Ready Player One (2018)
A better reality awaits.
When the creator of a popular video game system dies, a virtual contest is created to compete for his fortune.
| Type | Movie |
|---|---|
| Released | 28 March 2018 |
| Genre | Adventure, Action, Science Fiction |
| Director | Steven Spielberg |
| Starring | Tye Sheridan, Olivia Cooke and Ben Mendelsohn |
| Runtime | 140 min |
| Rated | PG-13 |
| Scores | Le Parisien 5/5 · Rolling Stone 4/5 · Rotten Tomatoes (average) 6.8/10 · Rotten Tomatoes 72% · Metacritic 64/100 · TMDB users 7.6/10 |
| Budget | $175 million |
| Box office | $583 million worldwide |
Where to watch Ready Player One
Ready Player One is streaming on Max ($18.49 a month) in the US. If that is the only reason to subscribe, one month of Max is $18.49 at list price.
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What kind of watch this is
Steven Spielberg directs this 140-minute adventure, where a dying video game creator leaves his fortune to the player who wins his virtual contest. The hook is straightforward: you play to win money, not to save the world. That distinction matters because the stakes are purely financial, even if the visuals feel like a digital escape from a bleak reality. It is a long, loud look at what happens when the internet becomes the only place left to live.
What the critics said
Rotten Tomatoes registers a 72% approval rating as of August 2024, with an average score of 6.8/10 from 443 reviews. Metacritic assigns a 64/100 Metascore based on 56 critics, signaling generally favorable reviews. Le Parisien awarded 5/5, while Rolling Stone gave it 4/5 in March 2018.
Owen Gleiberman called it a "coruscating explosion of pop-culture eye candy" but noted it has "more activity than it does layers." Eric Kohn praised the spectacle but observed the film "drags a bunch in its final third." The consensus sees a nostalgic thrill ride that encapsulates Spielberg's strengths.
How it did with audiences
Budget $175 million. Worldwide take $583 million. That is a profitable run, though the notes suggest the final total actually reached $607 million. The discrepancy is a film industry mystery, but the money came in. On TMDB, users rate it 7.6 out of 10. Audiences liked the spectacle enough to clear the break-even hurdle comfortably. It banked more than it spent.
What came next for the cast
Olivia Cooke moved from Me and Earl and the Dying Girl to Sound of Metal. Ben Mendelsohn swapped one superhero franchise for another, trading Rogue One for Captain Marvel. Tye Sheridan stayed in the X-Men orbit with Dark Phoenix, then drifted toward The Card Counter. The timeline suggests a shift in taste. It does not prove the game caused it.
Where it left its mark
The film predicted a future that corporate giants tried to build. Critics noted the parallels between the OASIS and Meta’s early 2020s metaverse push. Then Apple unveiled the Vision Pro in 2023. Commentators saw the movie’s headsets in the hardware. Apple’s own launch video even echoed the scene where Wade Watts enters the virtual world. It was a rare moment of prophecy matching product.
If you liked this
TMDB's recommendations for people who watched Ready Player One.
Read more: The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
Sources
- Ready Player One on TMDB — synopsis, cast, ratings and recommendations
- Wikidata Q22000542 — review scores, box office and awards (CC0)
- “Ready Player One (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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