Rotten Tomatoes
Cancel Movies Tv shows FanStore News Showtimes

Bad Times at the El Royale

Play trailer 2:01 Poster for Bad Times at the El Royale R Released Oct 12, 2018 2h 21m Mystery & Thriller Crime Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
75% Tomatometer 260 Reviews 75% Popcornmeter 5,000+ Ratings
The El Royale is run-down hotel that sits on the border between California and Nevada. It soon becomes a seedy battleground when seven strangers -- a cleric, a soul singer, a traveling salesman, two sisters, the manager and the mysterious Billy Lee -- converge on a fateful night for one last shot at redemption before everything goes wrong.
Watch on Fandango at Home Buy Now

Where to Watch

Bad Times at the El Royale

Bad Times at the El Royale

What to Know

Critics Consensus

Smart, stylish, and packed with solid performances, Bad Times at the El Royale delivers pure popcorn fun with the salty tang of social subtext.

Read Critics Reviews

Critics Reviews

View All (260) Critics Reviews
Ben Sachs Chicago Reader Perhaps the most insufferable Tarantino knockoff since the 90s. Mar 3, 2020 Full Review Manohla Dargis New York Times At some point during this logy 2-hour-and-21-minute exercise you want something more substantial than even Hemsworth's admittedly mesmerizing snaky hips. Apr 18, 2019 Full Review Chris Stuckmann ChrisStuckmann.com An extremely well-directed film. Rated: B+ Nov 20, 2018 Full Review Yehuda Siegel Loud and Clear Reviews At its core, Bad Times is a film about duality. California, Nevada. Glamour, abandonment. The song, the food. The money, the film. The sins of the past, the consequences of the present. Rated: 5/5 Nov 18, 2024 Full Review Ankit Ojha Cinema Elite It’s almost like Christopher Nolan and Martin Scorcese doped up on Agatha Christie and Alfred Hitchcock’s contained storytelling before picking up Quentin Tarantino’s “The Hateful Eight” to remix. Rated: 4.5/5 Jul 9, 2024 Full Review Nyle Coleman InSession Film Jeff Bridges as Father Daniel Flynn was outstanding and will go down as one of my favorites from him. Rated: B+ May 9, 2024 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (1000+) audience reviews
Ralph C Pacing was a bit irregular - lagged a third to halfway into it. Strong performances all around. Nostalgic (attention to detail is amazing) yet still felt fresh. Not for everyone - you know who you are. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 05/14/21 Full Review Eric S This is one of those perfect films. Amazing cinematography, incredible, surprising plot, amazing acting from a star-filled cast, and an incredible setting. It’s one of the few times that Hemsworth plays an evil character and Jeff Bridges turns in his usual jaw-dropping performance— pointedly out-acting, and out-macho-ing Hemsworth. It’s magic to see. Constant surprises. Weird. A stunning period piece that makes use of countless tropes from the era (1969). Rated 5 out of 5 stars 11/18/24 Full Review Nick R It has enough style and good performances to stand out, even if it's just another forgettable Tarantino knockoff. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 11/07/24 Full Review Brian M This movie definitely kept my attention. The different characters’ stories were well laid out, and the ending came together well. Also, great production as far as scenery, set, and costume design. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 10/14/24 Full Review Adis M Too long, too boring and I'm happy that it's over with watching this movie because i couldn't enjoy nearly nothing. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 10/03/24 Full Review Jonathan H Nice cinematography, interesting visual style and lighting, solid performances but a mixed bag of a story. Parts of it feel very incomplete and the ending ultimately is not fully satisfying. It's not a bad movie by any means, it just feels like there could have been more catharsis at the climax. The flashbacks helped a little bit to explain where each character was coming from, but I'm still not sure why I was supposed to care about most of them. No doubt, there might be some religious or political symbolism at play as far as who/what each character was supposed to represent. I get that. But it may just be lost on most people who were not expected that kind of subliminal messaging or subtext. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 09/17/24 Full Review Read all reviews
Bad Times at the El Royale

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW

Cast & Crew

American Animals 88% 82% American Animals Watchlist TRAILER for American Animals Motherless Brooklyn 65% 80% Motherless Brooklyn Watchlist TRAILER for Motherless Brooklyn Above Suspicion 26% 45% Above Suspicion Watchlist TRAILER for Above Suspicion Widows 91% 61% Widows Watchlist TRAILER for Widows Nightmare Alley 80% 68% Nightmare Alley Watchlist TRAILER for Nightmare Alley Discover more movies and TV shows. View More

Movie Info

Synopsis The El Royale is run-down hotel that sits on the border between California and Nevada. It soon becomes a seedy battleground when seven strangers -- a cleric, a soul singer, a traveling salesman, two sisters, the manager and the mysterious Billy Lee -- converge on a fateful night for one last shot at redemption before everything goes wrong.
Director
Drew Goddard
Producer
Jeremy Latcham, Drew Goddard
Screenwriter
Drew Goddard
Distributor
20th Century Fox
Production Co
Goddard Textiles, TSG Entertainment, Twentieth Century Fox
Rating
R (Language|Brief Nudity|Some Drug Content|Strong Violence)
Genre
Mystery & Thriller, Crime, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Oct 12, 2018, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Dec 18, 2018
Box Office (Gross USA)
$17.8M
Runtime
2h 21m
Sound Mix
Dolby Atmos
Aspect Ratio
Scope (2.35:1)
Most Popular at Home Now