
Arrival
2016 · Movie · PG-13 · 116 min · ★ 7.6 · 88% critics
After alien crafts land around the world, a specialist in language is brought in by the military to figure out what the visitors want. With an international effort underway, she must determine whether their arrival signals peace or danger, while human tensions threaten to derail everything.
Based on Story of Your Life
Also known as Story of Your Life · L'arrivée
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Streaming on Paramount+.
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Details
- Years
- 2016
- Release date
- 2016-11-10
- Language
- English
- Rated
- PG-13
- Runtime
- 116 min
- Critic score
- 88/100
- TMDB rating
- 7.6/10 (19,405 votes)
- Box office
- $203,388,186
- Budget
- $50,000,000
About
You’ll like Arrival if you enjoy reflective, communication-focused sci-fi over action, with a calm but tense mystery; Not for you if you want nonstop thrills or a straightforward plot, similar to Contact and Interstellar may disappoint.
Pros: thoughtful alien contact; gripping linguistics; memorable performances | Cons: slow pacing; confusing structure; uneven execution
Themes
- spacecraft
- extraterrestrial technology
- loss
- time
- alien
- language
- female protagonist
- scientist
- heartbreak
- based on short story
- alien contact
- military
- +12 more
Awards & recognition
- Academy Award — Best Sound Editing · 2017
- Hugo Award — Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form · 2017
- Critics' Choice Movie Award — Best Sci-Fi/Horror Movie · 2016
- National Board of Review: Top Ten Films
- AACTA International Award — Best Film · 2017 · nominated
Show all 13 awards →
- Academy Award — Best Sound · 2017 · nominated
- Academy Award — Best Sound Editing · 2017 · nominated
- Academy Award — Best Cinematography · 2017 · nominated
- Academy Award — Best Picture · 2017 · nominated
- Academy Award — Best Director · 2017 · nominated
- Academy Award — Best Film Editing · 2017 · nominated
- Academy Award — Best Production Design · 2017 · nominated
- Academy Award — Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay · 2017 · nominated
Cast & crew

Amy Adams
as Louise Banks

Jeremy Renner
as Ian Donnelly

Forest Whitaker
as Colonel Weber

Michael Stuhlbarg
as Agent Halpern

Mark O'Brien
as Captain Marks

Tzi Ma
as General Shang

Abigail Pniowsky
as 8-Year-Old Hannah

Julia Scarlett Dan
as 12-Year-Old Hannah

Jadyn Malone
as 6-Year-Old Hannah

Frank Schorpion
as Dr. Kettler
Directed by Denis Villeneuve