Civil War

Civil War (2024) is a dystopian thriller directed and written by Alex Garland, featuring Kirsten Dunst, Wagner Moura, Cailee Spaeny, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Sonoya Mizuno, and Nick Offerman. The film follows a group of war journalists traveling from New York City to Washington, D.C. amidst a civil war between a tyrannical federal government and secessionist factions. Their mission is to interview the President before the rebels seize the capital.

Principal photography started in Atlanta, Georgia in 2022 and later moved to London. The film premiered at South by Southwest on March 14, 2024, and was released in the U.S. by A24 and in the U.K. by Entertainment Film Distributors on April 12, 2024. With a production budget of $50 million, Civil War is A24’s most expensive film to date. It has grossed over $121 million worldwide, becoming A24’s second highest-grossing film, and has received generally favorable reviews from critics.

Civil War Movie Trailer

Civil War Movie StoryLine

The United States is engulfed in a civil war, with an authoritarian president facing off against secessionist movements. Despite the president’s claims of imminent victory, it’s anticipated that the “Western Forces” (WF), led by Texas and California, will soon reach Washington, D.C. After surviving a suicide bombing in New York City, veteran war photographer Lee Smith and journalist Joel, along with their mentor Sammy, plan to interview the isolated president. Sammy reluctantly joins them in their journey to the frontline in Charlottesville, Virginia. The group is joined by Jessie Cullen, a young aspiring photojournalist Lee had previously met at the bombing scene.

During their travels, they stop at a gas station protected by armed men. Jessie discovers the men torturing alleged looters at a nearby car wash. Lee defuses the situation by taking a photo of the torturer with his victims. Jessie feels remorseful for not taking photos of the scene herself.

As they continue their journey, they document a successful assault by secessionist militias on a loyalist-held building. Lee starts mentoring Jessie, who photographs the secessionists executing prisoners. The group spends a night at a refugee camp and later passes through a small town where residents seem to live in denial of the ongoing war.

They are caught in a sniper battle at a Christmas fair, where Jessie’s nerve and photography skills improve despite the chaos. Jessie even asks Lee if he would photograph her if she were killed, to which he agrees.

The group encounters two foreign reporters, Tony and Bohai. Tony and Jessie switch vehicles, and Bohai drives off with Jessie. The others find them held at gunpoint by militia burying civilians in a mass grave. Sammy stays behind to help but is mortally wounded when he rams the truck into the militia members to save the others.

Traumatized, the remaining three reach the Charlottesville WF base to find most loyalists have surrendered, leaving Washington, D.C. largely undefended except for fanatical remnants. Joel, distraught over Sammy’s death, lashes out in anger, while Lee tries to comfort Jessie, suggesting Sammy would have preferred to die on the job. Lee is unable to document Sammy’s death, quickly deleting a photo of his body.

The trio joins the WF in their assault on D.C., where Jessie risks her safety to capture photographs while Lee struggles with combat fatigue. As the WF breaches the White House perimeter, the presidential limousine is intercepted and its occupants are killed. The trio, sensing a distraction, heads inside with five WF soldiers.

Inside the largely deserted White House, an attempt by the remaining Secret Service agents to negotiate the president’s surrender turns into a firefight. Jessie captures Lee’s death as she continues to photograph the scene. She then watches as soldiers drag the president from his hiding place and prepare to execute him. Joel momentarily stops them to get a quote from the president, who pleads, “Don’t let them kill me.” Satisfied with the president’s response, Joel allows the soldiers to proceed, while Jessie photographs the president’s corpse alongside the WF soldiers.

Box Office

• Budget
  • $50,000,000 (estimated)
• Gross US & Canada
  • $68,603,430
• Opening weekend US & Canada
  • $25,537,368
  • Apr 14, 2024
• Gross worldwide
  • $121,753,122

Technical Space

• Runtime1 hour 49 minutes
• Color
  • Color
• Sound mix
  • Dolby Digital
  • IMAX 6-Track
  • Dolby Atmos
• Aspect ratio
  • 1.85 : 1

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