The Thursday Murder Club (film)

The Thursday Murder Club is a British crime comedy film directed by Chris Columbus from a screenplay by Katy Brand and Suzanne Heathcote, based on the 2020 novel by Richard Osman. The film stars Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, Ben Kingsley, and Celia Imrie with David Tennant, Jonathan Pryce, Naomi Ackie, Daniel Mays, Henry Lloyd-Hughes, Richard E. Grant, Tom Ellis, Geoff Bell, Paul Freeman, Sarah Niles, and Ingrid Oliver in supporting roles. Its plot follows a group of elderly amateur sleuths who attempt to solve a murder.

The Thursday Murder Club
Release poster
Directed by	Chris Columbus
Screenplay by	Katy Brand Suzanne Heathcote
Based on	The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman
Produced by	Chris Columbus Jennifer Todd
Starring	Helen Mirren Pierce Brosnan Ben Kingsley Celia Imrie
Cinematography	Don Burgess
Edited by	Dan Zimmerman
Music by	Thomas Newman
Production companies	Jennifer Todd Pictures Maiden Voyage Amblin Entertainment
Distributed by	Netflix
Release date	August 22, 2025 (2025-08-22)
Running time	118 minutes[1]
Country	United States
Language	English

The Thursday Murder Club premiered on 21 August in Leicester Square, London, ahead of its release on 22 August in 30 selected cinemas and its streaming debut by Netflix on 28 August 2025.

Premise

Elderly amateur sleuths attempt to solve a murder. One was a spy, one was a nurse, one was a trade union official and one was a psychiatrist.^[2]

Cast

• Helen Mirren as Elizabeth Best, a retired spy
• Pierce Brosnan as Ron Ritchie, a retired union leader
• Ben Kingsley as Ibrahim Arif, a retired psychiatrist
• Celia Imrie as Joyce Meadowcroft, a retired nurse
• David Tennant as Ian Ventham
• Jonathan Pryce as Stephen Best, Elizabeth's husband
• Naomi Ackie as PC Donna De Freitas, a local police officer
• Daniel Mays as DCI Chris Hudson
• Henry Lloyd-Hughes as Bogdan
• Richard E. Grant as Bobby Tanner
• Tom Ellis as Jason Ritchie, Ron's son
• Geoff Bell as Tony Curran
• Paul Freeman as John Grey
• Sarah Niles as Patrice De Freitas, Donna's mother
• Ingrid Oliver as Joanna Meadowcroft, Joyce's daughter

Production

In March 2020, it was announced that Ol Parker would write and direct a film adaptation of Richard Osman's debut novel The Thursday Murder Club for Amblin Entertainment, after Amblin acquired the worldwide rights to the project, with Jennifer Todd serving as producer and Osman serving as executive producer.^[3][4] In March 2023, Osman said filming was set to begin in September 2023 with Steven Spielberg as producer.^[5] In November 2023, it was reported that filming was scheduled to begin in March 2024.^[6] However, in February 2024 Osman said he was hopeful filming would commence in August 2024 after delays during the 2023 Hollywood labor disputes.^[7] In April 2024, Chris Columbus was announced to replace Parker as writer, co-producer and director.^[4] A few days later, it was announced that the project had been acquired by Netflix.^[8]

Casting

In May 2024, Celia Imrie joined the cast as Joyce, with Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan and Ben Kingsley also part of the main cast.^[9] In June 2024, David Tennant, Jonathan Pryce, Naomi Ackie, Daniel Mays and Henry Lloyd-Hughes joined the cast.^[10] Katy Brand announced on Instagram that she had written the final screenplay for the film on June 18, 2024.^[11] In July 2024, Richard E. Grant, Ingrid Oliver and Tom Ellis were among those added to the cast.^[12]

Filming

Principal photography began on 27 June 2024, at Shepperton Studios.^[13][14] Filming also took place in Beaconsfield in July 2024.^[15] In September 2024, Osman appeared on The Chris Moyles Show and revealed that filming would wrap the same day.^[16]

Release

The Thursday Murder Club is scheduled to be released in select cinemas on 22 August 2025, before its streaming debut by Netflix on 28 August 2025.^[17][18]