The Circle

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2:26

The Circle

PG-13

2017

1h 50m

Mystery & Thriller

Drama

Sci-Fi

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

16%

Tomatometer

147 Reviews

21%

Popcornmeter

10,000+ Ratings

Mae Holland (Emma Watson) seizes the opportunity of a lifetime when she lands a job with the world's most powerful technology and social media company. Encouraged by the company's founder (Tom Hanks), Mae joins a groundbreaking experiment that pushes the boundaries of privacy, ethics and personal freedom. Her participation in the experiment, and every decision she makes soon starts to affect the lives and futures of her friends, family and that of humanity.

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Critics Consensus

The Circle assembles an impressive cast, but this digitally driven thriller spins aimlessly in its half-hearted exploration of timely themes.

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Ben Sachs

Chicago Reader

Director James Ponsoldt (who adapted the book with Eggers) barely develops any character besides Watson's, piling on narrative complications instead.

Apr 9, 2020

Full Review

Chris Stuckmann

ChrisStuckmann.com

Bland performances from talented actors, and boring direction from a very talented director, and awful editing...

Rated: D

May 12, 2018

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Paul Byrnes

The Age (Australia)

An idea in a Hollywood thriller is almost an accident now, so The Circle deserves praise for thoughtfulness.

Rated: 3.5/5

Aug 23, 2017

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Don Shanahan

Every Movie Has a Lesson

The new pseudo-dystopian thriller “The Circle” incites the over-obvious social media and data-mining fears of our present surveillance society of sharing and shines them up into a shiny and engrossing yarn of mainstream entertainment.

Rated: 3/5

Jul 17, 2025

Full Review

Keith Garlington

Keith & the Movies

Regardless of what it teases, “The Circle” doesn’t really go anywhere and that may be its biggest flaw – lots of potential, practically all of it wasted.

Rated: 2/5

Aug 19, 2022

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Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

The film never delves into a thorough consideration of its concept; and what's more, the story lacks a narrative thrust to support its otherwise neat ideas.

Rated: 2/4

Apr 4, 2022

Full Review

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alyssa b

Love for Tom Hanks aside…this movie was a disgrace and injustice to the book. It takes the ole cliché of “the book was better than the movie” to a whole new level by NOT BEING THE SAME STORY LINES WHATSOEVER. Sure, it’s difficult to fit a 500 page book into a movie, but the amount of story building, world building, erasure of complete characters, plots, the haunting and chilling decline of the main character……just poof! Gone. And this movie is supposed to be a representation of all of that? I’ve never seen such a cheap adaption of a book in my life. They could’ve just changed the title and names of the characters, because those are the only remnants of what is a deeply unnerving, thoughtfully crafted, novel. Please read the book.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

08/27/25

Full Review

S S

One of the most disgracefully lazy films I've ever seen. They couldn't even come up with an actual cohesive plot or an ending for that matter. The characters were so under developed however that not knowing what happens to anyone or why doesn't really matter because NO ONE CARES.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

08/23/25

Full Review

Bethany N

A haphazard slopfest. I was praying the end could possibly redeem the slog. Sadly, I was just as disappointed by her ending choice as I was by wasting two hours watching this movie.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

08/12/25

Full Review

Bat T

I completely agree with most other opinions of this movie, it's trash of the highest order. Having said that, I found myself enjoying it purely because of the amount of time I spent venting my anger at my telly box. There's so much hypocrisy and double standards in the story it's ridiculous and I guess plot holes aplenty. My feelings about the movie? Watch it if you want to be angry and feel almost like ripping your brain out (after chucking your TV out the window).

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

07/30/25

Full Review

Dr. Susanne M

There is no warranty for automatically becoming a good actress after being a cute little girl. Also, the plot is a logical desaster with no message besides "technology: baaad!"

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

07/20/25

Full Review

Korra N

A massive waste of time that's also one of the worst films this great cast has ever made.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

07/19/25

Full Review

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Mae Holland

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The Circle: Trailer 2

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Synopsis

Mae Holland (Emma Watson) seizes the opportunity of a lifetime when she lands a job with the world's most powerful technology and social media company. Encouraged by the company's founder (Tom Hanks), Mae joins a groundbreaking experiment that pushes the boundaries of privacy, ethics and personal freedom. Her participation in the experiment, and every decision she makes soon starts to affect the lives and futures of her friends, family and that of humanity.

Director: James Ponsoldt
Producer: Gary Goetzman, Anthony Bregman, James Ponsoldt
Screenwriter: James Ponsoldt, Dave Eggers
Distributor: STX Entertainment
Production Co: Likely Story, Playtone, Route One Entertainment
Rating: PG-13 (Brief Strong Language|A Sexual Situation|Drug Use|Some Thematic Elements)
Genre: Mystery & Thriller, Drama, Sci-Fi
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Apr 28, 2017, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Jul 17, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA): $20.5M
Runtime: 1h 50m

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