Among Us (2023 film)

Among Us (also known as Among Us: The Movie) is a 2023 mystery film based on the online game of the same name. It follows a group of ten astronauts who participate in a space mission, only to find out that one of them is murdering members of the crew. The film bases heavily on the aspects of the game, sans meetings being called when a body is found.

After the game garnered massive popularity in 2020, two years after its initial 2018 release, the game's developer Innersloth optioned the film rights for $5 million, and New Line Cinema won a bid. The initial cast was announced shortly after in November of that year, and the film starting filming two months later. However, production was troubled, and several cast members left, including Kristen Stewart, Molly Ringwald and Christian Bale, due to scheduling conflicts. Their places were taken by Ashley Olsen, Isla Fisher and Pedro Pascal, and shooting ended in late 2021. The film's pre-production was finished in 2022, and a trailer was released in July. Originally set to release in October 2022, the film was pushed back to February 2023 for undisclosed reasons.

Eventually released theatrically on February 24, 2023, the film received mixed-to-positive reviews from critics, who praised the performances of the cast and visual effects but criticized the plot. Nonetheless, the film was a box office success, grossing $126 million on a budget of $38 million. A sequel, titled Among Us: Impostors Rising, was released in 2025, and was a box office bomb, cancelling a third film. The series was rebooted entirely with the film Impostor in 2028.

Plot
Ten volunteers board a space shuttle, hopeful to garner new research on the planet Jupiter. However, after a lifeless body is found, the crew must survive when the murderer among them picks off people one by one, and with oxygen levels depleting and the heat going through the roof, can they make it? - Official description on the Innersloth website.

Cast

 * Liam Hemsworth as Crewmate #1
 * Pedro Pascal as Crewmate #2
 * Ashley Olsen as Crewmate #3
 * Tom Holland as Crewmate #4
 * Gina Rodriguez as Crewmate #5
 * Dax Shepard as Crewmate #6
 * Isla Fisher as Crewmate #7
 * Chris Pine as Crewmate #8
 * Kathryn Hahn as Crewmate #9
 * Hilary Swank as Crewmate #10
 * Johnny Depp as Space Station Administrator
 * Bryce Dallas Howard as Space Station Flight Engineer #1
 * Chris Pratt as Space Station Flight Engineer #2
 * Jamie Foxx as Space Station Flight Engineer #3

Production
The film had a long and troubled production, with multiple original cast members leaving and a deadly storm, which cost $2 million extra, on top of the already $36 million budget.

When Among Us garnered massive popularity on sites like Twitch in 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the developer of the game, Innersloth, optioned the film rights for $5 million. New Line Cinema beat out the likes of Warner Bros. and United Artists in buying the rights. In November of the same year, the initial cast was announced, and filming started in January 2021. However, several events delayed the film, including a storm destroying half the equipment and a crew member dying during it. The film delayed filming until May 2021, and several cast members left during the time, including Kristen Stewart, Molly Ringwald, Christian Bale and Mike Weinberg. They were replaced by Ashley Olsen, Isla Fisher, Pedro Pascal and Jamie Foxx, and shooting for the film ended in December 2021. Reshoots took place in January 2022 and pre-production was finished in April of the same year.

Release
A teaser for the film was released in October 2021, and a full trailer was released in July 2022. The trailer drew a positive reaction, mostly from fans, who praised the faithfulness to the game. A second trailer was released in September of the same year, which garnered a more mixed reception.

Originally scheduled to release on October 28, 2022, the film was pushed back for unknown reasons. The film was finally released on February 24, 2023.

Box office
Among Us grossed $74 million in the United States and Canada and $52 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $126 million against a budget of $38 million. Deadline Hollywood calculated the net profit of the film to be $41 million when factoring together all expenses and revenues.

Critical response
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 61% based on 235 reviews, with an average rating of 5.9/10. The site's consensus reads, "Among Us has a muddled story but strong performances and sparkly visuals, making it an occasionally frustrating and nonetheless entertaining adventure." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 57 out of 100, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on a scale of A+ to F.

Sequel
A sequel, titled Among Us: Impostor Rising, was released in 2025. Only a few cast members reprise their original roles, with the new cast including Evangeline Lilly, Henry Cavill, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, among others.