Poster © Netflix. Shown at reduced size for review and commentary.
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GenreComedy, Crime & Drama
RatedPG-13
Runtime2 hr 24 mins
ReleasedNovember 26, 2025
StreamingSee Where to Watch
DirectorRian Johnson
StarringDaniel Craig, Josh O'Connor, Glenn Close
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Wake Up Dead Man (2025)
| ▶Stream It | ★The Numbers |
| 🎫Get Tickets | ✎Edit History |
| iIMDb Profile | %Rotten Tomatoes |
| WWikipedia | LLetterboxd |
| TTMDB | +Add to Top 8 |
| Wake Up Dead Man's Details | |
| Genre | Comedy, Crime & Drama |
| Rated | PG-13 |
| Released | 09/06/2025 (TIFF); 11/26/2025 (United States); 12/12/2025 (Netflix) |
| Streaming | See Where to Watch on this page. |
| Running Time | 2 hr 24 mins |
| Budget | $151.7M (reported) |
| Box Office | Updated daily from Box Office Mojo. See the numbers below. |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Wake Up Dead Man's Interests | |
| General | Stone churches, Good Friday services, locked rooms, a missing family fortune, Blanc's three-piece suits. |
| Music | Nathan Johnson, Rian's cousin, who has scored every Benoit Blanc case so far. |
| Movies | Knives Out (2019) and Glass Onion (2022). Blanc's first two cases. |
| Television | Poker Face. Rian Johnson's other mystery machine. |
| Heroes | Father Jud. A boxer turned priest, trying very hard to turn the other cheek. |
| Wake Up Dead Man's Crew | |
| Director | Rian Johnson |
| Writers | Rian Johnson |
| Producers | Ram Bergman, Rian Johnson |
| Cinematography | Steve Yedlin |
| Music | Nathan Johnson |
| Edited By | Bob Ducsay |
| Production | T-Street |
| Distributed By | Netflix |
Benoit Blanc shows up with longer hair for a darker, more inward case, and that’s the first sign Wake Up Dead Man isn’t another vacation. After a private island in Glass Onion, Rian Johnson drags the series into a drafty little church in upstate New York, and the change of scenery pays off. Josh O’Connor is the find. His Father Jud is a former boxer with a short fuse and a big heart, and his back-and-forth with Daniel Craig’s skeptical detective gives the puzzle a real argument about faith underneath it. Glenn Close is a quiet force as the devoted church lady, and Josh Brolin plays the monsignor like a thunderstorm in a collar. The weakness is the length. At 144 minutes, it’s a lot of church, and the middle could lose a sermon or two. Critics gave it 92% on Rotten Tomatoes and an 80 on Metacritic. An 8.4 because the mystery is clever and the heart is even better. $774 says a dusty old locked-room novel lands on your reading list by the weekend.
What works: Josh O’Connor’s warm, prickly priest is a great partner for Blanc, and the mystery carries a real conversation about faith.
What doesn’t: At 144 minutes it runs long, and the middle stretch could lose a sermon or two without missing anything.
Who it’s for: Knives Out fans and anyone who likes a locked-room puzzle with something on its mind.
Spoilers
Nat Sharp carries out the killing, but the plan belongs to Martha, the devoted church secretary, who wanted to stop the monsignor from destroying the church. The missing fortune turns out to be a diamond, and the final shot reveals it hidden inside the new crucifix Jud carved.
Young priest Jud Duplenticy (Josh O'Connor), a former boxer, gets reassigned to a small upstate New York parish after punching a fellow deacon. His new boss is Monsignor Jefferson Wicks (Josh Brolin), a fiery preacher whose sermons have driven off everyone except a small, devoted inner circle, including church lady Martha Delacroix (Glenn Close). Then, during a Good Friday service, a seemingly impossible crime happens, and Jud looks like the obvious suspect. Police chief Geraldine Scott (Mila Kunis) calls in detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig), who's sure Jud didn't do it. Rian Johnson directs. One hundred forty-four minutes, one locked room.
Anyone who can solve a locked-room mystery. Blanc is open to a partner, kind of.
| Daniel Craig | Benoit Blanc |
| Josh O'Connor | Father Jud Duplenticy |
| Glenn Close | Martha Delacroix |
| Josh Brolin | Monsignor Jefferson Wicks |
| Mila Kunis | Geraldine Scott |
| Jeremy Renner | Nat Sharp |
| Kerry Washington | Vera Draven |
| Andrew Scott | Lee Ross |
| Cailee Spaeny | Simone Vivane |
| Daryl McCormack | Cy Draven |
| Thomas Haden Church | Samson Holt |
| Jeffrey Wright | Langstrom |
| Annie Hamilton | Grace Wicks |
| James Faulkner | Prentice Wicks |
| Bridget Everett | Louise |
| Noah Segan | Nikolai |
| Joseph Gordon-Levitt | a baseball announcer |
- (cur | prev) 14:30, 17 October 2026 DataBot +400 Numbers refreshed: Worldwide box office $1.6M; Domestic box office $1.6M; Opening weekend $600K; Profit / loss (est.) -$226.8M; Rotten Tomatoes 92%; box office chart updated; Rotten Tomatoes critics 92% (342 reviews); Metacritic 80 / 100; IMDb users 7.3 / 10 (263,028 votes); movie.guru score 8.6.
- (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.