Poster © Warner Bros. Pictures. Shown at reduced size for review and commentary.
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GenreComedy & Crime
RatedR
Runtime1 hr 38 mins
ReleasedJuly 8, 2011
StreamingSee Where to Watch
DirectorSeth Gordon
StarringJason Bateman, Charlie Day, Jason Sudeikis
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Horrible Bosses (2011)
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| Horrible Bosses's Details | |
| Genre | Comedy & Crime |
| Rated | R |
| Released | 06/30/2011 (Grauman's Chinese Theatre); 07/08/2011 (United States) |
| Streaming | See Where to Watch on this page. |
| Running Time | 1 hr 38 mins |
| Budget | $35–37M (reported) |
| Box Office | Updated daily from Box Office Mojo. See the numbers below. |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Horrible Bosses's Interests | |
| General | Office cubicles, dental chairs, chemical plants, chatty car GPS systems, bad disguises, worse plans. |
| Music | Christopher Lennertz, keeping things bouncy while everything goes sideways. |
| Movies | Office Space (1999). The original revenge-on-your-boss comedy, stapler included. |
| Television | It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Charlie Day in his natural habitat. |
| Heroes | Dale. Engaged, sweet, and somehow the loudest guy in every room. |
| Horrible Bosses's Crew | |
| Director | Seth Gordon |
| Writers | Michael Markowitz, John Francis Daley, Jonathan Goldstein, Michael Markowitz (story) |
| Producers | Brett Ratner, Jay Stern |
| Cinematography | David Hennings |
| Music | Christopher Lennertz |
| Edited By | Peter Teschner |
| Production | New Line Cinema, Rat Entertainment |
| Distributed By | Warner Bros. Pictures |
Three grown men plan to take out their bosses with the planning skills of guys who can’t agree on where to get lunch, and the movie never decides if that’s the joke or the plot. It’s both, and it’s thin. What saves it is the cast. Jason Bateman does his dry, dead-eyed thing, the face of a man reading a reply-all chain. Charlie Day yells every line at a pitch only dogs and HR can hear, and it works every single time. Colin Farrell shows up in a comb-over so committed it deserves its own trailer. Kevin Spacey’s Harken is a smirking corporate nightmare, and Jennifer Aniston plays wildly against type as the reason workplace training videos exist. It made $209.8 million worldwide on a reported $35 to 37 million budget, so a lot of people needed this. A 6.1 because the bosses are funnier than the plan, and the plan is the whole movie. $58.76 says you do Charlie Day’s panic voice in your next team meeting and then have to explain it.
What works: Charlie Day’s full-volume panic, Bateman’s deadpan, and a lineup of bosses who all fully commit to being awful.
What doesn’t: The actual plot is a loose string of sketches, and the third act runs on coincidences instead of jokes.
Who it’s for: Anyone who has ever stared at a calendar invite from their manager and felt their soul quietly leave.
Spoilers
Harken ends up doing the deed himself, taking out Pellit and trying to pin it on Nick. The car’s navigation service operator was on the line the whole time and recorded his confession, so Harken goes to prison and the three guys walk.
Nick (Jason Bateman), Dale (Charlie Day) and Kurt (Jason Sudeikis) are three buddies with three nightmare bosses. Nick's boss Dave Harken (Kevin Spacey) dangles a promotion for months, then gives it to himself. Dale works for a dentist, Dr. Julia Harris (Jennifer Aniston), who will not stop harassing him. Kurt actually liked his job, until the company landed in the hands of the founder's useless son, Bobby Pellit (Colin Farrell). Over drinks, the guys agree life would be better with their bosses out of the picture, and go looking for a so-called consultant named Dean Jones (Jamie Foxx). Seth Gordon directs. Ninety-eight minutes, three amateurs, zero plan.
Anyone who has stared at an email from their boss for ten straight minutes. Vent to a friend instead.
| Jason Bateman | Nick Hendricks |
| Charlie Day | Dale Arbus |
| Jason Sudeikis | Kurt Buckman |
| Jennifer Aniston | Dr. Julia Harris |
| Colin Farrell | Bobby Pellit |
| Kevin Spacey | Dave Harken |
| Donald Sutherland | Jack Pellit |
| Jamie Foxx | Dean Jones |
| Julie Bowen | Rhonda |
| P. J. Byrne | Kenny Sommerfeld |
| Wendell Pierce and Ron White | Detectives Hagan and Samson |
| Lindsay Sloane | Dale's fiancée Stacy |
- (cur | prev) 14:30, 17 October 2026 DataBot +480 Numbers refreshed: Worldwide box office $209.8M; Domestic box office $117.5M; Opening weekend $28.3M; Profit / loss (est.) +$50.9M; Rotten Tomatoes 69%; CinemaScore B+; box office chart updated; Rotten Tomatoes critics 69% (220 reviews); Metacritic 57 / 100; CinemaScore B+; IMDb users 6.9 / 10 (492,714 votes); movie.guru score 5.6.
- (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.