Prisoners (2013)
How far would you go to protect your child?
After his six-year-old daughter is abducted, a desperate father takes justice into his own hands when he loses faith in the detective leading the investigation, setting both men on a collision course as the search descends into obsession and moral compromise.
| Type | Movie |
|---|---|
| Released | 19 September 2013 |
| Genre | Drama, Thriller, Crime |
| Director | Denis Villeneuve |
| Starring | Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal and Viola Davis |
| Runtime | 153 min |
| Rated | R |
| Scores | Rotten Tomatoes 82% · Rotten Tomatoes (average) 7.3/10 · Rotten Tomatoes 81% · Metacritic 70/100 · IMDb 8.2/10 · TMDB users 8.1/10 |
| Budget | $46 million |
| Box office | $122 million worldwide |
Where to watch Prisoners
We could not find Prisoners on any of the subscription services we track in the US right now. That changes often; open it in Binge Boss and we will show you where it lands.
Where to watch Prisoners in 21 other countries
| Country | Streaming on (price a month) |
|---|---|
| Australia | Max $15.99 AUD |
| Austria | Netflix €13.99 |
| Belgium | Max €10.99 |
| Bermuda | Netflix |
| Canada | Paramount+ |
| Cuba | Prime Video |
| Denmark | Prime Video 69 kr DKK, Viaplay 289 kr DKK |
| Finland | Prime Video €6.99, Viaplay €13.99 |
| Germany | Netflix €13.99 |
| Gibraltar | Netflix |
| Guernsey | Netflix |
| India | Prime Video ₹299 |
| Ireland | Netflix €16.99 |
| Japan | U-NEXT ¥2189 JPY |
| Malta | Netflix €12.49 |
| New Zealand | Max |
| Norway | Prime Video 79 kr NOK, Viaplay 159 kr NOK |
| South Korea | Wavve ₩10900 |
| Sweden | Prime Video 69 kr SEK, Viaplay 169 kr SEK |
| Turks & Caicos Islands | Netflix |
| United Kingdom | Netflix £12.99 GBP |
Subscription, free and ad-supported services we track. All countries as data.
What kind of watch this is
Denis Villeneuve directs a 153-minute thriller where patience is a luxury no one can afford. The hook is not the abduction itself, but the slow, grinding realization that the detective investigating the crime is moving too slowly for the father’s broken heart. Jackman and Gyllenhaal collide in a rain-slicked landscape where the line between hero and monster blurs with every passing hour. It is a film that asks how far you would go to protect your child, then watches you answer that question with your hands. The tagline is a trap, because the real question is whether you can stop.
What the critics said
Rotten Tomatoes sits at 81% based on 249 reviews. Metacritic lands on 70, which indicates generally favorable reception. The consensus notes the film’s emotional complexity and sense of dread. Christopher Orr of The Atlantic called the work "too powerful to ignore." David Thomson of The New Republic found it "weary after ten minutes." That is a gap of opinions, but the dread holds.
How it did with audiences
The film cost $46 million to make and took in $122 million worldwide. That is a comfortable margin. On TMDB, users rate it 8.1 out of 10. IMDb watchers, as of February 2026, agree, giving it an 8.2.
What came next for the cast
Hugh Jackman traded superhero origins for the closing chapter of that same universe. Jake Gyllenhaal moved from Donnie Darko and Zodiac to Spider-Man: Far From Home, Nightcrawler, and Nocturnal Animals, a pivot that feels less like evolution and more like a career change. Viola Davis went from The Help and Law Abiding Citizen to Suicide Squad, The Suicide Squad, and The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, though she never seemed to lose her footing. Maria Bello’s subsequent credits lean heavily into the supernatural and sci-fi, a distinct shift from Grown Ups and The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. The films that followed do not prove the movie caused these shifts. They just happened to arrive after.
If you liked this
TMDB's recommendations for people who watched Prisoners.
Read more: The Whisper Man
Sources
- Prisoners on TMDB — synopsis, cast, ratings and recommendations
- Wikidata Q3404003 — review scores, box office and awards (CC0)
- “Prisoners (2013 film)” 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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