The Girl Who Played with Fire

"Fight Fire with Fire"

2009 2h 9m SV

👍

7.0

SOLID

★7.0TMDB · 1,868

DramaActionThrillerCrimeMystery

Synopsis

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Mikael Blomkvist, publisher of Millennium magazine, has made his living exposing the crooked and corrupt practices of establishment Swedish figures. So when a young journalist approaches him with a meticulously researched thesis about sex trafficking in Sweden and those in high office who abuse underage girls, Blomkvist immediately throws himself into the investigation.

“Fight Fire with Fire”

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Cast

Michael Nyqvist
Mikael Blomkvist
Noomi Rapace
Lisbeth Salander
Lena Endre
Erika Berger
Peter Andersson
Nils Bjurman
Annika Hallin
Annika Giannini
Per Oscarsson
Holger Palmgren
Sofia Ledarp
Malin Erikson
Micke Spreitz
Ronald Niedermann

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Daniel Alfredson
Writers: Jonas Frykberg
Languages: Swedish, Italian, French
Countries: Denmark, Germany, Sweden

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $4.4M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Grossed $67M — a 15.3× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 17 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 3 languages: Swedish, Italian, French.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 3 countries: Denmark, Germany, Sweden.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "The Millennium Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Daniel Alfredson, shot by Peter Mokrosinski. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Mattias Morheden shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Daniel Alfredson directs. Peter Mokrosinski behind the camera. Mattias Morheden cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in Denmark, Germany, Sweden. Dialogue in Swedish, Italian, French.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $4.4M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
2Grossed $67M — a 15.3× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.
3Released 17 years ago.
4Dialogue crosses 3 languages: Swedish, Italian, French.
5International production across 3 countries: Denmark, Germany, Sweden.
6Part of the "The Millennium Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
7Directed by Daniel Alfredson, shot by Peter Mokrosinski. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
8Editor Mattias Morheden shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
9Michael Nyqvist and Noomi Rapace and Lena Endre carry the top of the cast.
10Marketing tagline: "Fight Fire with Fire".
11IMDB entry: tt1216487 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
12Classified under 10 themes, including "journalist", "friendship", "hacker", "new identity".
13Released under 15 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Peter Mokrosinski
Editing: Mattias Morheden
Costume design: Cilla Rörby
Makeup / hair: Jenny Fred
VFX supervisor: Ruslan Ogorodnik
Sound: Carl Aage Hansen
Stunt coordinator: Kimmo Rajala
Runtime: 129 min · 2h 9m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $4,400,000
Box office: $67,126,795
Return: 1526% of budget
Original language: SV
Certification (US): R
IMDB: The Girl Who Played with Fire (2009)

Part of

The Millennium Collection

In his Millennium Trilogy Stieg Larsson created an exciting character for the new decade who has captured the hearts and minds of readers worldwide. In turn the three films based on the best-sellers have enthralled movie-goers across the globe. Her journey has become an international sensation...her secrets have captivated millions. The collection consists of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo The Girl Who Played with Fire The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest

Also by

Daniel Alfredson

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Dr Nostromo2025-11-28
★ 8/10
76/100 The combination of Lisbeth having to re-visit a previous nemesis and Millennium Magazine doing an expose on human trafficking results in a pair of murders with Lisbeth as the main suspect. Centering on one main story in this one, they still managed to fill up the 2 hours with plenty of good stuff including a spy from WWII now hiding in Sweden, Lisbeth's tragic past, and a huge guy who doesn't feel pain, keeping the trilogy moving along at an excellent pace. -- DrNostromo.com

Production companies