Conspiracy Theory

"What if your most paranoid nightmares had just come true?"

1997 2h 15m EN

👍

6.6

SOLID

🥫

59%

ROTTEN

😬

METACRITIC

⭐

6.7

IMDB

★6.6TMDB · 1,733🥫59%Rotten Tomatoes●50Metacritic★6.7IMDB · 111,559

ActionDramaMysteryThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A man obsessed with conspiracy theories becomes a target after one of his theories turns out to be true. Unfortunately, in order to save himself, he has to figure out which theory it is.

“What if your most paranoid nightmares had just come true?”

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Cast

Mel Gibson
Jerry Fletcher
Julia Roberts
Alice Sutton
Patrick Stewart
Dr. Jonas
Cylk Cozart
Agent Lowry
Steve Kahan
Mr. Wilson
Terry Alexander
Flip
Alex McArthur
Cynic
Rod McLachlan
Justice Guard

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Richard Donner
Writers: Brian Helgeland
Languages: English
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

MONEY

Did you know

Mid-budget at $75M — the now-extinct middle tier of Hollywood.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

29 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Richard Donner, shot by John Schwartzman. 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 Carter Burwell. 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 Kevin Stitt 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

Mel Gibson and Julia Roberts and Patrick Stewart carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "What if your most paranoid nightmares had just come true?".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0118883 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Richard Donner directs. John Schwartzman behind the camera. Carter Burwell scores. Kevin Stitt cuts. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Mid-budget at $75M — the now-extinct middle tier of Hollywood.
229 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3Directed by Richard Donner, shot by John Schwartzman. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Carter Burwell. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Kevin Stitt shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Mel Gibson and Julia Roberts and Patrick Stewart carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "What if your most paranoid nightmares had just come true?".
8IMDB entry: tt0118883 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 21 themes, including "new york city", "assassin", "central intelligence agency (cia)", "helicopter".

The technical file

Cinematography: John Schwartzman
Original score: Carter Burwell
Editing: Kevin Stitt
Production design: Paul Sylbert
Costume design: Ha Nguyen
Makeup / hair: Stephen Robinette
Sound: Dan Hiland
Stunt coordinator: Conrad E. Palmisano
Runtime: 135 min · 2h 15m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $75,000,000
Box office: $137,000,000
Return: 183% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Conspiracy Theory (1997)
Rotten Tomatoes: 59% 🥫 Rotten
Metacritic: 50/100
IMDB rating: 6.7/10 · 111,559 votes
MPAA: R

Awards

4 wins & 1 nomination total

Also by

Richard Donner

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

JPV8522021-04-25
★ 6/10
Overly long but amiable suspense-thriller thanks to the charms of Mel Gibson (re-teaming with Lethal Weapon franchise director Richard Donner) and Julia Roberts with Patrick Stewart making for an okay villain. This is one I've seen a couple times and each viewing has pretty much been the same: entertaining but also unremarkable. 3.0/5
GenerationofSwine2023-01-11
★ 10/10
Well... this was fun. I don't think you can say anything better about a movie. Conspiracy Theory was fun. You sit down and watch it, and you are going to have a fun time, you are going to be entertained. It's a great blend of moderate action and comedic suspense. The plot twists are deep enough to be interesting and light enough to be entertaining in the darker aspects of comedy. The characters, well, the characters are the very definition of the phrase, "he's a real character isn't he?" Mel Gibson is fun to watch in this, he plays a character that is tormented, broken, and still endlessly amusing. You really can't get better than a movie that is fun to watch.
felixsc2026-05-17
★ 7/10
Great cast, great acting, and its funny in a clever way. My main criticism is that the plot quickly devolves into a generic 90s action movie with car chases and stuff...Its ok popcorn cinema, but nothing memorable. They could have made more out of the conspiracy angle...