Knives Out (2020)

Knives Out is a 2019 American mystery film written and directed by Rian Johnson. The film's eleven-actor ensemble cast is led by Daniel Craig as Benoit Blanc, a famed private detective who is summoned to investigate the death of a bestselling author (Christopher Plummer). Police think his death is a suicide but Blanc suspects foul play and investigates to ascertain the true cause of it. Johnson produced Knives Out with his longtime collaborator Ram Bergman. Funding came from MRC and tax subsidies from the Massachusetts state government.

Johnson conceived Knives Out in the mid-2000s. Wanting to create work reminiscent of whodunit films of the mid-20th century, the director was influenced by his interest in film adaptations of Agatha Christie's stories. Development of Knives Out continued after Johnson finished filming Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017). He wrote the screenplay in six to seven months. Principal photography on Knives Out began in October 2018 on a $40 million budget and ended that December. Location filming took place in suburban Boston. Nathan Johnson composed the film's classical score, which was inspired by his and Rian's favorite symphonic film scores. Knives Out has been read as a work that investigates class warfare, wealth inequality, immigration, and race in contemporary American society.

Knives Out premiered at the 44th Toronto International Film Festival on September 7, 2019, and was distributed by Lionsgate to American theaters on November 27. The film was a critical and commercial success; the National Board of Review and the American Film Institute chose it as one of the year's top films, and it grossed $312 million. Knives Out received highly positive reviews from critics, who praised the plot and actors but occasionally criticized aspects of the writing and performances. It was nominated for multiple awards, including three Golden Globes, a British Academy Film Award, and an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. Knives Out is the first entry of a series of films that also includes Glass Onion (2022) and Wake Up Dead Man (2025).