Knives Out

Knives Out
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Rian Johnson
Written by	Rian Johnson
Produced by	Ram Bergman Rian Johnson
Starring	Daniel Craig Chris Evans Ana de Armas Jamie Lee Curtis Michael Shannon Don Johnson Toni Collette LaKeith Stanfield Katherine Langford Jaeden Martell Christopher Plummer
Cinematography	Steve Yedlin
Edited by	Bob Ducsay
Music by	Nathan Johnson
Production companies	MRC T-Street Productions Ram Bergman Productions
Distributed by	Lionsgate
Release dates	September 7, 2019 (2019-09-07) (TIFF) November 27, 2019 (2019-11-27) (US)
Running time	130 minutes[1]
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$40 million[2]
Box office	$312.9 million[3]

Knives Out is a 2019 American mystery film written and directed by Rian Johnson. The first instalment in the Knives Out film series, it stars Daniel Craig, who leads an eleven-actor ensemble cast, as Benoit Blanc, a 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 pivoted 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. Knives Out was nominated for multiple awards, among them three Golden Globes, a BAFTA, and an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. The success of Knives Out spawned two sequels—Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022) and Wake Up Dead Man, set for release in 2025.