Ponyboi

Ponyboi is a 2024 American thriller film directed by Esteban Arango, from a screenplay by River Gallo. It is based upon the 2019 short film of the same name by Gallo. It stars Gallo, Dylan O'Brien, Victoria Pedretti, Murray Bartlett, and Indya Moore.

Ponyboi
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Esteban Arango
Written by	River Gallo
Produced by	Mark Ankner River Gallo Adel "Future" Nur Trevor Wall
Starring	River Gallo Dylan O'Brien Victoria Pedretti Murray Bartlett Indya Moore
Cinematography	Ed Wu
Edited by	Hanna Park
Music by	Cristobal Tapia de Veer
Production companies	30KFT Tideline Entertainment[1]
Distributed by	Fox Entertainment Studios Gathr
Release dates	January 20, 2024 (2024-01-20) (Sundance) June 27, 2025 (2025-06-27) (United States)
Running time	103 minutes[2]
Country	United States
Language	English
Box office	$29,694[3]

It had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 20, 2024, and was released through Fox Entertainment Studios and Gathr on June 27, 2025.^[4]

Premise

On Valentine's Day, in New Jersey, a young intersex sex worker is working at a laundromat with his pregnant best friend, Angel. He spends his nights with Vinnie, his secret lover and pimp who is also the father of Angel's child. However, when a drug deal goes bad, he finds himself on the run from the mob.^[5][6]

Cast

• River Gallo as Ponyboi
• Dylan O'Brien as Vinnie
• Victoria Pedretti as Angel
• Murray Bartlett as Bruce
• Indya Moore as Charlie
• Denis Lambert
• Stephen Moscatello
• Aphrodite Armstrong
• Keith William Richards as Two-Tone

Production

In December 2022, it was announced River Gallo, Dylan O'Brien, Victoria Pedretti, and Indya Moore had joined the cast of the film, with Esteban Arango directing from a screenplay by Gallo.^[7]

The film was shot at various locations in New Jersey.^[8] Principal photography concluded by November 2022.^[9]

Release

It had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 20, 2024.^[10]

Reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 82% of 34 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.3/10.^[11] The film was positively reviewed in The Hollywood Reporter, which wrote that Gallo's screenplay "achieves something still rare in an industry unnecessarily confused about inclusion: Ponyboi seamlessly integrates its character’s challenges with identity into a propulsive story about a sex worker on the run."^[12] Collider wrote that the film was "cinematic gold" that "would be nothing without River Gallo's performance".^[13] Variety gave a more critical review, praising Gallo's acting but criticizing the writing as predictable and too reliant on clichés.^[14]