The Thursday Murder Club

Quick Facts.

Screenplay by: Katy Brand & Suzanne Heathcote, based on the 2020 novel by Richard Osman

Runtime: 118 minutes

Release: Limited cinemas in the UK (from 22 August 2025), streaming globally on Netflix from 28 August 2025.

Genre: Crime comedy / whodunit with senior amateur sleuths in a retirement village.

Cast & Principal Characters (“How many cast in this movie”)

The film has a rather large, ensemble cast. Key players include:

The “Thursday Murder Club” core four:

Helen Mirren as Elizabeth Best, former spy
Pierce Brosnan as Ron Ritchie, ex-union activist
Ben Kingsley as Ibrahim Arif, a retired psychiatrist
Celia Imrie as Joyce Meadowcroft, former nurse

Supporting cast (some principal secondary characters):

Naomi Ackie as PC Donna de Freitas
Daniel Mays as DCI Chris Hudson
Henry Lloyd-Hughes as Bogdan
Tom Ellis as Jason Ritchie (Ron’s son)
David Tennant, Jonathan Pryce, Richard E. Grant, Geoff Bell, Paul Freeman, Ingrid Oliver also appear in supporting roles.

Counting all these names, the film has around 15-20 named characters with meaningful screen time (core four + supporting cops, retirement-village residents, antagonists) though many are secondary.

Who is the “Means Character” / Main Character of The Thursday Murder Club Movie.

While The Thursday Murder Club is fairly ensemble-driven, the heart of the story is Elizabeth Best (Helen Mirren).

The film is filtered largely through her eyes: she’s the leader of the Thursday Murder Club; her background (former spy), her relationships both within the group and with outside family (her husband, etc.) provide much of the emotional anchor.
The intrigue, the stakes, and the conflict (murder at the doorstep, property developer’s suspicious death) start impacting Elizabeth and her close friends, so her reaction and decisions carry much of the narrative weight.
Other core characters (Ron, Ibrahim, Joyce) are richly drawn, but in terms of “whose arc matters most”, Elizabeth tends to be central.

“Box Collection” / Performance.

Because The Thursday Murder Club is a hybrid release—select cinemas + Netflix streaming—its financial performance is measured differently from a traditional theatrical-only film.

There is no publicly available detailed box office figure for this film at the time of writing (August/early September 2025). Traditional box office trackers typically lag or do not track limited releases + streaming grosses in full.
On the streaming side, Netflix has global reach, which gives the film potential large audience numbers. It is expected that Netflix will measure success via views/hours watched rather than ticket-revenue.
Critical reception is generally positive, which helps its profile. It has a 77% Tomatometer on Rotten Tomatoes from critics (though the audience “popcorn-meter” is lower, ~55%) as of latest data.

So while we can’t quote exact “box collection” numbers, we can infer that Netflix and its producers are hoping for strong streaming performance backed by the star-power, source-material fanbase, and positive reviews.

The Film’s Niche.

The Thursday Murder Club fills a very special niche:

Senior sleuth stories / amateur detectives: instead of young investigators, it centers on elderly retirees who solve cold cases, which is less common and adds charm, humor, pathos.
Cozy mystery + comedy + emotional warmth: it blends mystery with light comedy, character interactions, and reflections on aging, friendship, mortality. Not hardcore thriller or horror, more gentle suspense.
Book adaptation with built-in audience: it’s based on a best-seller by Richard Osman, giving built-in fans and expectations.
Hybrid release model: limited theaters + streaming (Netflix), which seems increasingly common for films with big known cast but not necessarily blockbuster scale.

Thus its niche is “feel-good / charming whodunit for mature audiences” — people who like mysteries that are human-centered rather than violent, and enjoy ensemble casts, gentle pacing, wit, and character over shock.

Deep Dive: Plot, Themes, Strengths & Weaknesses.

Plot Synopsis (without heavy spoilers)

The film is set in Coopers Chase, a retirement community in the English countryside. Four friends, all elderly, gather every Thursday (hence the name) for fun: cold-case solving, puzzles, and socializing. They are:

Elizabeth Best: former spy.
Ron Ritchie: ex-union activist.
Ibrahim Arif: retired psychiatrist.
Joyce Meadowcroft: ex-nurse.

The inciting incident is when a property developer winds up dead on their doorstep (literally or figuratively), and the death seems suspicious. The Thursday Murder Club members, who have been solving cold cases purely for enjoyment, find themselves drawn into a “real” murder. They reluctantly agree to investigate, pull in help from younger characters (young police officer Donna De Freitas, DCI Chris Hudson), face moral questions, some danger, and the usual suspects (developers, shady village politics). Alongside the mystery are personal subplots: family tensions, memory/loss, aging, friendship, and legacies. The plot includes clues, red herrings, revealing character secrets, and ultimately a resolution—but not without emotional costs.

Character & Performance Highlights

Helen Mirren (Elizabeth Best) stands out. Her experience (as spy) gives her a certain gravitas and sharpness; she has many scenes where both her intelligence and vulnerability show. Critics mention she elevates many of the emotional moments of the film.
Ben Kingsley (Ibrahim) brings quiet depth. As the retired psychiatrist, his insights into people, loss, regret, etc., add emotional layering.
Pierce Brosnan (Ron) is charming and humorous, though some reviews say his character is less well used than he might deserve. He provides warmth and comic relief.
Celia Imrie (Joyce) provides empathy and warmth; her role is supportive, sometimes less central in plot mechanics, but her character helps with heart and humor.
Young supporting cast: Naomi Ackie as PC Donna, Daniel Mays, etc.—they assist in bridging the amateur sleuths with realistic obstacles. Some lines are witty and some the youthful cast helps push the mystery forward.

Tone, Pacing & Visual / Directional Style

The tone is warm, comedic, cozy, with occasional sharpness. It is not a thriller in the sense of high tension; it is gentler. The film often delays deep conflict in favor of character moments: conversations over tea, reflections on aging, humorous banter among retirees.
The pacing is uneven: some reviews point out that the film drags in portions (especially early / middle), and only picks up pace when the murder mystery becomes more pressing. The 118-minute length is noted as perhaps slightly overlong for what is essentially a cozy mystery.
Visually, the film makes good use of its settings: the retirement village (Coopers Chase in the story), grand country-house estates (filming at Englefield House, etc.), scenic English countryside. Production design leans into comfortable, lived-in elegance: warm colors, daylight, English gardens, interiors that evoke calm and a touch of nostalgia.
Direction by Chris Columbus keeps things clear, never overly stylized. The mystery element is handled carefully; framing of clues, locations, red herrings is generally clean though not especially inventive.

Themes & What the Film Wants to Say

Aging, mortality, and legacy: The core characters are elderly. The film explores how people past middle age still have curiosity, purpose, friendship, regrets, hopes. Aging is not portrayed merely as decline but also as time of wisdom, agency, community.
Friendship and community: The bonds among the Thursday Murder Club members are central. They support each other through loss, through doubts, through moral choices. The retirement village becomes more than a setting—it’s a place that allows these characters to continue contributing, connecting.
Justice & moral responsibility: Solving cold cases was a hobby, but when a murder touches them personally (on their doorstep), it forces them to consider what justice means, risk vs safety, helping others, stepping beyond comfort.
Intergenerational collaboration: Characters like PC Donna De Freitas, DCI Hudson help connect the older group with institutional power. The film makes a case for valuing wisdom from elders, but also shows flaws and limitations.
Humor and emotional poignancy: Humor is used both as relief and as way to expose vulnerability. The emotional stakes include dealing with memory (loss, dementia), grief, regret, missed opportunities.

Strengths

Strong cast. Having actors of the stature of Mirren, Kingsley, Brosnan, Imrie gives gravitas, charisma, credibility to a genre that can otherwise feel lightweight. Their chemistry and willingness to let scenes breathe help a lot.
The source material is beloved and the setting is appealing: cozy retirement home, countryside pace, mystery puzzle plus emotional undercurrents. That combination likely appeals to viewers who like a gentler kind of crime film.
The film performs well in tonal balance: more comedic than dark, more warm than twisted. For a lot of people, that is precisely the appeal: a mystery you can watch without needing to be on edge, but still with intrigue.
Production values: nice settings, good cinematography, decent music, editing that generally keeps things coherent.

Weaknesses & Criticisms

Mystery sometimes is less gripping. Several reviews say the “who did it” portion is fairly predictable; the clues are spoon-fed; stakes are lower than they could have been. Some emotional conflict feels earned only partially.
Character development is uneven. While Elizabeth and Ibrahim get strong arcs, others like Ron or Joyce have less depth, and some supporting characters are under-used.
Pacing can drag: early portions are slow; some scenes feel more like filler (tea parlors, conversations) before the stakes sharpen. For viewers expecting constant suspense or twists, there may be impatience.
The film may feel “too cozy” for those who want a sharper edge; it avoids very dark violence or moral ambiguity in some places, and some critics feel it glosses over the harsher realities of aging or crime.
Because of its length (nearly two hours) and ensemble cast, some plot threads feel less explored or truncated.

Critical Reception & Audience Response.

On Rotten Tomatoes, critics give it a 77% score. Audience score (~55%) is more divided.

Many critics praise the core cast, the warm tone, the setting, and the charm of having older protagonists who are active, witty, flawed.

But many also say “nice, but safe.” Some wish the film pushed harder: darker mystery, sharper tension, more risk.

“Box Collection” / Earnings & Viewership.

As noted, exact box office is not available (due to streaming component). Some notes:

It had a limited cinematic release in the UK from 22 August 2025. In cinemas, it was probably modest, given its genre and release size.
On Netflix, it’s expected to be widely watched, aided by its strong cast and popular source material. Netflix will likely track “number of accounts viewing” and “hours watched,” but those numbers often are not made public in detail.
Critical reviews, positive word of mouth, and the popularity of similar cozy mystery / book-adapted films likely help its streaming “box collection” in terms of audience metrics.

Final Thoughts: Does the Film Hold Up?

Yes — if you like your mystery with warmth, character, and gentle humor.

For me, The Thursday Murder Club succeeds best in what it chooses to be: not a shocker, not a brutal thriller, but a movie about friendship, aging, purpose, and curiosity. The core four are delightful, largely believable, often funny; the side characters, settings, and production values are polished, and the novel’s spirit is largely preserved. There’s emotional payoff: dealing with loss, regrets, the idea that later life doesn’t have to mean “nothing left to do.”

But it doesn’t quite transcend its genre in the way the best cozy mysteries do. The mystery is charming but not deeply surprising; stakes are personal but somewhat safe; there are moments where the pacing lags, where characterization could go deeper; the resolution is satisfying but predictable. For viewers wanting darker moral questions, edge, or more “twist upside down” stories, this may feel too mild.

Summary Table of The Thursday Murder Club Movie.

Category	Details
Principal Cast	Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, Ben Kingsley, Celia Imrie + supporting cast: Naomi Ackie, Daniel Mays, Henry Lloyd-Hughes, Tom Ellis, David Tennant, Jonathan Pryce, Richard E. Grant, Tom Ellis, etc. (≈15-20 named actors).
Main Character / Means Character	Elizabeth Best (Helen Mirren) — former spy, leader of the murder club, emotional anchor.
Box Performance	Limited UK theatrical release + Netflix streaming; exact box office not public; strong streaming potential and positive critical response but audience scores more mixed.
Genre / Niche	Cozy mystery / crime comedy with senior amateur sleuths; book adaptation; character-driven rather than high action; gentle suspense; appeals to viewers who like warmth, wit, aging characters, puzzles.
Strengths	Stellar cast; charm, emotional warmth; beautiful settings; respect for source material; humor + human moments.
Weaknesses	Mystery less surprising; pacing uneven; some characters underutilized; not much risk or darkness; likely predictable for genre-savvy viewers.

The Thursday Murder Club