Sci-fi thriller

Arrival (2016): Cast, Ratings, Box Office & Ending

Name: Arrival
Genre: Sci-Fi, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Released: 2016-11-11
Duration: 1 h 56 min
Cast: Amy Adams, Forest Whitaker, Jeremy Renner, Michael Stuhlbarg

Arrival is a 2016 sci-fi thriller directed by Denis Villeneuve, starring Amy Adams, Forest Whitaker and Jeremy Renner. It is partly based on Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang. It runs 1 hour 56 minutes and earned $212.8 million worldwide on a $47 million budget. It won 1 Oscar, including Sound Editing, and 4 awards in all. Critics gave it 94% on Rotten Tomatoes and 81 on Metacritic, and IMDb users rate it 7.9/10.

IMDb rating: 7.9/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 94%
worldwide gross: $212.8M
Oscar won: 1

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Watch the trailer Plot & ending explained

Released: November 11, 2016
Runtime: 1h 56m (116 min)
Director: Denis Villeneuve
Genres: Sci-Fi , Drama , Mystery , Thriller
Original language: English
Studio: Paramount Pictures
Budget: $47M
Based on: Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang
After the credits: No No extra scene

The story

What Is Arrival About?

The premise of Arrival without spoilers, adapted from Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang. The whole story and the ending explained are in the plot summary further down.

When twelve mysterious spacecraft appear over different locations across the globe, linguist Louise Banks is recruited by the U.S. military to attempt communication with the alien visitors. As global tensions rise and nations teeter on the edge of conflict, Banks and physicist Ian Donnelly race to understand the aliens' complex language and intentions. Her work pushes the boundaries of human understanding and challenges her perception of time and reality, ultimately determining the fate of Earth.

Arrival Themes & Keywords

· 50 tags

linguistics
alien contact
nonlinear timeline
linguist
first contact
spacecraft
based on short story
mother daughter relationship
seeing the future
female scientist
alien
reference to abbott and costello

+38 more

death of daughter
one word title
military officer
memory
father daughter relationship
female protagonist
grieving mother
love
montana
colonel
physicist
theoretical physicist
precognition
fate
moral dilemma
zero gravity
loss of daughter
single mother
time paradox
single parent
suspense
sanskrit
militarism
foresight
language barrier
u.s. soldier
kid art
flash forward
helicopter
bird in a cage
palindrome
hazmat suit
husband wife relationship
little girl
china
computer
baby girl
girl

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Cast & crew

Arrival Cast

Amy Adams leads the cast, with Forest Whitaker and Jeremy Renner. Directed by Denis Villeneuve; 4 actors are credited in all.

Director Denis Villeneuve

From the director

More from Denis Villeneuve

More films directed by Denis Villeneuve, best-rated first: Dune: Part Two, Incendies, Blade Runner 2049 and Prisoners.

Full filmography

Ratings

Arrival Reviews & Ratings

Critics gave Arrival 94% on Rotten Tomatoes and 81 on Metacritic, and IMDb users rate it 7.9/10.

IMDb

7.9 /10
See on IMDb
Rotten Tomatoes

94% Tomatometer

Popcornmeter 82%
See on Rotten Tomatoes
Metacritic

81 Metascore

User score 8.1
See on Metacritic
TMDB

76% User score
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Movie Insider

3.7 /5
See on Movie Insider

Plot

Arrival Plot Summary & Ending Explained

What happens in Arrival from start to finish, spoilers included, with a timeline of 15 key events and the ending explained. The opening is below; the full summary is a 3-minute read.

Spoilers ahead

Linguist Louise Banks (Amy Adams) is deeply affected by the loss of her young daughter to cancer. As she continues to lecture at a university, twelve extraterrestrial craft suddenly make their appearance on Earth. In a twist of fate, Colonel Weber (Forest Whitaker) from the U.S. Army recruits Louise to collaborate with Ian Donnelly (Jeremy Renner), a brilliant experimental physicist, to decode the aliens’ language and determine their purpose for visiting.

Full summary

The whole story of Arrival, scene by scene, with the ending explained

Read the full summary

Box office

Arrival Box Office & Budget

Arrival grossed $212.8 million worldwide on a $47 million budget, 4.5 times what it cost. $100.5 million came from the US and Canada and $112.2 million (53%) from the rest of the world.

2016 box office

Worldwide gross

$212.8M

4.5× its budget

US & Canada: $100.5M
International: $112.2M
Budget: $47M

US & Canada 47% Rest of the world 53%

Awards

Arrival Awards & Nominations

Arrival won 1 Oscar, including Sound Editing, and 4 awards in all. Its biggest night was the Critics' Choice 2016, with 2 wins from 10 nominations.

4 wins33 nominations8 ceremonies

BAFTA 2017 1 win · 9 nominations
- Won Best Sound
- Nominated Best Actress in a Leading Role – Amy Adams
- Nominated Best Adapted Screenplay
- Nominated Best Cinematography
- Nominated Best Direction – Denis Villeneuve
+4 more at the BAFTA 2017
Oscars 2017 1 win · 8 nominations
- Won Sound Editing
- Nominated Best Picture
- Nominated Cinematography
- Nominated Directing – Denis Villeneuve
- Nominated Film Editing
+3 more at the Oscars 2017
Golden Globes 2017 2 nominations
- Nominated Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama – Amy Adams
- Nominated Best Original Score
Actor Awards (SAG) 2017 1 nomination
- Nominated Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role – Amy Adams

Show all 8 ceremonies

Artios Awards 2017 1 nomination
- Nominated Big Budget – Drama
Saturn Awards 2017 1 nomination
- Nominated Best Actress
DGA Awards 2017 1 nomination
- Nominated Feature Film – Denis Villeneuve
Critics' Choice 2016 2 wins · 10 nominations
- Won Best Adapted Screenplay
- Won Best Sci-Fi/Horror Movie
- Nominated Best Actress – Amy Adams
- Nominated Best Art Direction
- Nominated Best Cinematography
+5 more at the Critics' Choice 2016