---
title: "Asteroid City"
year: 2023
kind: "film"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/asteroid-city"
fi1m_id: "asteroid-city"
imdb_id: "tt14230388"
tmdb_id: 747188
wikidata_id: "Q108086029"
fi1m_score: 71
critics_score: 70
critics_reviews: 13
published: "2026-09-10"
updated: "2026-09-18T08:38:06.857881+00:00"
region: "US"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Asteroid City (2023)

Directed by Wes Anderson · 1h 45m · MPA PG-13 · Comedy, Drama

## Identity

Asteroid City

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/asteroid-city
- **Type:** Film
- **Fi1m ID:** asteroid-city
- **IMDb ID:** tt14230388
- **TMDB ID:** 747188
- **Wikidata ID:** Q108086029
- **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14230388/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/747188, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q108086029

**Fi1m score: 71** · Critics 70 from 13 reviews

*In a sentence:* A widower, a film star, an alien and a vending machine that sells real estate, none of them raising their voice

> Wes Anderson builds a desert town to the millimetre, fills it with the bereaved and then lands an alien in it. It is funny, handsome and slow to let us in, and when it finally does, near the end, it earns its keep.

## Synopsis

A television programme in black and white presents a play called *Asteroid City*, written by Conrad Earp (Edward Norton) and staged by Schubert Green (Adrien Brody), and then shows us the play itself. In a one-street town in the American desert, some time in the 1950s, Augie Steenbeck (Jason Schwartzman), a photographer, arrives with his four children for a junior stargazers’ convention. He has not yet told them their mother is dead. His father-in-law, Stanley Zak (Tom Hanks), follows. In the next cabin is Midge Campbell (Scarlett Johansson), a film actress. General Gibson (Jeffrey Wright) presides, Dr Hickenlooper (Tilda Swinton) runs the observatory, and the prize-giving is interrupted by something that comes down out of the sky. Wes Anderson directs from his own screenplay.

## Review

Wes Anderson’s film opens in black and white, on a television stage, where a host (Bryan Cranston) introduces a play called *Asteroid City* and the man who wrote it, Conrad Earp (Edward Norton). Then the picture widens, the colour comes up, and we are inside the play: a one-street town in the American desert, some time in the 1950s, where a junior stargazers’ convention is about to give out its prizes. It is funny, it is built with a care that borders on the alarming, and for a long stretch in the middle we could not feel anything about it. It gets there, late.

Augie Steenbeck (Jason Schwartzman), a photographer, drives in with his teenage son, his three small daughters and a car that dies on arrival. He has not told the children that their mother is dead. Her father, Stanley Zak (Tom Hanks), arrives to disapprove of him. Midge Campbell (Scarlett Johansson), a film actress, takes the next cabin. General Gibson (Jeffrey Wright) makes speeches and Dr Hickenlooper (Tilda Swinton) runs the observatory. Then something comes down out of the sky during the ceremony, and the town is sealed.

Adam Stockhausen builds the town as a handful of flat-fronted buildings on one road: a diner, a filling station, a row of motel cabins, a motorway ramp that stops in mid-air, and a crater with a fence round it. Robert D. Yeoman and Tristan Oliver share the cinematography credit, and the desert is shot wide, in orange and turquoise and cream, under a sky that never changes; the television scenes are boxed in and grey. Milena Canonero puts the parents in pressed pastels and Midge in a black wig and a painted bruise. Mushroom clouds go up on the horizon and nobody looks for long. Barney Pilling cuts the camera’s sideways slides so that it moves and the people do not.

Schwartzman plays Augie with a pipe, a beard and a voice that never rises, and he makes the flatness read as shock rather than manner. Johansson does the film’s best work. Her scenes with Schwartzman, spoken through the facing windows of their cabins while she rehearses a part in her next picture, are the only time two people in this town seem to want anything from each other. Wright’s address to the children is a fine piece of military nonsense. Hanks plays the grandfather as a man who has been angry for so long it has become good manners. Brody, as the play’s director Schubert Green, gets two scenes in the grey half and takes both.

The trouble is the middle. Once the town is sealed, everybody waits, and Anderson’s idea of waiting is a run of short, level scenes in which the children trade facts and the adults trade silences. Title cards announce the act and scene, and Cranston steps in to tell us what we are watching. For about forty minutes we were bored, and then we were irritated at being bored by something so carefully made. Alexandre Desplat writes short, dry cues, mostly plucked strings, and keeps out of the way; the country songs on the jukebox do more of the work.

Then, in its last quarter of an hour, the film does something we will not describe, except to say that it involves an actor stepping out of his part to ask a question. It moved us more than the previous ninety minutes had prepared us for. The reason is plain: it is the first moment when the play and the stage need each other, when a man in costume grieving on cue and a man out of costume who does not know how to grieve are visibly the same person. Everything before it was a box; this is what was in it.

[*The Grand Budapest Hotel*](https://film.one/film/the-grand-budapest-hotel) (2014) had a story you could follow with the sound off; *The French Dispatch* (2021) was three short films in a folder. This has more of the second’s machinery and, for once, a centre to put it round, which is why it recovers and the earlier film did not. See it in a cinema if you can, where the width of the town matters and the grey scenes feel like the interruption they are meant to be; at home the two shrink to the same size. It runs 105 minutes and carries a 12A. It will not make converts and is not trying to. Take someone who already likes him, and sit through the middle.

*Fi1m score 71, published 10 September 2026.*

## What the critics say

The reviews are mostly warm, with a wide spread beneath the warmth. Most critics agree on the surface: the desert town is meticulously built, the production design and the 1950s Americana are praised almost everywhere, and the large ensemble is found to be game. The praise clusters around the play-within-a-television-broadcast framing, which the film’s admirers take as Anderson’s most searching work on grief, family and making sense of the world through art, and around Jason Schwartzman and Scarlett Johansson, whom several critics, including the Los Angeles Times and The Hollywood Reporter, single out for bringing feeling to a cool design.

The reservations cluster on the same framing device: doubters find it over-complicated and dramatically inert, holding the audience at arm’s length. The dissent is sharp rather than mild. The Guardian finds it smug and suffocating, and Variety judges it for die-hards only. Nearly everyone agrees it will not convert the unconvinced.

## Straight answers

**Is Asteroid City worth watching?**

*Asteroid City* is worth watching if you already like Wes Anderson, and we scored it 71. It is funny and built to the millimetre, but the middle forty minutes are a run of level scenes in which everybody waits, and we were bored. The last quarter of an hour moved us more than the rest had prepared us for, and repays the sitting through.

**How long is Asteroid City, and what is it rated?**

*Asteroid City* runs 1h 45m and is rated PG-13 by the MPA in the US. It is a comedy and drama film.

**Where can I watch Asteroid City in the US?**

*Asteroid City* is streaming on Peacock, Amazon Prime Video and The Roku Channel in the US, and it is also available to rent from Apple TV and Amazon Prime Video from $3.99. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service.

**How violent or frightening is Asteroid City, and is it suitable for children?**

*Asteroid City* carries a 12A and contains almost nothing violent or frightening. Mushroom clouds go up on the horizon and nobody looks for long, something comes down out of the sky, and a widower has not yet told his children their mother is dead. Small children are more likely to be bored than scared; teenagers who like odd, deadpan comedy will fare better.

**How does Asteroid City compare to The Royal Tenenbaums?**

*Asteroid City* and [*The Royal Tenenbaums*](https://film.one/film/the-royal-tenenbaums) are both Wes Anderson films about bereaved families, and the earlier film is the warmer and the better of the two. *Tenenbaums* is funnier, less boxed in, and lets Gene Hackman bring some bad manners to the decoration. *Asteroid City* is slower to let you in and asks more patience, though its final stretch earns its keep.

**What should I watch after Asteroid City?**

After *Asteroid City*, try [*The Royal Tenenbaums*](https://film.one/film/the-royal-tenenbaums) (2001, Fi1m 84): Anderson’s other bereaved family, funnier, warmer and far less boxed in. Then [*Synecdoche, New York*](https://film.one/film/synecdoche-new-york) (2008, Fi1m 84): A play that swallows the man who wrote it, with none of the tidiness; and [*Paris, Texas*](https://film.one/film/paris-texas) (1984, Fi1m 88): The American desert as a place to go and grieve, shot for real.

### Reviews we read (23)

- **Little White Lies**, David Jenkins (5/5/5): The critic calls it a witty and deeply moving exploration, the maestro's formula tweaked to perfection, praising its metafictional dismantling of artistic creation and emotional depth. [Read](https://lwlies.com/reviews/asteroid-city)
- **Vulture**, Bilge Ebiri (90/100, inferred): The review calls Asteroid City a masterpiece that brings necessary madness to Anderson's method, connecting human mysteries to the unknown. It singles out the emotional wallop of the meta-theatrical climax for praise. [Read](https://www.vulture.com/2023/06/asteroid-city-review-wes-anderson-has-finally-gone-mad.html)
- **The Telegraph**, Robbie Collin (4/5): Anderson’s oddest and most conceptually complex film yet is a play-within-a-film confection that rewards long-term fans with intricate whirrings and emotional depth. It explores finding and playing a role in life amid grief, love and existential search, with inimitable surface pleasures. [Read](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/asteroid-city-cannes-2023-wes-anderson-review/)
- **The New Yorker**, Anthony Lane (75/100, inferred): Emotions are stylized like the clothes in this ordered film, but Scarlett Johansson’s performance cracks the surface open. The title is a joke and the story layers a play within a TV broadcast, with delight in the textural contrasts and stylized elements. [Read](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/06/26/asteroid-city-movie-review-maggie-moores)
- **Los Angeles Times**, Justin Chang (65/100, inferred): The gorgeous production design and starry ensemble make for a half-irritating, half-intoxicating experience that soars, stalls and sometimes alienates. It lands on a moving conclusion that we are not alone, with Schwartzman and Johansson leaving the most poignant impression. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2023-06-15/asteroid-city-review-wes-anderson-jason-schwartzman-scarlett-johansson)
- **Variety**, Owen Gleiberman (40/100, inferred): The director’s creation of a tiny desert town is an ingenious act of world-building, but what happens there has the turgid ironic whimsy of earlier Anderson films. It looks smashing but is dramatically inert and for die-hards only. [Read](https://variety.com/2023/film/reviews/asteroid-city-review-wes-anderson-jason-schwartzman-scarlett-johansson-tom-hanks-1235615834/)
- **The Guardian**, Mark Kermode (30/100, inferred): The critic finds the film a smug and irritating exercise in studied quirkiness despite its meticulous visuals and starry cast. The meta structure and deadpan tone fail to engage, leaving a vacuum-sealed atmosphere that becomes suffocating. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/jun/25/asteroid-city-review-smug-wes-anderson-comedy-falls-to-earth)
- **Empire**, John Nugent: The critic finds Asteroid City a delightful return to form for Anderson, praising its meticulous visual style, production design, and handling of themes like family, grief, and love amid meta framing and eccentric characters. It notes the film may not convert skeptics and can feel indulgent or unfocused at times. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/asteroid-city/)
- **Financial Times** (★★★☆☆): Wes Anderson’s latest is a minutely arranged homage to 1950s space nerds and star-crossed lovers that delights devout fans with its retro stylings and meta details but is unlikely to convert others. It improves on The French Dispatch with an emotional centre and gentle satire. [Read](https://www.ft.com/content/ddda7167-d61c-492c-9250-28b671ce8877)
- **Screen Daily**: The critic finds it delightful, occasionally moving and exquisitely crafted, a modest charmer about making sense of the world through art, with impeccable design and a winning whimsical tone. [Read](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/asteroid-city-cannes-review/5182173.article)
- **Sight and Sound**: The critic praises the film's ambitious world-building and scene-by-scene pleasures in its comic-sketch style, highlighting the ensemble cast and 1950s Americana markers, while noting the meta framing device. [Read](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/asteroid-city-wes-andersons-charming-sci-fi-caper-festooned-with-markers-1950s-americana)
- **The Hollywood Reporter**, David Rooney: The review finds the film unequal parts exuberant and exasperating, with over-complicated framing and a lack of emotional pull despite impeccable craft. It singles out Jason Schwartzman and Scarlett Johansson for bringing poignant yearning to their roles amid the distancing whimsy. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/asteroid-city-review-scarlett-johansson-wes-anderson-1235497955/)
- **The New York Times**, Manohla Dargis (Critic's Pick): The film is filled with the expected visuals and curiosities from Anderson, comic and wry but with the soul of a tragedy. It explores desire, death, small mysteries, cosmic unknowns and the stories made of life through a meta structure of a TV show about a play. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/15/movies/asteroid-city-review-wes-anderson.html)
- **The Times**, Ed Potton (★★★★☆): The director delivers another whimsical wonder with real emotion beneath the layers of artifice in this fantastical tale of a junior stargazers’ convention. An all-star cast brings warmth and Lynchian weirdness to the tricksy framing of play and TV show. [Read](https://www.thetimes.com/culture/film/article/asteroid-city-review-another-whimsical-wonder-from-wes-anderson-hvc36zxwc)
- **Time Out**, Phil de Semlyen (Recommended): The critic describes it as a heart-stirring, surrealist treat and Anderson's most bittersweet film about family since The Royal Tenenbaums, praising its whimsical sci-fi take on fellowship and the ensemble performances. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/asteroid-city-2023)
- **Total Film**: The review calls it a playfully searching delight that contemplates infinity and life's mysteries while holding firm to Anderson's signature style. It highlights the wry exploration of grief, anxiety, and nuclear fears alongside inventive meta elements and strong performances from the ensemble. [Read](https://www.gamesradar.com/asteroid-city-review/)
- **Polygon**, Isaac Feldberg (85/100, inferred): The critic finds it a strong, deeply layered movie and Wes Anderson at his most mature and magical, singling out the framing device and existential themes. [Read](https://www.polygon.com/reviews/23735955/asteroid-city-review-wes-anderson)
- **Digital Spy** (80/100, inferred): The piece positions the film as a meta exploration of how stories and art help people find meaning in life, blending Western, sci-fi, and arthouse elements. It singles out Anderson's use of symmetry, pastel colors, and drama-free performances for praise. [Read](https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a44297390/asteroid-city-review-wes-anderson-meaning/)
- **NME**, James Mottram (4/5): The critic praises the film's lush visuals, large ensemble cast, and affectionate take on 1950s sci-fi tropes within Wes Anderson's signature style. Jason Schwartzman's performance and the meta framing device are highlighted as particular strengths. [Read](https://www.nme.com/reviews/film-reviews/asteroid-city-review-wes-andersons-star-stuffed-ufo-adventure-3446917)
- **/Film**, Lex Briscuso (7.5/10): Asteroid City is a top-tier Wes Anderson original with a magical sci-fi edge that brings back carefree fun and charm while taking small risks. It is a blissful experiment, though not as profound in messaging as some earlier works. [Read](https://www.slashfilm.com/1294822/asteroid-city-review/)
- **HeyUGuys**, Emily Breen (3/5): The film is a beautiful but frustrating Wes Anderson outing, with a game cast, keen ideas and gorgeous aesthetic that make for a playful if shallow slice. Annoying title cards and shallow characterisations prevent full immersion in its charm or deeper questions about grief and connection. [Read](https://www.heyuguys.com/asteroid-city-review/)
- **The Ringer**, Adam Nayman (60/100, inferred): It is a return to form but feels like the work of a perfectionist on autopilot; praises technical mastery and ensemble while questioning whether it moves the audience. [Read](https://www.theringer.com/2023/06/15/movies/asteroid-city-wes-anderson-review)
- **Deadline**, Todd McCarthy: The film is a madly quirky surprise that oozes creativity at every turn, with distinctive stylized storytelling and propulsive lateral tracking shots that give it urgency and snap. The show-within-a-film conceit complicates things without much payoff and may baffle general audiences. [Read](https://deadline.com/2023/05/asteroid-city-review-wes-anderson-cannes-1235375328/)

## Details

- **Director:** Wes Anderson
- **Director:** Wes Anderson
- **Screenplay:** Wes Anderson
- **Story:** Roman Coppola, Wes Anderson
- **Cinematography:** Robert Yeoman, Tristan Oliver
- **Editor:** Barney Pilling
- **Music:** Alexandre Desplat
- **Production design:** Adam Stockhausen
- **Costume design:** Milena Canonero
- **Producer:** Jeremy Dawson, Steven Rales, Wes Anderson
- **Cast:** Jason Schwartzman as Augie Steenbeck; Scarlett Johansson as Midge Campbell; Tom Hanks as Stanley Zak; Jeffrey Wright as General Gibson; Tilda Swinton as Dr. Hickenlooper; Bryan Cranston as The Host; Edward Norton as Conrad Earp; Adrien Brody as Schubert Green
- **Runtime:** 1h 45m
- **Certificate (MPA):** PG-13
- **Release (the US):** 23 June 2023
- **Genres:** Comedy, Drama
- **Budget:** $25 million
- **Box office:** $54 million
- **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9FXCSXuGTF4

## Where to watch in the US

- Peacock: streaming, uhd
- Amazon Prime Video: add-on, uhd
- The Roku Channel: add-on, hd
- Apple TV: rent $3.99, hd
- Amazon Prime Video: rent $3.99, uhd
- Amazon Prime Video: buy $14.99, uhd
- Apple TV: buy $14.99, hd

*Checked 2026-09-10.*

Also available in: AR, AT, AU, BE, BG, BR, CA, CH, CL, CO, CZ, DE, DK, EE, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, HK, HR, HU, IE, IL, IN, IT, JP, KR, LT, MX, MY, NL, NO, NZ, PA, PH, PL, PT, RO, RS, SE, SG, TH, UA, US, VN, ZA. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country.

## If you liked this

- *The Royal Tenenbaums* (2001), Fi1m 84: Anderson’s other bereaved family, funnier, warmer and far less boxed in. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-royal-tenenbaums.md)
- *Synecdoche, New York* (2008), Fi1m 84: A play that swallows the man who wrote it, with none of the tidiness. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/synecdoche-new-york.md)
- *Paris, Texas* (1984), Fi1m 88: The American desert as a place to go and grieve, shot for real. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/paris-texas.md)
- *Playtime* (1967), Fi1m 88: Tati builds a whole city to the millimetre and lets the people get lost in it. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/playtime.md)
- *Close Encounters of the Third Kind* (1977), Fi1m 85: Something comes down out of the sky and the film means it. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/close-encounters-of-the-third-kind.md)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/asteroid-city