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IMDbPro

The Founder

  • 20162016
  • PG-13PG-13
  • 1h 55m
IMDb RATING
7.2/10
147K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
1,719
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
90 Photos
  • Biography
  • Drama
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
147K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
1,719
280
  • Director
    • John Lee Hancock
  • Writer
    • Robert Siegel
  • Stars
    • Michael Keaton
    • Nick Offerman
    • John Carroll Lynch
Top credits
  • Director
    • John Lee Hancock
  • Writer
    • Robert Siegel
  • Stars
    • Michael Keaton
    • Nick Offerman
    • John Carroll Lynch
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 351User reviews
    • 321Critic reviews
    • 66Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 win & 5 nominations

    Videos8

    New Trailer
    Trailer 1:01
    New Trailer
    Trailer #2
    Trailer 1:03
    Trailer #2
    Trailer #1
    Trailer 2:26
    Trailer #1
    The Founder
    Clip 1:33
    The Founder
    The Founder
    Clip 1:15
    The Founder
    The Founder
    Clip 1:20
    The Founder
    The Founder
    Featurette 3:45
    The Founder
    The Founder
    Featurette 3:27
    The Founder

    Photos90

    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 Krocas Ray Kroc
    Nick Offerman
    Nick Offerman
    • Dick McDonaldas Dick McDonald
    John Carroll Lynch
    John Carroll Lynch
    • Mac McDonaldas Mac McDonald
    Linda Cardellini
    Linda Cardellini
    • Joan Smithas Joan Smith
    B.J. Novak
    B.J. Novak
    • Harry J. Sonnebornas Harry J. Sonneborn
    Laura Dern
    Laura Dern
    • Ethel Krocas Ethel Kroc
    Justin Randell Brooke
    Justin Randell Brooke
    • Fred Turneras Fred Turner
    Kate Kneeland
    Kate Kneeland
    • June Martinoas June Martino
    Patrick Wilson
    Patrick Wilson
    • Rollie Smithas Rollie Smith
    Griff Furst
    Griff Furst
    • Jim Zienas Jim Zien
    Wilbur Fitzgerald
    Wilbur Fitzgerald
    • Jerry Cullenas Jerry Cullen
    David de Vries
    David de Vries
    • Jack Horfordas Jack Horford
    Andrew Benator
    Andrew Benator
    • Leonard Rosenblattas Leonard Rosenblatt
    Cara Mantella
    Cara Mantella
    • Myra Rosenblattas Myra Rosenblatt
    Randall Taylor
    Randall Taylor
    • Owner (Ed's Drive-In)as Owner (Ed's Drive-In)
    Lacey King
    • Car Hop Girl (Ed's Drive-In)as Car Hop Girl (Ed's Drive-In)
    Jeremy Daniel Madden
    • Dennisas Dennis
    • (as Jeremy Madden)
    Rebecca Ray
    Rebecca Ray
    • Car Hop Girl (Joe's Drive-In)as Car Hop Girl (Joe's Drive-In)
    • Director
      • John Lee Hancock
    • Writer
      • Robert Siegel
    • All cast & crew
    • See more cast details 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 reviews351

    Review
    Top review
    7/10
    Kroc took their lunch money
    Greetings again from the darkness. How you define success will likely determine your interpretation of this film that is every bit as much about the humble beginnings and explosive growth of McDonalds as it is a biopic of Ray Kroc, the self-professed "founder" of the golden arches empire. Capitalism and its corresponding businessmen have not typically been favorably portrayed by Hollywood in such films as The Social Network, Wall Street, Glengarry Glen Ross, Steve Jobs and The Wolf of Wall Street. This latest from director John Lee Hancock (Saving Mr. Banks, The Blind Side) and writer Robert Siegel (The Wrestler) is no exception, and it's obvious why.

    It's 1954 when we first catch up with Ray Kroc (as played by Michael Keaton). He's the type of travelling salesman who totes around his latest widget (a multiple milkshake machine), rehearses and polishes his spiel (via extreme close-up), and listens to motivational record albums that preach the importance of persistence, while he stays at roadside motels that act as his home away from home. Kroc doggedly pursues the American dream, and optimistically bounces from one project to another … convinced that he's found "the next big thing".

    When circumstance leads him to a crowded little octagonal burger shop in San Bernardino, Kroc becomes fascinated with its simplicity and success. Over dinner, Dick (Nick Offerman) and Mac (John Carroll Lynch) McDonald detail the Spee-Dee kitchen design and unique focus on quality, consistency and speed that today is considered the starting line of the fast-food industry. The tennis court sequence is especially creative and fun to watch. While the brothers prefer to keep the business small and remain in control, Kroc pitches his vision of franchising … a pitch with emphasis on "Crosses. Flags. Arches".

    The full story is likely one most people don't know … despite the fact that McDonalds now feeds 1% of the world population each day (a statistic posted on screen). The relationship between Kroc and the McDonald brothers was never a smooth one, and it's a perfect example of dog-eat-dog, or unprincipled vs idealistic. Kroc sees himself as a "winner", while it's likely most will view his actions as unscrupulous, even if legal.

    Keaton's performance accurately captures a man who is impatiently ambitious, and whose confidence and ego grow incrementally as it becomes inevitable that the decency of the brothers is actually a weakness in business. Offerman and Lynch are both excellent, and other support work is provided by Laura Dern as Kroc's first and mostly neglected wife who is tossed aside when something better comes along; BJ Novak as Harry J Sonneborn, the key to Kroc's power move; Justin Randell Brooks as Fred Turner and Kate Kneeland as June Martino, two trusted employees; and Patrick Wilson as a key franchisee. Linda Cardellini (Mad Men, Bloodline) plays Joan, Ray's wife (she was actually his third) and business adviser from 1969 until his death in 1984. The film shortchanges her importance – at least until the closing credit recap.

    Bookending that opening extreme close-up sales pitch, is a near-conclusion zoom on Keaton's face as he prepares for an event where he will tell his story … at least his version of the story. The film does a really nice job of capturing the era. Of particular interest is that the cars don't look like they rolled right out of a classic car show, as happens with most movies. It's nice to see some faded paint and a dented fender on screen. The early McDonalds locations are beautifully and realistically replicated to provide a nostalgic look for some, and a first glimpse for others. Carter Burwell's score is complementary to the proceedings, and director Hancock deserves credit for not just making this the Michael Keaton/Ray Kroc show. Rather than serving up a Happy Meal movie, the film instead provides a somewhat toned-down historical view of ambition and drive, and the birth of an empire … one that changed our culture.
    helpful•68
    13
    • ferguson-6
    • Jan 19, 2017

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • January 20, 2017 (United States)
    • Countries of origin
      • United States
      • Greece
    • Official sites
      • Official Facebook
      • Official site
    • Languages
      • English
      • Yiddish
    • Also known as
      • Nhà Sáng Lập
    • 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

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $25,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $12,786,053
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $3,404,102
      • Jan 22, 2017
    • Gross worldwide
      • $24,121,245
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 55 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

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