Zodiac (2007)
81%RT Audience Score: 77%
Awards & Nominations: 4 wins & 72 nominations
A quiet, dialogue-driven thriller that delivers with scene after scene of gut-wrenching anxiety. David Fincher also spends more time illustrating nuances of his characters and recreating the mood of the ’70s than he does on gory details of murder
Zodiac is a movie that will keep you on the edge of your seat, even if you already know the ending. With a star-studded cast and a director who knows how to build suspense, this film is a must-watch for anyone who loves a good thriller. Plus, who doesn’t love a little bit of Robert Downey Jr. as a drunken reporter? So grab some popcorn, turn off the lights, and get ready to be creeped out by the true story of the Zodiac killer.
Production Company(ies)
Distributor
Paramount Pictures
Release Type
Theatrical, Theatrical (Wide)
Filming Location(s)
Vallejo, California, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for some strong killings, language, drug material and brief sexual images
Year of Release
2007
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:SDDS Dolby Digital DTS
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Aspect ratio:2.39 : 1
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Runtime:2h 37m
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Mar 2, 2007 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 29, 2006
Genre(s)
Crime/Mystery & thriller
Keyword(s)
Zodiac, Crime, Mystery, Thriller, Drama, David Fincher, James Vanderbilt, Mike Medavoy, Arnold Messer, Bradley J Fischer, Ceán Chaffin, Mark Ruffalo, Jake Gyllenhaal, Robert Downey Jr., Anthony Edwards, Dermot Mulroney, Brian Cox, reviewed by Adam Nayman, Namrata Joshi, Bob Mondello, Christopher Orr, Mark Bourne, Graham Fuller, Brian Eggert, Matt Brunson, Jason Adams, Eve Tushnet, Toussaint Egan, Gena Radcliffe, R-rated, $33.0M box office, 2h 37m runtime, SDDS, DTS, Dolby Digital, Dolby SRD, Crime, San Francisco, Serial Killer, Investigation, Journalism, Police Procedural, Obsession, Cryptic Messages, Cyphers, Menacing Phone Calls, 1970s, True Story
Worldwide gross: $84,785,914
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $121,461,579
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 928
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 13,245,537
US/Canada gross: $33,080,084
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $47,389,466
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,099
US/Canada opening weekend: $13,395,610
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $19,190,121
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 677
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $65,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $93,116,914
Production budget ranking: 447
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $50,143,458
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): -$21,798,793
ROI to date (est.): -15%
ROI ranking: 1,479
Mark Ruffalo – Dave Toschi
Robert Downey Jr. – Paul Avery
Anthony Edwards – Bill Armstrong
Dermot Mulroney – Capt. Lee
Brian Cox – Melvin Belli
Director(s)
David Fincher
Writer(s)
James Vanderbilt
Producer(s)
Mike Medavoy, Arnold Messer, Bradley J. Fischer, James Vanderbilt, Ceán Chaffin
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
4 wins & 72 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (260) | Top Critics (70) | Fresh (232) | Rotten (28)
More than any American movie of the past decade, Zodiac accepts and embraces irresolvability, which may be why it’s so hypnotically rewatchable.
October 4, 2021
Adam Nayman
The Ringer
TOP CRITIC
Downey Jr is perfect as the alcoholic wastrel of a crime reporter Paul Averi, as is Mark Raffalo as the dependable cop David.
January 25, 2019 | Rating: 3/4
Namrata Joshi
Outlook
TOP CRITIC
There are no tidy, last-minute plot twists to make you feel good in Fincher’s Zodiac, just focus — to keep an audience focused — and the most disciplined filmmaking you’ve seen in forever.
October 18, 2008
Bob Mondello
NPR.org
TOP CRITIC
[W]here Se7en, with its stygian gloom and theatrical executions, inflated the serial killer genre to gothic proportions, Zodiac lets the air back out. It is methodical rather than macabre, clinical rather than cruel.
September 18, 2008
Christopher Orr
The New Republic
TOP CRITIC
Fincher, more subdued … and aching for a return to smart suspense films from the likes of Sidney Lumet and Alan J. Pakula, pulls us by the collar into the frame and cranks the sense of menace taut without cheap tricks or cop-out gimmicks.
January 8, 2008
Mark Bourne
Film.com
TOP CRITIC
David Fincher’s sixth feature potently blends the dynamics of the newsroom drama with those of the police procedural.
October 18, 2007
Graham Fuller
Sight & Sound
TOP CRITIC
Like a contagion that festers as easily as it spreads, David Fincher’s methodical Zodiac is catching.
February 14, 2022 | Rating: 4/4
Brian Eggert
Deep Focus Review
A satisfying hybrid of a journalism yarn, a police procedural, and a serial killer flick.
November 16, 2021 | Rating: 3/4
Matt Brunson
Film Frenzy
Here and there bits bob to the surface, and we and the characters think we may have figured something out, only to have the sheer immensity of detail leave the entire thing ultimately unknowable
July 2, 2021
Jason Adams
My New Plaid Pants
A chiller, more fatalistic…
June 5, 2021
Eve Tushnet
Patheos
Carve out three hours for this thinking-person’s thriller.
February 25, 2021
Toussaint Egan
Polygon
David Fincher isn’t rubbing the horrors we inflict on each other in the audience’s face. Here, it’s something more subtle, the creeping fear of I know I’m right…but what do I do now?
December 22, 2020
Gena Radcliffe
The Spool…
Plot
A serial killer in the San Francisco Bay Area taunts police with his letters and cryptic messages. We follow the investigators and reporters in this lightly fictionalized account of the true 1970’s case as they search for the murderer, becoming obsessed with the case. Based on Robert Graysmith’s book, the movie’s focus is the lives and careers of the detectives and newspaper people.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
There is no goofy or funny or odd comment about the film Zodiac on Fresh Kernels.
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