''Spy'' is a 2015 American
spy
Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence) from non-disclosed sources or divulging of the same without the permission of the holder of the information for a tangib ...
action comedy film
Action comedy is a genre that combines aspects of action and comedy. The genre is most prevalent in film with action comedy films, though several TV series fit this genre.
Film
The action comedy film is a film genre that combines aspects of acti ...
written and directed by
Paul Feig
Paul Samuel Feig (; born September 17, 1962) is an American actor, comedian and filmmaker. He is known for directing films starring frequent collaborator Melissa McCarthy, including ''Bridesmaids'' (2011), '' The Heat'' (2013), ''Spy'' (2015) ...
. Starring
Melissa McCarthy
Melissa Ann McCarthy (born August 26, 1970) is an American actress, comedian, producer, writer, and fashion designer. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including two Primetime Emmy Awards, and nominations for two Academy Awards and tw ...
,
Jason Statham
Jason Statham (; born 26 July 1967) is an English actor. He is known for portraying characters in various action-thriller films who are typically tough, hardboiled, gritty, or violent.
Statham began practising Chinese martial arts, kickboxing ...
,
Rose Byrne
Mary Rose Byrne (born 24 July 1979) is an Australian actress. She made her screen debut in the film ''Dallas Doll'' (1994), and continued to act in Australian film and television throughout the 1990s. She obtained her first leading film role i ...
,
Miranda Hart
Miranda Katherine Hart Dyke (born 14 December 1972) is an English actress and writer. Following drama training at the Academy of Live and Recorded Arts, Hart began writing material for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and making appearances in va ...
,
Bobby Cannavale
Roberto Michael Cannavale (; born May 3, 1970) is an American actor. He is best known for various television roles, including leading roles in ''Third Watch'', ''Vinyl'', and ''Mr. Robot'', as well as recurring roles in ''Will & Grace'', which wo ...
,
Allison Janney
Allison Brooks Janney (born November 19, 1959) is an American actress. In a career spanning three decades, she is known for her performances across multiple genres of screen and stage. Janney has received various accolades, including an Academ ...
, and
Jude Law
David Jude Heyworth Law (born 29 December 1972) is an English actor. He received a British Academy Film Award, as well as nominations for two Academy Awards, two Tony Awards, and four Golden Globe Awards. In 2007, he received an Honorary Césa ...
, the film follows unorthodox secret agent Susan Cooper (McCarthy) as she tries to trace a stolen portable nuclear device.
Produced by
Peter Chernin
Peter Chernin (born May 29, 1951) is an American businessman and investor. He is the chairman and CEO of The Chernin Group (TCG), which he founded in 2010. TCG manages, operates and invests in businesses in the media, entertainment, and technolog ...
,
Jenno Topping
Jenno Topping is an American film producer. Films she has produced include ''Dr. Dolittle (1998 film), Dr. Dolittle'' (1998), ''Charlie's Angels (2000 film), Charlie's Angels'' (2000), ''St. Vincent (film), St. Vincent'' (2014), ''Miss Peregrine's ...
, Feig, and Jessie Henderson, ''Spy'' had its world premiere at
South by Southwest
South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in m ...
on March 15, 2015, and was theatrically released in the United States on June 5, 2015, by
20th Century Fox
20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...
. The film received positive reviews from critics and grossed $235 million worldwide against a $65 million budget. It was nominated for two
Golden Globe Awards
The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...
:
Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy and
Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy for McCarthy.
Plot
Susan Cooper is a 40-year-old, single, desk-bound
CIA
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...
employee who assists her partner,
field agent In espionage, a field agent is an agent who works in the field as opposed to one who operates at the office or headquarters. A field agent can work alone or in a group but usually has a case officer who is in charge.
Field agents can be undercover ...
Bradley Fine, remotely on a mission. Fine accidentally kills arms dealer Tihomir Boyanov, failing to learn the location of a
suitcase nuke
A suitcase nuclear device (also suitcase nuke, suitcase bomb, backpack nuke, snuke, mini-nuke, and pocket nuke) is a tactical nuclear weapon that is portable enough that it could use a suitcase as its delivery method.
Both the United States and ...
from him.
Susan uncovers evidence that Rayna, Boyanov's daughter, has contacted terrorist middle man Sergio De Luca, so Fine infiltrates her home. She shoots him dead, while Susan watches helplessly online. She then reveals she knows the identities of the agency's top agents, including Rick Ford and Karen Walker. Susan, once a top trainee agent but now unknown, volunteers to track her. When her boss, Elaine Crocker, reluctantly agrees, the ultra
macho
Machismo (; ; ; ) is the sense of being " manly" and self-reliant, a concept associated with "a strong sense of masculine pride: an exaggerated masculinity". Machismo is a term originating in the early 1930s and 1940s best defined as hav ...
Ford quits in disgust.
With her best friend Nancy providing remote intelligence, Susan goes to
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
. Ford shows up and warns her she will fail because of her inexperience. She discovers that De Luca's office has burned down, but finds a photo of a man standing next to the fire. Ford appears, argues with Susan again and leaves. She sees the man from the photo switch Ford's backpack with one containing a bomb. Susan warns Ford in time during a
Verka Serduchka
Andriy Mykhailovych Danylko ( uk, Андрі́й Миха́йлович Дани́лко; born 2 October 1973), better known as his drag persona Verka Serduchka ( uk, Вє́рка Сердю́чка, links=no, ; russian: Ве́рка Серд ...
concert and then pursues the man, accidentally killing him during the ensuing fight. She finds proof, on his body, that De Luca is going to
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
.
In Rome, Susan meets her contact Aldo. She follows De Luca into a casino, where she saves Rayna's life. She invites Susan into her inner circle, taking her by private jet to
Budapest
Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...
. In mid-flight, the steward kills Rayna's crew, but Susan subdues him. Rayna believes her to be a CIA agent, but Susan convinces her that she was hired by her father to protect her.
Nancy joins Susan in Budapest. After being shot at, Susan pursues and catches the would-be assassin: Karen, who sold Rayna the names of the agents. She tries to shoot Susan, but an unseen sniper kills her. Susan, Nancy and Aldo accompany Rayna to a party to meet Rayna's contact, Lia. Nancy creates a diversion, jumping on guest performer
50 Cent, so that Susan can apprehend Lia, but Ford's inopportune intervention lets her escape. Susan catches her and, during a brutal fight, is saved from death by Fine, who faked his murder and is Rayna's lover and associate.
Rayna imprisons Susan and Aldo, but Fine visits them, revealing he is gaining Rayna's trust to locate the nuke, and he was the one who killed Karen. Susan and Aldo escape, and she follows Fine and Rayna to De Luca's mansion. There, she convinces them that the CIA has mistreated her, and she will do anything to protect Fine, admitting she loves him.
Terrorist
Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...
Solsa Dudaev arrives, gives De Luca a suitcase full of diamonds, and Rayna produces the device. De Luca has Dudaev and his men killed, revealing his plan to resell the device to another buyer, then prepares to shoot Rayna. Ford distracts him, allowing Susan to kill his men.
De Luca escapes by helicopter with the device and the diamonds, but Susan grabs onto the landing gear. In the ensuing struggle, Susan throws the diamonds and the device into the lake below. De Luca attempts to shoot Susan, but Nancy, following in 50 Cent's helicopter, shoots him before he can. De Luca falls out of the helicopter into the lake.
The nuke is retrieved and Rayna is arrested, but she makes peace with Susan. Ford, realizing he had underestimated Susan, finally compliments her skills. Crocker tells her she will remain a field agent, and that her next assignment is in Prague. Fine invites Susan to dinner, but she opts for a night out with Nancy. The next morning, Susan wakes up in bed next to Ford and screams, while Ford claims she "loved it".
During the credits, details of Susan on various missions, all over the world, are shown.
Cast
*
Melissa McCarthy
Melissa Ann McCarthy (born August 26, 1970) is an American actress, comedian, producer, writer, and fashion designer. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including two Primetime Emmy Awards, and nominations for two Academy Awards and tw ...
as Susan Cooper
*
Jason Statham
Jason Statham (; born 26 July 1967) is an English actor. He is known for portraying characters in various action-thriller films who are typically tough, hardboiled, gritty, or violent.
Statham began practising Chinese martial arts, kickboxing ...
as Rick Ford
*
Rose Byrne
Mary Rose Byrne (born 24 July 1979) is an Australian actress. She made her screen debut in the film ''Dallas Doll'' (1994), and continued to act in Australian film and television throughout the 1990s. She obtained her first leading film role i ...
as Rayna Boyanov
*
Jude Law
David Jude Heyworth Law (born 29 December 1972) is an English actor. He received a British Academy Film Award, as well as nominations for two Academy Awards, two Tony Awards, and four Golden Globe Awards. In 2007, he received an Honorary Césa ...
as Bradley Fine
*
Miranda Hart
Miranda Katherine Hart Dyke (born 14 December 1972) is an English actress and writer. Following drama training at the Academy of Live and Recorded Arts, Hart began writing material for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and making appearances in va ...
as Nancy B. Artingstall
*
Bobby Cannavale
Roberto Michael Cannavale (; born May 3, 1970) is an American actor. He is best known for various television roles, including leading roles in ''Third Watch'', ''Vinyl'', and ''Mr. Robot'', as well as recurring roles in ''Will & Grace'', which wo ...
as Sergio De Luca
*
Allison Janney
Allison Brooks Janney (born November 19, 1959) is an American actress. In a career spanning three decades, she is known for her performances across multiple genres of screen and stage. Janney has received various accolades, including an Academ ...
as Elaine Crocker
*
Peter Serafinowicz
Peter Szymon Serafinowicz ( ; born 10 July 1972) is an English actor, comedian, director and screenwriter, best known for his roles as the title character in the 2016 live-action series of '' The Tick'', Pete in ''Shaun of the Dead'' (2004) an ...
as Aldo
*
Morena Baccarin as Karen Walker
*
Björn Gustafsson as Anton
*
Nargis Fakhri
Nargis Fakhri (born October 20, 1979) is an American actress and model who primarily works in the Indian Hindi-language films. Her first role in film came with the 2011 romantic drama ''Rockstar'', for which she was nominated for Filmfare Award ...
as Lia
*
Richard Brake
Richard Colin Brake (born 30 November 1964) is a Welsh-American character actor, known for his supporting roles as Joe Chill in '' Batman Begins'' (2005), Doom-Head in '' 31'' (2016), and the chemist in '' Mandy'' (2018), as well as his lead ro ...
as Solsa Dudaev
*
50 Cent as Himself
*
Will Yun Lee
William Yun Lee (born March 22, 1971) is an American actor and martial artist. He is best known for his roles as Danny Woo in the supernatural drama ''Witchblade
''Witchblade'' is a comic book series published by Top Cow Productions, an ...
as Timothy Cress
*
Carlos Ponce
Carlos Armando Ponce Freyre Jr. (born September 4, 1972) is a Puerto Rican actor, musician, model, and television personality. Ponce began his acting career by participating in Spanish language soap operas for Televisa and Telemundo. Ponce contin ...
as Matthew Wright
*
Michael McDonald as Patrick
*
Mitch Silpa
Mitch Silpa (born January 9, 1973) is an American writer, actor and director, who starred in NBC's ''The Rerun Show'', and has appearances in shows such as '' Brothers & Sisters'', '' Curb Your Enthusiasm'', '' Desperate Housewives'', ''Gilmore ...
as Fredrick
*
Zach Woods
Zachary Woods (born September 25, 1984) is an American actor, comedian, writer, director and producer. He is best known for his roles as a series regular for three seasons as Gabe Lewis on the NBC sitcom ''The Office'', as Jared Dunn on the HBO ...
as Man in purple tie
*
Jessica Chaffin
Jessica Chaffin is an American actress, comedian, and writer best known as part of the comedy duo Ronna and Beverly with Jamie Denbo. She is also known for her recurring roles as Coco Wexler on Nickelodeon's ''Zoey 101'', Marie Faldonado in the C ...
as Sharon
*
Katie Dippold
Katie Dippold (born January 10, 1980) is an American screenwriter. She was a writer on the NBC series ''Parks and Recreation'' and wrote '' The Heat'' starring Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy and the 2016 ''Ghostbusters'' reboot.
Life and c ...
as Katherine
* Julian Miller as Nicola
*
Sam Richardson as John
*
Ben Falcone
Benjamin Scott Falcone (born August 25, 1973) is an American actor, comedian and filmmaker. He is married to actress Melissa McCarthy, with whom he co-starred in '' God’s Favorite Idiot''. He has also had cameos in '' ''Bridesmaids', ''Iden ...
as American tourist
*
Jamie Denbo
Jamie Denbo (born July 24, 1973) is an American actress, writer, comedian and half of the comedy duo Ronna and Beverly with Jessica Chaffin. She also co-starred in the FX series ''Terriers'' and appeared in '' Spy'', '' The Heat'' and ''Ghos ...
as Casino hostess
*
Steve Bannos
Steve Bannos (born August 5, 1960) is an American television and film actor, writer and photo dealer. As an actor, he often had cameos in Judd Apatow and Paul Feig films, and is also known for his portrayal of Frank Kowchevski on the short-lived ...
as Alan, the bartender
*
Verka Serduchka
Andriy Mykhailovych Danylko ( uk, Андрі́й Миха́йлович Дани́лко; born 2 October 1973), better known as his drag persona Verka Serduchka ( uk, Вє́рка Сердю́чка, links=no, ; russian: Ве́рка Серд ...
as Himself
*
Paul Feig
Paul Samuel Feig (; born September 17, 1962) is an American actor, comedian and filmmaker. He is known for directing films starring frequent collaborator Melissa McCarthy, including ''Bridesmaids'' (2011), '' The Heat'' (2013), ''Spy'' (2015) ...
as drunken guest at Paris hotel (uncredited)
Production
Development
On June 18, 2013, it was announced that
Paul Feig
Paul Samuel Feig (; born September 17, 1962) is an American actor, comedian and filmmaker. He is known for directing films starring frequent collaborator Melissa McCarthy, including ''Bridesmaids'' (2011), '' The Heat'' (2013), ''Spy'' (2015) ...
was developing ''Susan Cooper'', a female spy comedy, for
20th Century Fox
20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...
. Feig wrote and directed the film.
Peter Chernin
Peter Chernin (born May 29, 1951) is an American businessman and investor. He is the chairman and CEO of The Chernin Group (TCG), which he founded in 2010. TCG manages, operates and invests in businesses in the media, entertainment, and technolog ...
and
Jenno Topping
Jenno Topping is an American film producer. Films she has produced include ''Dr. Dolittle (1998 film), Dr. Dolittle'' (1998), ''Charlie's Angels (2000 film), Charlie's Angels'' (2000), ''St. Vincent (film), St. Vincent'' (2014), ''Miss Peregrine's ...
produced the film under the Chernin Entertainment banner, with Feig and Jessie Henderson for Feigco Entertainment.
On November 12, 2013, Fox announced a release date of May 22, 2015.
On March 28, 2014, the film's title was changed to ''Spy''.
Casting
On July 25, 2013, it was confirmed that
Melissa McCarthy
Melissa Ann McCarthy (born August 26, 1970) is an American actress, comedian, producer, writer, and fashion designer. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including two Primetime Emmy Awards, and nominations for two Academy Awards and tw ...
was in negotiations to play the title role.
Zooey Deschanel
Zooey Claire Deschanel (; born January 17, 1980) is an American actress, singer, and songwriter. She made her film debut in '' Mumford'' (1999) and had a supporting role in Cameron Crowe's film '' Almost Famous'' (2000). Deschanel is known for h ...
was originally slated to play the role of Elaine Crocker but left the project.
On October 17,
Rose Byrne
Mary Rose Byrne (born 24 July 1979) is an Australian actress. She made her screen debut in the film ''Dallas Doll'' (1994), and continued to act in Australian film and television throughout the 1990s. She obtained her first leading film role i ...
joined the cast of the film.
Throughout 2014,
Jason Statham
Jason Statham (; born 26 July 1967) is an English actor. He is known for portraying characters in various action-thriller films who are typically tough, hardboiled, gritty, or violent.
Statham began practising Chinese martial arts, kickboxing ...
,
Jude Law
David Jude Heyworth Law (born 29 December 1972) is an English actor. He received a British Academy Film Award, as well as nominations for two Academy Awards, two Tony Awards, and four Golden Globe Awards. In 2007, he received an Honorary Césa ...
,
Nargis Fakhri
Nargis Fakhri (born October 20, 1979) is an American actress and model who primarily works in the Indian Hindi-language films. Her first role in film came with the 2011 romantic drama ''Rockstar'', for which she was nominated for Filmfare Award ...
,
Miranda Hart
Miranda Katherine Hart Dyke (born 14 December 1972) is an English actress and writer. Following drama training at the Academy of Live and Recorded Arts, Hart began writing material for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and making appearances in va ...
,
Bobby Cannavale
Roberto Michael Cannavale (; born May 3, 1970) is an American actor. He is best known for various television roles, including leading roles in ''Third Watch'', ''Vinyl'', and ''Mr. Robot'', as well as recurring roles in ''Will & Grace'', which wo ...
,
Peter Serafinowicz
Peter Szymon Serafinowicz ( ; born 10 July 1972) is an English actor, comedian, director and screenwriter, best known for his roles as the title character in the 2016 live-action series of '' The Tick'', Pete in ''Shaun of the Dead'' (2004) an ...
,
Björn Gustafsson.
Morena Baccarin,
Allison Janney
Allison Brooks Janney (born November 19, 1959) is an American actress. In a career spanning three decades, she is known for her performances across multiple genres of screen and stage. Janney has received various accolades, including an Academ ...
,
Zach Woods
Zachary Woods (born September 25, 1984) is an American actor, comedian, writer, director and producer. He is best known for his roles as a series regular for three seasons as Gabe Lewis on the NBC sitcom ''The Office'', as Jared Dunn on the HBO ...
and
Jessica Chaffin
Jessica Chaffin is an American actress, comedian, and writer best known as part of the comedy duo Ronna and Beverly with Jamie Denbo. She is also known for her recurring roles as Coco Wexler on Nickelodeon's ''Zoey 101'', Marie Faldonado in the C ...
joined the cast, along with
50 Cent, who would be playing himself,
and
Nia Long
Nia Talita Long (born October 30, 1970) is an American actress. Best known for her work in Black cinema, Long rose to prominence after starring in the film ''Boyz n the Hood'' (1991), and for her portrayal of Beullah "Lisa" Wilkes on the NBC sit ...
, who did not appear in the finished film.
Filming
Principal photography
Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production.
Personnel
Besides the main film personnel, such as actor ...
and production began on March 31, 2014, in
Budapest
Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...
,
Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...
.
On May 27, filming was under way in Budapest and was about to wrap up. Apart from tax breaks, shooting was primarily done in Budapest because its architecture and location could allow it to appear as other places where the story took place, including Paris. A prosthetic was used for shots of Nicola (Julian Miller) exposing himself. The production team of Spy had to present prosthetics used in the shots to the
MPAA
The Motion Picture Association (MPA) is an American trade association representing the five major film studios of the United States, as well as the video streaming service Netflix. Founded in 1922 as the Motion Picture Producers and Distribu ...
for rating.
Release
Theatrical
The US release of film was originally scheduled for May 22, 2015, by
20th Century Fox
20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...
.
In March 2015, the date was pushed back to June 5, 2015, which was first assigned to ''
B.O.O.: Bureau of Otherworldly Operations'' and ''
Paper Towns
''Paper Towns'' is a novel written by John Green, primarily for an audience of young adults, and was published on October 16, 2008, by Dutton Books. The novel is about the coming-of-age of the protagonist, Quentin "Q" Jacobsen and his search fo ...
''; the former of which being taken off the schedule and cancelled, while the latter moved to July. Prior to its official release, Paul Feig stated that ''Spy'' went through about 10
test screening
A test screening is a preview screening of a movie or television show before its general release to gauge audience reaction. Preview audiences are selected from a cross-section of the population and are usually asked to complete a questionnaire or ...
s, a process – which includes recording the audience laughter for each version – he does "religiously", with
Judd Apatow
Judd Apatow (; born December 6, 1967) is an American comedian, director, producer, and screenwriter, best known for his work in comedy and drama films. He is the founder of Apatow Productions, through which he produced and directed the films '' ...
(who produced the Feig-directed ''
Bridesmaids
Bridesmaids are members of the bride's party in a Western traditional wedding ceremony. A bridesmaid is typically a young woman and often a close friend or relative. She attends to the bride on the day of a wedding or marriage ceremony. Traditi ...
'') commenting on its usefulness for a comedy film: "It doesn't work very well if a movie is supposed to make you feel difficult emotions. If you're making a
David Lynch
David Keith Lynch (born January 20, 1946) is an American filmmaker, visual artist and actor. A recipient of an Academy Honorary Award in 2019, Lynch has received three Academy Award nominations for Best Director, and the César Award for Be ...
movie, it doesn't work at all. But for comedy it's often the best way to refine jokes."
''Spy'' was released on May 21, 2015 in
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
,
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
and
Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
, and of May 28, 2015 in
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
and May 29, 2015 in
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
.
Reception
Box office
''Spy'' grossed $110.8 million in North America and $124.8 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $235.6 million, against a budget of $65 million.
In North America, the film made $1.5 million from its early Thursday night showings
and an estimated $10.3 million on its opening day from 3,711 theaters, coming at second place at the box office behind fellow new release ''
Insidious: Chapter 3''.
It would go on to top the box office in its opening weekend, earning $29 million. The film dropped 46% in its sophomore weekend to $15.6 million, finishing second behind newcomer ''
Jurassic World''.
Outside North America, ''Spy'' opened in ten foreign markets on May 22, 2015, earning $12.7 million in its opening weekend from 1,810 screens, and coming in fourth place at the box office (behind ''
Mad Max: Fury Road'', ''
Tomorrowland
Tomorrowland is one of the many themed lands featured at all of the Magic Kingdom styled Disney theme parks around the world owned or licensed by The Walt Disney Company. Each version of the land is different and features numerous attractions t ...
'', and ''
Pitch Perfect 2'').
In the UK, Ireland and Malta, it opened with $3.9 million.
The film had successful openings in
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
($4.8 million),
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
and the CIS ($3.1 million),
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
($2.9 million),
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
($1.6 million) and
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
($1.3 million).
Critical response
''Spy'' received praise for Feig's direction and screenplay, McCarthy and Byrne's performances, as well as Statham's surprise comedic role. On review aggregator website
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
the film has an approval rating of 95% based on 259 reviews, with an average rating of 7.30/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Simultaneously broad and progressive, ''Spy'' offers further proof that Melissa McCarthy and writer-director Paul Feig bring out the best in one another — and delivers scores of belly laughs along the way." On
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
the film has a weighted average score of 75 out of 100, based on 40 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". In
CinemaScore
CinemaScore is a market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts based on the data.
Background
Ed Mintz founded Ci ...
polls, audiences gave the film an average score of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.
McCarthy's performance was praised by critics.
Richard Roeper
Richard E. Roeper (born October 17, 1959) is an American columnist and film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times''. He co-hosted the television series '' At the Movies'' with Roger Ebert from 2000 to 2008, serving as the late Gene Siskel's success ...
of ''
The Chicago Sun Times
The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago ...
'' called her "as funny and as winning as anyone in the movies these days". Tom Russo of ''
The Boston Globe
''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...
'' credited the film's success to McCarthy, writing, "part of what makes the action comedy such a loopy blast is the identity shifts she pulls on the audience." Bill Goodykoontz of ''Arizona Republic'' called the film McCarthy's return to form, writing "Finally, after the promise shown in ''
Bridesmaids
Bridesmaids are members of the bride's party in a Western traditional wedding ceremony. A bridesmaid is typically a young woman and often a close friend or relative. She attends to the bride on the day of a wedding or marriage ceremony. Traditi ...
'', but sold short since by weak scripts in films like ''
Tammy'' and ''
Identity Thief
''Identity Thief'' is a 2013 American road comedy film directed by Seth Gordon, screenplay by Craig Mazin, story by Mazin and Jerry Eeten and starring Jason Bateman and Melissa McCarthy. The film tells the fictional story of Sandy Patterson, wh ...
'', Melissa McCarthy gets a movie vehicle worthy of her talents."
In addition to McCarthy's, many of the supporting cast members' performances were praised, particularly Byrne's and Statham's. John Boone of ''
Entertainment Tonight
''Entertainment Tonight'' (or simply ''ET'') is an American Broadcast syndication, first-run syndicated news broadcasting news magazine, newsmagazine program that is distributed by CBS Media Ventures throughout the United States and owned by Para ...
'' said Statham "twists his action hero persona into a delightfully delusional version of the same thing", and praised Byrne's performance, writing "For every joke that McCarthy's Susan Cooper ends up as the butt of, Byrne is the one teeing it up with perfectly understated wickedness. She can so easily spit out lines as offensive as, after Cooper delivers a punny cheers, "What a stupid, f**king toast," but make it...charming?"
Peter Travers
Peter Joseph Travers (born ) is an American film critic, journalist, and television presenter. He reviews films for ABC News and previously served as a movie critic for ''People'' and ''Rolling Stone''. Travers also hosts the film interview prog ...
of ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'' called Byrne's comedic timing "bitchy perfection".
Accolades
Possible sequel
In a May 2015 interview with ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'', Paul Feig said he was already writing a sequel, that includes
Jason Statham's Agent Ford, though the project doesn't have a producer. In 2019, Feig explained that although a sequel to ''Spy'' could still happen, "there hasn't been any interest from the studio" in the project.
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Spy
2015 films
2015 action comedy films
2010s spy comedy films
20th Century Fox films
TSG Entertainment films
American action comedy films
American spy comedy films
2010s English-language films
Films about the Central Intelligence Agency
Films directed by Paul Feig
Films produced by Peter Chernin
Films produced by Paul Feig
Films scored by Theodore Shapiro
Films set in Budapest
Films set in Bulgaria
Films set in Paris
Films set in Rome
Films set in Virginia
Films shot in Budapest
Films shot in Hungary
Films with screenplays by Paul Feig
American spy action films
Films about terrorism
Chernin Entertainment films
American female buddy films
Women spies in fiction
2010s female buddy films
2010s feminist films
2010s American films