Poster © Universal Pictures. Shown at reduced size for review and commentary.
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GenreDrama, Fantasy & Romance
RatedPG-13
Runtime2 hr 58 mins
ReleasedNovember 13, 1998
StreamingSee Where to Watch
DirectorMartin Brest
StarringBrad Pitt, Anthony Hopkins, Claire Forlani
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Meet Joe Black (1998)
| ▶Stream It | ★The Numbers |
| 🎫Get Tickets | ✎Edit History |
| iIMDb Profile | %Rotten Tomatoes |
| WWikipedia | LLetterboxd |
| TTMDB | +Add to Top 8 |
| Meet Joe Black's Details | |
| Genre | Drama, Fantasy & Romance |
| Rated | PG-13 |
| Released | 11/08/1998 (Tokyo International Film Festival); 11/13/1998 (United States) |
| Streaming | See Where to Watch on this page. |
| Running Time | 2 hr 58 mins |
| Budget | $90M (reported) |
| Box Office | Updated daily from Box Office Mojo. See the numbers below. |
| Based On | Death Takes a Holiday by Maxwell Anderson Gladys Lehman Death Takes a Holiday by Walter Ferris La morte in vacanza by Alberto Casella |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Meet Joe Black's Interests | |
| General | Peanut butter, boardroom showdowns, mansion birthday parties, long meaningful stares, borrowed time. |
| Music | Thomas Newman. Soft, aching piano that makes three hours feel like one slow dance. |
| Movies | Death Takes a Holiday (1934). The original visit, way less peanut butter. |
| Television | Dead Like Me. Another show where the afterlife keeps office hours. |
| Heroes | Bill Parrish. Handles a visit from Death with better manners than most of us handle email. |
| Meet Joe Black's Crew | |
| Director | Martin Brest |
| Writers | Bo Goldman, Kevin Wade, Ron Osborn, Jeff Reno |
| Producers | Martin Brest |
| Cinematography | Emmanuel Lubezki |
| Music | Thomas Newman |
| Edited By | Joe Hutshing, Michael Tronick |
| Production | City Light Films |
| Distributed By | Universal Pictures |
Death finally takes a human body, and the first thing he falls for is a spoonful of peanut butter. That sums up the whole thing: gorgeous, slow and a little silly. Brad Pitt plays Joe like a curious alien at a dinner party, all long stares and short answers, and it works in the coffee shop opening, where he’s just a regular guy flirting with Claire Forlani. After that he mostly stands in doorways. Anthony Hopkins is the reason to stay. His Bill Parrish is a rich man making peace with the end, and every scene with his daughters lands. The boardroom subplot, with Jake Weber’s slippery Drew plotting to grab the company, is pure filler. At 178 minutes, the pauses between lines could hold their own movie. It made $142.9 million worldwide on a reported $90M. A 5.7 because Hopkins brings real weight and the romance is paid by the pause. $1,964 says you sneak a spoonful of peanut butter tonight and savor it like you’ve never had one before.
What works: Anthony Hopkins gives a moving performance as a powerful man saying goodbye, and the coffee shop opening is genuinely charming.
What doesn’t: At 178 minutes it crawls, and the corporate takeover subplot steals screen time from the only story anyone cares about.
Who it’s for: Romantics who like their love stories slow, glossy and a little bit spooky.
Spoilers
Bill uses Joe’s help to beat Drew’s takeover, then walks off with Joe toward the edge of his birthday party as the fireworks go up. Joe returns the young man from the coffee shop to Susan, who has no memory of anything, and the movie leaves it open how much she understands.
Bill Parrish (Anthony Hopkins) is a media tycoon with a big birthday coming up, a picture-perfect family, and a voice in his head that keeps getting louder. The voice belongs to Death (Brad Pitt), who shows up wearing the face of a charming stranger Bill's daughter Susan (Claire Forlani) once chatted with in a coffee shop. Death offers Bill a deal: be my tour guide to being alive, and I'll hold off on taking you. Bill introduces his odd new houseguest to everyone as Joe Black. Susan is confused, then very interested. Martin Brest directs. One hundred eighty minutes, and Death discovers peanut butter.
Anyone with a big birthday coming and a lot of questions. Bring a spoon and a jar of peanut butter.
| Brad Pitt | Joe BlackYoung Man in Coffee Shop |
| Anthony Hopkins | William Parrish |
| Claire Forlani | Susan Parrish |
| Jake Weber | Drew |
| Marcia Gay Harden | Allison |
| Jeffrey Tambor | Quince |
- (cur | prev) 14:30, 17 October 2026 DataBot +480 Numbers refreshed: Worldwide box office $142.9M; Domestic box office $44.6M; Opening weekend $15M; Profit / loss (est.) -$63.5M; Rotten Tomatoes 48%; CinemaScore A−; box office chart updated; Rotten Tomatoes critics 48% (52 reviews); Metacritic 43 / 100; CinemaScore A−; IMDb users 7.2 / 10 (304,713 votes); movie.guru score 5.5.
- (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.