Game Night (2018)

A group of friends who meet regularly for game nights find themselves entangled in a real-life mystery when the shady brother of one of them is seemingly kidnapped by dangerous gangsters.

Directors:

John Francis Daley, Jonathan Goldstein

Writer:

Mark Perez

Stars:

Jason Bateman, Rachel McAdams, Kyle Chandler

1 win & 17 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jason Bateman	...	Max
Rachel McAdams	...	Annie
Kyle Chandler	...	Brooks
Sharon Horgan	...	Sarah
Billy Magnussen	...	Ryan
Lamorne Morris	...	Kevin
Kylie Bunbury	...	Michelle
Jesse Plemons	...	Gary
Michael C. Hall	...	The Bulgarian
Danny Huston	...	Donald Anderton
Chelsea Peretti	...	Glenda
Camille Chen	...	Dr. Chin
Zerrick Williams	...	Val (as Zerrick Deion Williams)
Joshua Mikel	...	Colin
R.F. Daley	...	Tats

Storyline

Six close friends meet each week for a game night involving board games, charades and pop culture trivia quizzes. Being the most competitive of the bunch, Max and his wife Annie, who seem to be a perfect match in every way, usually win every time. However, their marriage is on rocky ground as Annie fears that Max doesn't want to have children. When Max's shady brother Brooks reappears after a long mysterious absence and suggests that they have their next gathering at his place, no one expects that their weekly game night is about to go to the next level as Brooks organizes a full blown murder mystery party complete with actors as criminals and cops for them. However, when Brooks is violently kidnapped in front of everyone, it turns out that the game is all too real. Now, Max, Annie, their womanizing dimwitted friend Ryan, his domineering Irish date Sarah, and their childhood friends Michelle and her husband Kevin, who's obsessed with finding out with which mysterious celebrity ...

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Plot Keywords:

board game | game | kidnapping | black comedy | husband wife relationship | 

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Taglines:

This is not a game.

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Genres:

Action | Comedy | Crime | Mystery

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language, sexual references and some violence

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 February 2018 (USA)

Also Known As:

Game Night

Filming Locations:

Marietta, Georgia

Box Office

Budget:

$37,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$17,005,332, 25 February 2018, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$69,001,013

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$117,201,013

Company Credits

Production Co:

Access Entertainment, Access Industries, Aggregate Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In memory of stuntman John Bernecker, who died in July 2017. John Bernecker also performed stunts on the film Battleship (2012), which starred Jesse Plemons (Gary).

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Goofs

When Max has a discussion with their neighbor, water shower from the lawn sprinkler keeps similar all the time unless the camera angle of view changes, then water shower also changes.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Max: Who cares about winning? Let's get drunk!

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Crazy Credits

The first part of the ending credits were designed in the style of Gary's plan for his own game night.

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Connections

References Braveheart (1995)

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Soundtracks

Semi-Charmed Life
Written by Stephan Jenkins
Performed by Third Eye Blind
Courtesy of Elektra Records
By arrangement with Warner Music Group Film & TV Licensing

User Reviews

More Entertaining Than The Average Board Game

7/10

GAME NIGHT may not be a great film by any stretch of the imagination, but it's definitely a genuine blast and an entertaining ride from beginning to the very end (seriously, stay for the post-credits scene!) The rare major studio comedy that actually feels like a film, rather than a soulless exercise in assembly-line filmmaking, thanks to such creative choices like Cliff Martinez's thumping score and Barry Peterson's cinematography, which not only introduces new locations as if zooming in on a board game piece, but also sports a surprisingly well-executed long take. Lamorne Morris and Billy Magnussen are some of the obvious standouts among the film's enjoyable cast of characters, but Jesse Plemons is the true MVP, stealing every single one of his scenes with ease. The film isn't without its problems, with the convoluted third act jumping the shark almost to the point of parody, and not all of the jokes land (although most do thanks to the cast's great comedic timing), but nonetheless GAME NIGHT makes for a perfectly fun time at the movies.