Arrival

Play trailer

1:00

Arrival

PG-13

2016

1h 56m

Sci-Fi

Mystery & Thriller

Drama

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

94%

Tomatometer

441 Reviews

83%

Popcornmeter

50,000+ Ratings

Linguistics professor Louise Banks leads an elite team of investigators when gigantic spaceships touch down in 12 locations around the world. As nations teeter on the verge of global war, Banks and her crew must race against time to find a way to communicate with the extraterrestrial visitors. Hoping to unravel the mystery, she takes a chance that could threaten her life and quite possibly all mankind.

Watch on Fandango

Stream Now

Critics Consensus

Arrival delivers a must-see experience for fans of thinking person's sci-fi that anchors its heady themes with genuinely affecting emotion and a terrific performance from Amy Adams.

Read Critics Reviews

Alexandra Heller-Nicholas

Horror Nonna

Aug 25, 2018

Arrival transcends the limitations that so often govern the less creative examples of the subgenre, instead using it as a loose conceptual foundation upon which to build a theoretically-informed examination of what precisely ... makes us human.

Go to Full Review

Kristen Lopez

Culturess

Nov 20, 2017

Arrival couldn't have arrived (pun intended) at a better time.

Go to Full Review

K. Austin Collins

The Ringer

Aug 10, 2017

I think of Arrival in terms of color: the milky grays of the clouds rolling over the Montana plain; the bright blue of computer screens bouncing off the gray tents on the makeshift army compound.

Go to Full Review

Jonathon Wilson

Ready Steady Cut

May 30, 2026

3/5

This is atypical science fiction that, ironically, only knows how to communicate in a language we already understand.

Go to Full Review

JD Duran

InSession Film

Aug 8, 2024

The film works as a powerful allegory for how we try to decode and interpret the tragedies of our lives.

Go to Full Review

Ankit Ojha

Cinema Elite

Jul 9, 2024

4.5/5

Without spoiling too much, let’s just say Villeneuve and Heisserer use the Kuleshov effect to turn the non-linear storytelling of “Arrival” from a gimmick to an indispensable part of the film.

Go to Full Review

Read all reviews

Jonathan F

Feb 5, 2022

Extremely short-paced, felt like most of the movie was empty without a real driving story. I would have hoped for more action.

See more

Katie D

Mar 15, 2021

An amazing film! very well-done, thought-provoking, entertaining and unpredictable. my only complaint is about the loud horn blasts that accompany so many science fiction movie scenes - unnecessary, unrealistic and distracting! other than that it was awesome!

See more

Steve M

@RT34393865 1 hr ago

Absolutely one of the best sci-fi fils and overall films that I’ve seen. The ending is moving in so many ways. A very deep and thought provoking movie.

See more

Julie H

@RT14438534 18 hrs ago

Arrival is ostensibly an extra terrestrial sci fi film, but ultimately it deals with time, fate and memory, and what they mean in a human life. I won’t spoil it beyond that, but I thoroughly recommend it and for me, it’s definitely 5 stars.

See more

Braha S

@RT50298205 1 day ago

While this film may not be everyone's cup of tea, it managed to keep the film interesting due to the tension and suspense created throughout due to the music and intentional pacing that makes it the shortest of Villeneuve's filmography. Despite the fact the film is therefore less thematically rich than other works from the director, the movie is filled with fine, real performances, especially from Amy Adams s Louise Banks and Jeremy Renner as Ian Donnelly, even if the emotional heart of the story isn't fully fleshed out.

See more

J C

@WildBill23 5 days ago

Brilliant on all accounts. Great acting. Great mystery. Fantastic ending.

See more

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

POST RATING

Denis Villeneuve

Director

Amy Adams

Louise Banks

Jeremy Renner

Ian Donnelly

Forest Whitaker

Colonel Weber

Michael Stuhlbarg

Agent Halpern

Mark O'Brien

Captain Marks

View more videos

The Circle

16%

21%

The Circle

Watchlist

TRAILER

for The Circle

Gravity

96%

79%

Gravity

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Gravity

Replicas

9%

33%

Replicas

Watchlist

Fast Color

83%

58%

Fast Color

Watchlist

Chronicle

85%

72%

Chronicle

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Chronicle

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

Know Your Critic: Max Weiss, Editor-in-Chief at Baltimore Magazine

Las Vegas Film Critics: Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri Takes 5 Awards

Watch Online: Arrival, The Hateful Eight, and More on Netflix and Amazon Prime

Arrival: TV Spot - Solve the Mystery

0:15

Now Playing

Arrival: Trailer 2

1:00

Now Playing

Arrival: International Trailer 1

2:31

Now Playing

Arrival: Trailer 1

2:25

Now Playing

Arrival: 'Global War' Teaser

1:00

Now Playing

View more videos

View more photos

Synopsis

Linguistics professor Louise Banks leads an elite team of investigators when gigantic spaceships touch down in 12 locations around the world. As nations teeter on the verge of global war, Banks and her crew must race against time to find a way to communicate with the extraterrestrial visitors. Hoping to unravel the mystery, she takes a chance that could threaten her life and quite possibly all mankind.

Director: Denis Villeneuve
Producer: Shawn Levy, Dan Levine, Aaron Ryder, David Linde
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Production Co: 21 Laps Entertainment, Lava Bear Films, FilmNation
Rating: PG-13 (Brief Strong Language)
Genre: Sci-Fi, Mystery & Thriller, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Nov 11, 2016, Wide
Rerelease Date (Theaters): Jan 27, 2017
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 31, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA): $100.5M
Runtime: 1h 56m
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital

Join The Newsletter

Join The Newsletter

Cookie Settings