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Opening Night Gala
Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery
Contemporary cinema’s favourite detective Benoit Blanc returns in Rian Johnson’s sharply penned and devilishly fun reinvention of the classic whodunit.
Screening dates and booking
Screening 8 October 2025 at the Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall and in cinemas around the UK.
Credits
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Director
Rian Johnson
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With
Daniel Craig, Josh O’Connor, Glenn Close, Josh Brolin, Andrew Scott
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USA 2025. 140min
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Courtesy of
Netflix
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Language
English
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Opening Night Gala in partnership with American Express
Introduction
He solved the murder of a patriarch of a bitter, feuding family. He entered the labyrinthine world of a tech bro to peel away the layers of deceit and treachery to reveal their murderer. Now Benoit Blanc faces his toughest challenge yet – he’s going to church! Rian Johnson’s detective mastermind, gamely portrayed by Daniel Craig, has become one of the great fictional crime solvers. Part-Agatha Christie detective, a la Poirot and Marple, with a little of Arthur Conan Doyle’s eccentric super sleuth Sherlock Holmes thrown in for good measure, yet Blanc is a singular creation.
What also made previous entries of the Benoit Blanc mysteries, is the extraordinary roster of actors who populate Johnson’s intricately drawn worlds. In honouring the spirit of these brilliantly crafted films, we wouldn’t dare reveal any secrets, but the fact that Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery stars Josh O’Connor, Glenn Close, Josh Brolin, Cailee Spaeny, Jeremy Renner, Kerry Washington, Mila Kunis, Daryl McCormack, Thomas Haden Church and Andrew Scott, alongside Craig, is a solid lead that you will be kept guessing and wildly entertained with this killer Opening Night Gala.
Get early Opening Night Gala tickets
Support the BFI and see the international premiere of Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery as it opens the festival on Wednesday 8 October 2025.
Find out moreOctober 2025
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