The Thursday Murder Club

"Join the club."

2025 1h 58m EN

👍

6.6

SOLID

★6.6TMDB · 1,163

ComedyMysteryCrime

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A group of senior sleuths passionate about solving cold cases get plunged into a real-life murder mystery in this comic crime caper.

“Join the club.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Helen Mirren
Elizabeth
Pierce Brosnan
Ron
Ben Kingsley
Ibrahim
Celia Imrie
Joyce
David Tennant
Ian
Jonathan Pryce
Stephen
Naomi Ackie
Donna De Freitas
Daniel Mays
Chris Hudson

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Chris Columbus
Writers: Katy Brand, Suzanne Heathcote
Languages: English, Polish
Countries: United States of America

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

ERA

Did you know

Released last year.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Polish.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Chris Columbus, shot by Don Burgess. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Thomas Newman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Helen Mirren and Pierce Brosnan and Ben Kingsley carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Join the club.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt12001534 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Chris Columbus directs. Don Burgess behind the camera. Thomas Newman scores. Dan Zimmerman cuts. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English, Polish.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Released last year.
2Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Polish.
3Directed by Chris Columbus, shot by Don Burgess. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Thomas Newman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Dan Zimmerman shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Helen Mirren and Pierce Brosnan and Ben Kingsley carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "Join the club.".
8IMDB entry: tt12001534 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Don Burgess
Original score: Thomas Newman
Editing: Dan Zimmerman
Production design: James Merifield
Costume design: Joanna Johnston
VFX supervisor: Angela Barson
Sound: Andy Nelson
Stunt coordinator: Adam Collins
Runtime: 118 min · 1h 58m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG-13
IMDB: The Thursday Murder Club (2025)

Also by

Chris Columbus

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Manuel São Bento2025-08-29
★ 4/10
FULL SPOILER-FREE REVIEW @ talkingfilms.net/the-thursday-murder-club-review-stellar-cast-forgettable-mystery/ "The Thursday Murder Club is a formulaic and forgettable effort. It's not a disaster - the magnetic presence of the cast ensures it never sinks that low - but it also offers nothing we haven't already seen in second-tier television productions. For those like me who get excited about the murder-mystery genre, the experience feels like a wasted opportunity. The lighthearted humor isn't enough to make up for the lack of tension. For those looking for light, undemanding entertainment, it may serve as a decent diversion. But for anyone hoping for more than the bare minimum, it will struggle to rise above mediocrity." Rating: C-
CinemaSerf2025-08-31
★ 7/10
I was quite sceptical about this, but I have to say that I did quite enjoy it - and it’s not often nowadays you go to a packed afternoon screening and hear people laugh out loud. There are more parodies here than you can shake a stick at, so original high drama it isn’t, but here is a solid collection of personalities assembled to try to solve a mystery in a posh care home. It’s baking-mad “Joyce” (why isn’t Celia Imrie a dame, too?) who used to be a nurse and who is drafted in by the fastidious “Elizabeth” (Dame Helen Mirren) to help her small group of amateur sleuths look into a cold case from a generation earlier. “Joyce” is soon an eager participant alongside “Ibrahim” (Sir Ben Kingsley) and elderly wide-boy “Ron” (Pierce Brosnan) in their investigation, but before they can even begin to tackle one of her truly ginormous lemon drizzle cakes, there is a much more fresh crime to look into - and one that could involve local property developer “Ventham” (David Tennant) who just happens to co-own their former castle with “Curran” (Geoff Bell). This latter man has had his finger in a few dodgy pies over the years, has a handsome ex-boxer son “Jason” (the perfectly manscaped Tom Ellis) and is determined that so long as his aunt is resident, they will be safe from the grave diggers and the bulldozers. Scene set, we now play through some scenarios that allow Dame Helen to reprise aspects of her “Tennison” and Queen Elizabeth II characterisations; Sir Ben to do the same - only without Sir Michael Caine, and for both Imrie and the underused Brosnan to put an enjoyable degree of exaggeration into their roles as the plot thickens and we begin to wonder just where “Elizabeth” got that very swanky XK8 retirement gift! To be honest, the plot itself is not the most original and as it develops it does rather rely on a bit too much serendipity without overwhelming our own grey cells - but I don’t think that really matters so much. This is an enjoyable crime romp from a collection of stars who look like they are having fun - think “Quartet” (2012) only with shovels and not Shostakovich; Sir Jonathan Pryce, Daniel Mays and budding detective - but a real one, this time, “Donna” (Naomi Ackie) keep the sense of mischief bubbling along quite entertainingly whilst cinematic licence is taken without just about every aspect of police work, forensic science and floristry. If you are a fan of character actors doing their thing in a stately home with plenty of clues, red herrings and Black Forest gâteau, then you can’t really go wrong here.