A Knight's Tale (2001)
He will rock you.
William Thatcher, a knight's peasant apprentice, gets a chance at glory when the knight dies suddenly mid-tournament. Posing as a knight himself, William won't stop until he's crowned tournament champion—assuming matters of the heart don't get in the way.
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| Type | Movie |
|---|---|
| Released | 11 May 2001 |
| Genre | Adventure, Drama, Romance, Action |
| Director | Brian Helgeland |
| Starring | Heath Ledger, Rufus Sewell and Shannyn Sossamon |
| Runtime | 133 min |
| Rated | PG-13 |
| Scores | Rotten Tomatoes (average) 5.9/10 · Metacritic 56/100 · Rotten Tomatoes 59% · TMDB users 6.9/10 |
| Budget | $65 million |
Where to watch A Knight's Tale
A Knight's Tale is streaming on Paramount+ ($13.99 a month) in the US. If that is the only reason to subscribe, one month of Paramount+ is $13.99 at list price.
We check availability daily. Page last updated 30 October 2026. Prices are standard monthly plans and change often, so check with the service before you sign up.
Rent or buy
You can rent A Knight's Tale on Apple TV, Prime Video, Google Play, YouTube, Fandango at Home and Spectrum On Demand. It is also for sale on Apple TV, Prime Video, Google Play, YouTube and Fandango at Home.
Where to watch A Knight's Tale in 40 other countries
| Country | Streaming on (price a month) |
|---|---|
| Antigua & Barbuda | Max |
| Argentina | Max $9590 ARS |
| Australia | Prime Video $12.99 AUD, Binge $19.00 AUD |
| Bahamas | Max |
| Barbados | Max |
| Belize | Max |
| Bolivia | Max |
| Brazil | Max R$34.90 |
| Canada | Netflix $18.99 CAD |
| Chile | Max $9590 CLP |
| Colombia | Max $24900 COP |
| Costa Rica | Max |
| Cyprus | Netflix €8.99 |
| Dominican Republic | Max |
| Ecuador | Max $8.29 |
| El Salvador | Max |
| Estonia | Netflix €7.99 |
| Greece | Netflix €8.99 |
| Guatemala | Max |
| Guyana | Max |
| Honduras | Max |
| Jamaica | Max |
| Japan | Netflix ¥1590 JPY |
| Latvia | Netflix €7.99 |
| Lithuania | Netflix €8.99 |
| Malta | Netflix €8.99 |
| Mexico | Max $149 MXN |
| Netherlands | Max €11.99 |
| Nicaragua | Max |
| Panama | Max $8.29 |
| Paraguay | Max |
| Peru | Max S/35.90 |
| Portugal | Netflix €8.99 |
| South Korea | Watcha |
| St. Lucia | Max |
| Trinidad & Tobago | Max |
| Turks & Caicos Islands | Max |
| Türkiye | Netflix ₺259.99 |
| Uruguay | Max $U399 |
| Venezuela | Max |
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What kind of watch this is
A Knight's Tale is a 2001 adventure where a peasant fakes his way into the high life. The film is 133 minutes long, which is a generous amount of time to spend watching someone pretend to be noble. Director Brian Helgeland frames the story as a pop-punk fantasy, swapping the usual grim medieval tone for guitar riffs and aggressive optimism. Heath Ledger plays the con artist at its center with a grin that never quite lets you believe the stakes are real. It is a movie that wants to feel like a concert rather than a history lesson. The armor is plastic, but the energy is all there.
What the critics said
Rotten Tomatoes sits at 59% as of August 2024, with an average review score of 5.9 out of 10. Metacritic lands on 56, which it files under mixed or average. The consensus is that once you ignore the anachronisms, it is a spirited, predictable Rocky on horseback. Roger Ebert gave it 3 stars, arguing that the anachronisms made little difference. He noted that an orchestral score would be equally anachronistic, since orchestras hadn't been invented in the 1400s. Anthony Lane later called the use of "Golden Years" the best and most honest use of anachronism he knew of. It is a film that knows its own timeline is a joke, and laughs along.
How it did with audiences
It spent $65 million to make $117 million. In Hollywood arithmetic, that is a solid return; in any other industry, it is a respectable profit. The film opened at $16.5 million, landing second behind The Mummy Returns. It pulled in $56.6 million domestically and $60.9 million abroad. TMDB users rate it 6.9 out of 10. People liked the jousting enough to pay for it, even if they are not sure why.
If you liked this
TMDB's recommendations for people who watched A Knight's Tale.
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Sources
- A Knight's Tale on TMDB — synopsis, cast, ratings and recommendations
- Wikidata Q114076 — review scores, box office and awards (CC0)
- “A Knight's Tale” on Wikipedia, by its contributors (history) — reception, audience figures and legacy, summarised and adapted here under CC BY-SA 4.0
- Where to watch and prices: Binge Boss, from TMDB watch-provider data (powered by JustWatch) and our own provider list
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