Friday Flicks: ‘Phantom Thread’, ‘The Post’, ‘All the Money in the World’
The late-2017 slate delivered a mix of prestige dramas and oddball comedies, and nine years later the films still sit in different corners of the conversation. Phantom Thread remains the one that lingers longest, its quiet power undiminished by time. The surrounding titles have settled into clearer commercial and critical profiles, letting us see what worked and what simply evaporated at the box office.
Downsizing (Paramount Pictures)
on limited theatrical release now From Alexander Payne comes a new quirky social-commentary dramedy about climate change and a little adventure. Matt Damon (Good Will Hunting) stars in this film about an ingenious solution to overpopulation and consumption: just shrink everyone down. Kristen Wiig (The Skeleton Twins) and Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Basterds) also turn up in this odd story about change, responsibility, and also the existential challenges we face as a species on a planet with limited resources. You know, fun for the whole family! The film closed with roughly $55 million worldwide against a reported budget between $68 million and $76 million. Critics landed at 47 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, praising the early visual wit while noting the story lost momentum once the satire shifted toward smaller-scale emotional beats.
Happy End (Sony Pictures Classics)
on limited theatrical release now From Michael Haneke (The White Ribbon) comes another weird social satire with a cheeky streak of black comedy. With Isabelle Huppert (Souvenir) and Toby Jones (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy) on the case, this story follows a young woman sent to live in a mansion owned by her estranged father’s relatives. Familial drama and the usual Haneke-style social realism abound, with an incredible and ultimately human story underneath the hard bite of social critique. Happy End stands as Haneke’s most recent feature as of 2026. It earned European Film Award nominations for Huppert and Jean-Louis Trintignant, though it received no Oscar foreign-language nomination.
The Post (20th Century Fox)
on limited theatrical release now Literally bored by post-production on Ready Player One, Steven Spielberg has gone out and filmed a political drama that might snag a few awards come the season. Tom Hanks (Saving Private Ryan) and Meryl Streep (Out of Africa) are leads in this story following The Washington Post in the 1970s, breaking hard-hitting news about government coverups. The Post is a fantasy piece describing a mythical age of the triumph of a free & fair press, to contrast against today’s meme of “fake news”. Nevertheless, the lengths to which the likes of Ben Bradlee (Hanks) and Katharine Graham (Streep) went to break the truth is truly inspiring stuff. It’d be great if we saw some of that spirit in today’s political reporting – but we ain’t holding our breath. The National Board of Review later named the film Best Film of 2017, giving it early awards momentum that carried through the season.
Hostiles (Entertainment Studios Motion Pictures)
on limited theatrical release now Written and directed by Scott Cooper (Black Mass), Christian Bale (The Dark Knight) stars in this story about othering and the need to band together. Set in the 1890s, Bale plays an army captain who has to escort a dying Native American chief and his family to their lands. Facing the terrors of the frontier and an onslaught of hostile (title drop!) forces, they must all struggle together in order to survive. The film finished with $35.7 million worldwide. Review aggregator scores settled at 71 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, with most praise directed at Bale’s restrained performance and the stark frontier cinematography.
All the Money in the World (Sony Pictures)
on limited theatrical release now Ridley Scott’s new drama film has been in the news for weeks after his stunning decision simply to delete one of the cast members. Kevin Spacey (House of Cards) was due to take the role of Jean Paul Getty, one of the richest men in America, but in light of allegations made against him, Spacey was replaced in a marathon nine-day shoot by actor Christopher Plummer (Beginners). Plummer has gone on to be nominated at the Golden Globes for the hostage-based thriller flick. Props to octogenarian Ridley for reshooting his entire film and just showing us all up as the most productive man alive. The replacement required twenty-two scenes reshot across eight days at an additional $10 million cost. The episode later sparked public discussion around compensation when Mark Wahlberg reportedly received $1.5 million for the reshoots while Michelle Williams received far less, prompting Williams to pledge her fee to the Time’s Up Legal Defense Fund.
Phantom Thread (Focus Features)
on limited theatrical release now Daniel Day-Lewis (Lincoln) says this is his final performance, and what a swansong it is. Playing acclaimed fashion designer Reynolds Woodcock in fifties London, this story follows the entrapment & disruption love can bring into the creative life. The film already has everyone abuzz with acclaim, and director Paul Thomas Anderson (The Master) has seemingly delivered a portrait of yet another obsessive, self-destructive bloke that ends up being a paean for the times we live in. We’re beyond excited to check this one out ourselves. A truly tailored experience you might say? We’re hoping it suits our tastes! We seam to think this one’s going to be good! Fashion puns ftw! The picture earned an Academy Award for Best Costume Design and received nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actress, and Best Original Score. Worldwide gross reached $52.2 million against a $35 million budget. In 2025 it placed number 25 on The New York Times list of the 100 Best Movies of the 21st Century and number 35 on Rolling Stone’s corresponding ranking; the Writers Guild of America placed the screenplay 87th among the greatest of the century so far.
Retrospective Rankings and Enduring Legacy
Phantom Thread’s placement on multiple 2025 best-of lists confirmed what awards voters sensed at the time. The New York Times and Rolling Stone both slotted the film inside their top forty titles of the century, while the WGA screenplay ranking placed it among the most structurally precise scripts of the era. These honors arrived alongside fresh 70mm and repertory screenings, keeping the picture in circulation rather than letting it fade into standard catalog status.
Production Controversies and Reshoots in Context
All the Money in the World’s hurried reshoots became a case study in crisis management. The eight-day turnaround and $10 million added cost drew industry attention, yet the later pay-gap conversation proved more lasting. Public disclosure of the fee disparity between Wahlberg and Williams shifted focus from the film’s thriller mechanics to broader questions about how supporting players are compensated during emergency production fixes.
Box Office Performance and Commercial Outcomes
Final numbers painted a mixed picture across the slate. Phantom Thread cleared its modest budget and turned a profit on awards-driven re-releases. Downsizing and Hostiles both underperformed relative to their costs, while The Post benefited from Spielberg’s brand and timely awards positioning. These results underscored how limited-release prestige titles can still find audiences when critical support and awards timing align.
Director Career Milestones Since 2017
Phantom Thread remains Daniel Day-Lewis’s final screen appearance. Happy End stands as Michael Haneke’s most recent feature. Paul Thomas Anderson received thirteen Oscar nominations for a 2026 project, extending the run of meticulous, character-driven work that Phantom Thread exemplified. The 2017 films now function as waypoints rather than endpoints in these directors’ trajectories.
