Poster © Paramount Pictures. Shown at reduced size for review and commentary.
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GenreDrama, Mystery & Sci-Fi
RatedPG-13
Runtime1 hr 56 mins
ReleasedNovember 11, 2016
StreamingSee Where to Watch
DirectorDenis Villeneuve
StarringAmy Adams, Jeremy Renner, Forest Whitaker
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Arrival (2016)
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| Arrival's Details | |
| Genre | Drama, Mystery & Sci-Fi |
| Rated | PG-13 |
| Released | 09/01/2016 (Venice); 11/11/2016 (United States) |
| Streaming | See Where to Watch on this page. |
| Running Time | 1 hr 56 mins |
| Budget | $47M (reported) |
| Box Office | Updated daily from Box Office Mojo. See the numbers below. |
| Based On | "Story of Your Life" by Ted Chiang |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Arrival's Interests | |
| General | Whiteboards, hazmat suits, ink circles, fog, two very large visitors nicknamed Abbott and Costello. |
| Music | Jóhann Jóhannsson. Plus Max Richter's "On the Nature of Daylight," which will wreck you. |
| Movies | Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977). First contact, set to music. |
| Television | Star Trek. Universal translators make it look way too easy. |
| Heroes | Louise Banks. Took a whiteboard into an alien ship. Legend. |
| Arrival's Crew | |
| Director | Denis Villeneuve |
| Writers | Eric Heisserer |
| Producers | Shawn Levy, Dan Levine, Aaron Ryder, David Linde |
| Cinematography | Bradford Young |
| Music | Jóhann Jóhannsson |
| Edited By | Joe Walker |
| Production | FilmNation Entertainment, Lava Bear Films, 21 Laps Entertainment |
| Distributed By | Paramount Pictures (United States, Canada and China), Entertainment One Films (United Kingdom), Roadshow Entertainment (Australia), Sony Pictures Releasing International (via Stage 6 Films) (Certain European and East Asian Territories excluding China) |
Humanity’s big weapon in this alien movie is a whiteboard. Twelve ships show up, the world panics, and the hero’s plan is to hold up a sign that says human and wait. Most blockbusters would be embarrassed. Arrival builds the whole thing on it, and it’s riveting. Amy Adams plays Louise like someone carrying a weight she won’t name, and the moment she pulls off her hazmat suit so the visitors can see her face is the bravest thing anyone does in the film. The problem is everyone else. Jeremy Renner’s physicist is mostly there to be impressed by her, and the subplot with a few hotheaded soldiers feels like a studio note asking for more danger. The gray, foggy look is gorgeous and also a little like watching a movie through a cold window. It made $213.6 million worldwide on a reported $47M. A 9.1 because the ending recolors everything before it, and few movies earn a rewatch that hard. $3,564 says you finish it and immediately replay the first scene in your head with brand new eyes.
What works: Amy Adams’s quiet, aching performance and an alien language that’s genuinely fascinating to watch get cracked.
What doesn’t: Jeremy Renner’s physicist is mostly a cheerleader, and the soldier subplot feels bolted on for danger.
Who it’s for: Sci-fi fans who’d rather think than blast, and anyone who loves a movie that rewards a second watch.
Spoilers
The memories of Louise’s daughter aren’t from the past, they’re from her future, because learning the heptapod language lets her see time all at once. She stops a global war by calling General Shang with words she learns from the future, and chooses to have Hannah with Ian, knowing how it ends.
Twelve giant alien craft show up at once and park themselves over random spots around the planet, just hovering, saying nothing. The U.S. Army knocks on the door of linguist Louise Banks (Amy Adams) and flies her to the one over Montana. Her job: figure out how to talk to the seven-limbed visitors inside, known as heptapods, before the rest of the world loses its nerve. Colonel Weber (Forest Whitaker) wants answers fast. Physicist Ian Donnelly (Jeremy Renner) wants equations. The aliens write in circles of ink. Denis Villeneuve directs. One hundred sixteen minutes, every word counts.
Polyglots and good listeners. Bring a whiteboard.
| Amy Adams | Louise Banks |
| Jeremy Renner | Ian Donnelly |
| Forest Whitaker | Colonel Weber |
| Michael Stuhlbarg | Agent Halpern |
| Mark O'Brien | Captain Marks |
| Tzi Ma | General Shang |
| Julia Scarlett Dan | twelve-year-old Hannah |
- (cur | prev) 14:30, 17 October 2026 DataBot +480 Numbers refreshed: Worldwide box office $213.6M; Domestic box office $100.5M; Opening weekend $24.1M; Profit / loss (est.) +$36.3M; Rotten Tomatoes 94%; CinemaScore B; box office chart updated; RT 94% (439 reviews); Metacritic 81 / 100; CinemaScore B; IMDb users 7.9 / 10 (883,346 votes); movie.guru score 8.0.
- (cur | prev) 12:00, 17 October 2026 DataBot +2,000 Profile created from Wikipedia and Box Office Mojo: cast, crew, release dates, budget, official trailer.