Mickey 17 (2025) — Bong Joon-ho’s Clone-Comedy About the Value of a Life.

He Short Of It.

Director/Writer: Bong Joon-ho.
Based on: Mickey7 (2022) by Edward Ashton.
Stars: Robert Pattinson, Naomi Ackie, Steven Yeun, Mark Ruffalo, Toni Collette.
Release (U.S.): March 7, 2025.
Runtime: 2h 17m • Rating: R • Distributor: Warner Bros.
Worldwide box office (final theatrical): ≈$133.0M (Domestic ≈$46.0M; International ≈$87.0M).

“How many cast in this Mickey 17 movie?”

Large studio films credit dozens of performers, but the principal ensemble that drives Mickey 17 is compact—about 10–12 key players—headed by:

• Robert Pattinson — Mickey Barnes / “Mickey 17” (the Expendable)
• Naomi Ackie — Nasha (security officer; Mickey’s partner)
• Steven Yeun — Timo (scientist/colleague)
• Mark Ruffalo — Kenneth Marshall (the mission’s vain, authoritarian leader)
• Toni Collette — Ylfa Marshall (Kenneth’s eccentric spouse)
  With notable supporting roles from Anamaria Vartolomei, Daniel Henshall, Cameron Britton, Patsy Ferran, and others. Aggregators list the fuller cast beyond these principals.

If you count everyone credited on screen, the number runs much higher, but for story purposes the film orbits five central performances plus a handful of strong supporting turns.

Who is the main character Mickey 17 Movie?

The main character is Mickey Barnes—specifically the seventeenth iteration (hence “Mickey 17”)—played by Robert Pattinson. In this universe, an “Expendable” is a low-status crew member hired precisely to die on dangerous missions and then be reprinted (cloned) with backup memories to continue serving. Mickey’s problem—and the film’s spark—is that Mickey 17 survives just as “Mickey 18” is printed, creating two living versions that must hide their duplication under penalty of execution.

What is the Mickey 17 movie about? (spoiler-light).

A corporate-colonial expedition tries to tame the icy planet Niflheim. Kenneth Marshall rules like a petty strongman; Ylfa adds court-jester menace. Nasha wants a future with Mickey that isn’t determined by how many times he can be killed and rebooted. When two Mickeys exist at once, identity, labor, and loyalty collide. Bong plays this as a sci-fi black comedy: grim deaths, yes, but also screwball rhythms, sight gags, and political satire about who counts as human when systems reduce people to replaceable parts.

Box-office performance (“how many box collection”).

Using Box Office Mojo’s studio accounting of the theatrical run:

• Domestic (U.S./Canada): $46,047,147
• International: $87,000,000
• Worldwide Total: $133,047,147
• Domestic Opening Weekend: $19,002,852
• Widest Release: 3,807 theaters
• Runtime: 2h 17m
  These are the final theatrical figures displayed on Mojo’s title summary.

For context, The Numbers lists a production budget of about $118M; at ~$133M worldwide, the film landed close to break-even on production only, but well short of typical studio thresholds after marketing and exhibitor splits.

What niche does Mickey 17 occupy?

Bong Joon-ho fuses genre entertainment with class satire, crafting a sci-fi black comedy that’s less about space battles and more about labor, bodies, and ownership—with a romantic core. The film’s niche can be summed up as:

1. Clone-comedy of errors: The “two Mickeys” conceit powers farce and suspense, letting Pattinson play off himself while the plot hides a walking HR catastrophe.
2. Labor satire in space: The Expendable contract literalizes how capitalism treats some workers as consumable. Think Parasite’s bite—just orbiting a frozen exoplanet.
3. Auteur sci-fi with heart: Beneath the cynicism is a love story and, surprisingly for Bong, a hopeful ending about agency and solidarity—including a pact with Niflheim’s native beings (“creepers”).
4. Hand-crafted worldbuilding: From worm-armadillo “creepers” (inspired by croissants and puppies in parkas) to retro-industrial production design, the world feels specific, tactile, and weird.

Deep dive: why it works (and where it stumbles).

Performances & characters

• Robert Pattinson leans into dual-role physical comedy and melancholy; watching two Mickeys bicker over work, love, and survival is the film’s live wire.
• Naomi Ackie’s Nasha anchors the emotional stakes, refusing to treat Mickey as disposable—even when he’s literally duplicated.
• Mark Ruffalo skewers would-be strongmen as Kenneth Marshall, a leader more brand than brain, while Toni Collette’s Ylfa supplies barbed chaos. Steven Yeun adds steadiness as Timo.

Tone & structure

Bong runs a tightrope between bleak and breezy. The film’s first half is packed with witty beats (failed mission gags; clone-room antics). Midway, the plotting meanders as the conspiracy widens, before rallying to a finale that swaps cynicism for a qualified optimism about collective action. Reviewers noted that even “mid-tier Bong” is still more inventive than most studio sci-fi.

Worldbuilding details

• Niflheim is frigid, mineral-rich, and inhospitable—perfect for corporate mythology about “manifest destiny.”
• The Company/Church fuses profit and piety; Marshall is both CEO and preacher, pushing purity politics along with pipelines.
• Creepers range from puppy-cute juveniles to armored “Mama,” with movement language and behavior inspired by real-world creatures (and baked goods!).

Themes that land

• Replaceability vs. personhood: If a USB-like backup can reboot you, what part is “you”? The film argues for experience and care over data continuity.
• Authoritarian aesthetics: Marshall’s regime weaponizes ritual and optics; Bong lampoons the pageantry of power while showing how fragile it is when confronted by community.
• Love amid disposability: Calling it “a love story” isn’t PR spin; Nasha’s insistence on Mickey’s dignity reshapes every choice the clones make.

Craft corner.

Direction & script: Bong’s hallmark genre-blending—equal parts satire, thriller, romance—keeps scenes playing on multiple registers at once.

Design & creatures: The creepers’ designs are quirky and characterful, not just CGI spectacle; they’re integral to the final moral realignment.

Performances: Pattinson’s dual work is the selling point; Ackie and Ruffalo give the movie its moral tug-of-war.

Pacing: A soft middle—a common critique—briefly dulls momentum before a satisfying closing stretch.

How it fits into 2025’s landscape.

*Mickey 17* in North America with ~$19M, a respectable figure for original, R-rated sci-fi—but its legs were moderate, and the final worldwide ≈$133M placed it in the commercial underperformer column given costs. Still, it became Bong’s highest-grossing English-language release, surpassing Snowpiercer, and it has already found a second life on streaming where its oddball charms arguably play even better.

FAQ-style quick answers.

How many cast (main)? Roughly 10–12 principal players, with 5 marquee leads. Full credits are much longer.

Main character? Mickey Barnes (Robert Pattinson)—an “Expendable” whose two living copies must outwit a theocratic boss.

Box collection (theatrical): ~$133.0M worldwide (Domestic ~$46.0M / International ~$87.0M).

What’s the niche? Sci-fi black comedy about labor, identity, and love—auteur-driven, ideas-first studio sci-fi rather than action spectacle.

Final thoughts.

*Mickey 17* is the sort of studio gamble cinephiles root for: a weird, humane, political sci-fi film that squeezes laughter and tenderness from a premise about dying for a living. It might not have conquered the box office, but it earns its cult stripes: a film about refusing to be replaceable, even when the system insists that you are.