The Christophers (film)

The Christophers (film)

The Christophers is a 2025 black comedy film directed by Steven Soderbergh and written by Ed Solomon. It stars Ian McKellen, Michaela Coel, Jessica Gunning, and James Corden.

The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 7, 2025, followed by a limited theatrical release in the United States on April 10, 2026, by Neon.

Premise

The Christophers (film)

Estranged children of a well-known artist employ a forger to finish his incomplete paintings in order to sell them.

Cast

The Christophers (film)

• Ian McKellen as Julian Sklar • Michaela Coel as Lori Butler • James Corden as Barnaby Sklar • Jessica Gunning as Sallie Sklar

Production

The Christophers (film)

The film is written by Ed Solomon and directed by Steven Soderbergh. The film is produced by Department M, with Michael Schaefer and Mike Larocca as executive producers. The cast is led by Ian McKellen, Michaela Coel, Jessica Gunning, and James Corden.

Principal photography took place in February 2025 in London. Filming locations included Fitzrovia in the London Borough of Camden. David Holmes composed the score for the film.

Release

The Christophers (film)

The Christophers premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 7, 2025. In October, Neon acquired distribution rights to the film, scheduling it for a limited theatrical release in Los Angeles and New York City on April 10, 2026, followed by a nationwide expansion later that spring. The film is scheduled to be released in the United Kingdom and Ireland on May 15, by Picturehouse Entertainment.

Reception

The Christophers (film)

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 97% of 31 critics' reviews are positive. Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 73 out of 100, based on 12 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.

For Deadline, reviewer Damon Wise writes that because it's a Soderbergh film, one would expect a twist, but that "the twist here is that there isn’t really a twist" and goes on to call it an "unusually emotional film for Soderbergh."