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IMDbPro

The Founder

  • 20162016
  • PG-13PG-13
  • 1h 55m
IMDb RATING
7.2/10
154K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
2,402
280
Michael Keaton in The Founder (2016)
Ray Kroc, a struggling salesman from Illinois, meets Mac and Dick McDonald, co-operators of a burger restaurant in 1950s Southern California.
Play trailer1:01
8 Videos
99+ Photos
BiographyDrama
The story of Ray Kroc, a salesman who turned two brothers' innovative fast food eatery, McDonald's, into the biggest restaurant business in the world, with a combination of ambition, persist... Read allThe story of Ray Kroc, a salesman who turned two brothers' innovative fast food eatery, McDonald's, into the biggest restaurant business in the world, with a combination of ambition, persistence, and ruthlessness.The story of Ray Kroc, a salesman who turned two brothers' innovative fast food eatery, McDonald's, into the biggest restaurant business in the world, with a combination of ambition, persistence, and ruthlessness.
IMDb RATING
7.2/10
154K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
2,402
280
    • John Lee Hancock
    • Robert Siegel
  • Stars
    • Michael Keaton
    • Nick Offerman
    • John Carroll Lynch
    • John Lee Hancock
    • Robert Siegel
  • Stars
    • Michael Keaton
    • Nick Offerman
    • John Carroll Lynch
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 364User reviews
    • 324Critic reviews
    • 66Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards

    Videos8

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    Trailer 1:03
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    Trailer 2:26
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    The Founder
    Clip 1:33
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    The Founder
    Clip 1:15
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    Clip 1:20
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    The Founder
    Featurette 3:45
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    Featurette 3:27
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    Photos104

    Michael Keaton, Wilbur Fitzgerald, and John Lee Hancock in The Founder (2016)
    John Carroll Lynch and Nick Offerman in The Founder (2016)
    Michael Keaton in The Founder (2016)
    Michael Keaton and B.J. Novak in The Founder (2016)
    Laura Dern and Michael Keaton in The Founder (2016)
    Linda Cardellini in The Founder (2016)
    Michael Keaton in The Founder (2016)
    Michael Keaton, Wilbur Fitzgerald, and John Lee Hancock in The Founder (2016)
    Michael Keaton in The Founder (2016)
    Michael Keaton in The Founder (2016)
    Michael Keaton in The Founder (2016)
    Michael Keaton in The Founder (2016)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Michael Keaton
    Michael Keaton
    • Ray Kroc
    Nick Offerman
    Nick Offerman
    • Dick McDonald
    John Carroll Lynch
    John Carroll Lynch
    • Mac McDonald
    Linda Cardellini
    Linda Cardellini
    • Joan Smith
    B.J. Novak
    B.J. Novak
    • Harry J. Sonneborn
    Laura Dern
    Laura Dern
    • Ethel Kroc
    Justin Randell Brooke
    Justin Randell Brooke
    • Fred Turner
    Kate Kneeland
    Kate Kneeland
    • June Martino
    Patrick Wilson
    Patrick Wilson
    • Rollie Smith
    Griff Furst
    Griff Furst
    • Jim Zien
    Wilbur Fitzgerald
    Wilbur Fitzgerald
    • Jerry Cullen
    David de Vries
    David de Vries
    • Jack Horford
    Andrew Benator
    Andrew Benator
    • Leonard Rosenblatt
    Cara Mantella
    Cara Mantella
    • Myra Rosenblatt
    Randall Taylor
    Randall Taylor
    • Owner (Ed's Drive-In)
    Lacey King
    • Car Hop Girl (Ed's Drive-In)
    Jeremy Daniel Madden
    • Dennis
    • (as Jeremy Madden)
    Rebecca Ray
    Rebecca Ray
    • Car Hop Girl (Joe's Drive-In)
      • John Lee Hancock
      • Robert Siegel
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The company Kroc worked for prior to founding McDonald's, Prince Castle, still exists, and supplies McDonald's with much of its equipment.
    • Goofs
      When Ray is looking at the map, he follows his finger along highway 66 and lands on San Bernardino. It shows some surrounding cities, one of which is "Moreno Valley". Moreno Valley didn't become an incorporated city until 1984. In the 1950's that city would have been called "Sunnymead" on a map.
    • Quotes

      Ray Kroc: Now, I know what you're thinkin'. How the heck does a 52-year-old, over-the-hill milkshake-machine salesman... build a fast-food empire with 16,000 restaurants, in 50 states, in 5 foreign countries... with an annual revenue of in the neighborhood of $700,000,000.00... One word... PERSISTENCE. Nothing in this world can take the place of good old persistence. Talent won't. Nothing's more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius won't. Unrecognized genius is practically a cliche. Education won't. Why the world is full of educated fools. Persistence and determination alone are all powerful.

    • Crazy credits
      During the opening/closing credits, the real Ray A Kroc is heard giving an interview about how he came to buy out McDonald's.
    • Connections
      Featured in Conan: Nick Offerman/Johnny Pemberton/Dorothy (2016)
    • Soundtracks
      Mister Tap Toe
      Written by Rich Dehr (as Richard Dehr), Terry Gilkyson, Frank Miller

      Performed by Doris Day with Paul Weston and His Orchestra and The Norman Luboff Choir

      Courtesy of Columbia Records

      By arrangement with Sony Music Licensing

    User reviews364

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    I'm Lovin' It
    A competently crafted, steadily paced & extensively researched biographical drama that's further uplifted by Michael Keaton's fantastic performance, The Founder covers the rags to riches tale of an ambitious salesman who sensed & tapped the potential of a small fast-food diner in California and turned it into one of the largest & most successful restaurant chains in the world with a bit of hustle, persistence & ruthlessness.

    Set in the 1950s, The Founder tells the story of Ray Kroc, a travelling salesman who comes across a small diner operated by two McDonald brothers in San Bernardino, California and is left dazzled by their lightning-fast service, high-quality food & strong work ethic. Wanting to be a part of their business, he joins them as their franchising agent to expand the fast-food chain all over America, and ultimately buys the company from the brothers.

    Directed by John Lee Hancock, The Founder is as much about the cut-throat world of business as it is about the rise of McDonald's, and is told in an intuitive manner that keeps the interest alive at all times. Hancock handles the subject matter with restraint, maintains a firm grip over all aspects, and never deviates from the main premise. Also, the momentum is never lost as it moves from the discovery, creation, operation & expansion of McDonald's to the ultimate swindling.

    The old style McDonald's restaurants depicted in the film are in tune with the timeline this film is set in and the vast countryside shooting locations help in further evoking its 1950s era. The sharp focus & still handling of camera, in addition to its warm colour palette, helps in providing a homely texture to its images. Editing keeps the pace steady and provides a tight & gripping structure to its plot while Carter Burwell's score is ever present in the background and silently performs its duties.

    Coming to the performances, The Founder features a talented cast in Michael Keaton, John Carroll Lynch, Nick Offerman, Linda Cardellini, Patrick Wilson, B.J. Novak & Laura Dern. Leading from the front is Keaton who delivers another strong performance in what's the second coming of his acting career as he brings Kroc to life with flair, passion & panache. Lynch & Offerman are in as McDonald brothers and play their part convincingly, plus the moments between them & Kroc is as amusing as it is riveting.

    On an overall scale, The Founder is a carefully investigated & smartly scripted biopic that's just as informative as it is entertaining and wonderfully illustrates the rise of the man who dared to dream bigger and single-handedly turned a small fast-food restaurant into a billion-dollar conglomerate with his aggressive business practices. It's also commendable for keeping Kroc's personal life out of the main narrative, something most Hollywood biopics are guilty of. A mostly satisfying journey, this story of McDonald's made me go "I'm Lovin' It" more than once over the course of its runtime, and is definitely worth a shot.
    helpful•27
    7
    • CinemaClown
    • Apr 5, 2017

    Details

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    • Release date
      • January 20, 2017 (United States)
      • United States
      • Greece
    • Official sites
      • Official Facebook
      • Official site
      • English
      • Yiddish
    • Also known as
    • Filming locations
      • Coweta County, Georgia Administration Building parking lot, 22 East Broad Street, Newnan, Georgia, USA
    • Production companies
      • The Weinstein Company
      • FilmNation Entertainment
      • Faliro House Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

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    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • 1 hour 55 minutes
      • Color
      • Dolby Digital

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