). 'Knives Out' Sequel Officially a Go as Lionsgate Hints at Franchise.
- ↑ Kit, Borys (April 6, 2021). 'Knives Out' Sequels: The Whodunit Behind Netflix's $469M Power Play.
- ↑ Netflix Buys 'Knives Out' Sequels for $450 Million (March 31, 2021).
- ↑ 'Knives Out' Sequels Land at Netflix (March 31, 2021).
- ↑ Adams, Sam (November 28, 2022). The New Knives Out Is a Big Hit. So Why Is Netflix Pulling It From Theaters?.
- ↑ Bradshaw, Peter (November 23, 2022). Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery review – Daniel Craig's drawling detective is back. The Guardian.
- ↑ "Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (Critic Reviews)".
- ↑ Laffley, Tomris (January 9, 2023). Rian Johnson Talks Agatha Christie Inspiration, 'Knives Out 3′ Plans and Screenwriting Success.
- ↑ Lu, Garry (2023-10-17). Netflix's 'Knives Out 3' Is "Coming Along," Say Director Rian Johnson.
- ↑ 'Knives Out 3' Title Revealed as 'Wake Up Dead Man'; Rian Johnson Confirms 2025 Release. Penske Media Corporation (24 May 2024).