Grand Theft Hamlet

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Grand Theft Hamlet
Grand Theft Hamlet UK poster.jpg
UK theatrical release poster
Directed by
Written by
  • Sam Crane
  • Pinny Grylls
Produced byJulia Ton
Rebecca Wolff
Starring Sam Crane
Mark Oosterveen
CinematographyPinny Grylls
Edited byPinny Grylls
Music byJamie Perera
Production
companies
  • Project 1961
  • Grasp the Nettle Films
  • Park Pictures
Distributed byTull Stories [1]
Release dates
  • March 2024 (2024-03)(SXSW)
  • 6 December 2024 (2024-12-06)(United Kingdom)
Running time
89 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Box office$214,530 [2] [3]

Grand Theft Hamlet is a 2024 British documentary film directed by Sam Crane and Pinny Grylls. [4] The film is about the staging of a production of Hamlet in the video game Grand Theft Auto Online during one of the UK's COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns in 2021. [5]

Contents

Premise

The documentary follows Sam Crane and Mark Oosterveen as they attempt to cast and produce a live virtual production of William Shakespeare's play Hamlet in the video game Grand Theft Auto Online while staying home due to lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom. The film is shot entirely within the video game as a Machinima production and the subjects are all depicted by their in-game avatars. [6]

Release

The film premiered at the 2024 SXSW Film Festival, where it won the Grand Jury Award for best documentary feature. [5] [7] The film was released theatrically in the United Kingdom on 6 December 2024 by Tull Stories, with Mubi releasing the film theatrically in the United States on 17 January 2025 and globally on its streaming service on 21 February 2025. [8]

Reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes , 93% of 76 critics' reviews are positive.The website's consensus reads: "A startling example of using any tools at your disposal to make memorable art, Grand Theft Hamlet's experimental approach does justice by the Bard." [9] Metacritic , which uses a weighted average , assigned the film a score of 82 out of 100, based on 25 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". [10]

Glenn Kenny of RogerEbert.com gave the film four out of four stars and wrote, "More than just a shaggy dog story, Grand Theft Hamlet is a pointed, entertaining and moving examination of interdisciplinary conductivity at its most surprising." [11]

Accolades

Award / Film FestivalDate of ceremonyCategoryRecipient(s)ResultRef.
British Independent Film Awards 8 December 2024 Best Debut Director – Feature Documentary Sam Crane and Pinny Grylls Won [6]
Raindance Maverick AwardGrand Theft HamletWon
Critics' Choice Documentary Awards November 9, 2025 Best First Documentary Feature Sam Crane and Pinny Grylls Pending [12]
London Film Critics Circle 2 February 2025 Documentary of the YearGrand Theft HamletNominated [13]
Sitges Film Festival 12 October 2024 Best Sitges Documenta FilmWon [14]
SXSW Film Festival 13 March 2024Jury Award for best documentary featureWon [7]
Vancouver International Film Festival 17 October 2024 Audience Award, SpectrumWon [15]

References

  1. ↑ Dalton, Ben (15 October 2024). "Tull Stories acquires 'Grand Theft Hamlet' for UK-Ireland theatrical release". Screen International . Archived from the original on 23 October 2024. Retrieved 15 October 2024.
  2. ↑ "Grand Theft Hamlet – Financial Information". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 28 November 2024. Retrieved 7 February 2025.
  3. ↑ "Grand Theft Hamlet – Financial Information". The Numbers. Archived from the original on 28 November 2024. Retrieved 7 February 2025.
  4. ↑ "'Grand Theft Hamlet': Altitude Boards SXSW Doc About Actors Who Staged Hamlet Production Inside 'Grand Theft Auto' Video Game". Deadline Hollywood . 8 March 2024. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
  5. 1 2 Zilko, Christian (13 March 2024). "'Grand Theft Hamlet' Filmmakers Talk Staging Shakespeare Inside 'GTA': 'If They Thought We Were Sh*t, They Were Gonna Shoot Us'". IndieWire. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  6. 1 2 "Grand Theft Auto: How Shakespeare's Hamlet found a virtual stage". BBC News . Retrieved 23 December 2024.
  7. 1 2 "'Bob Trevino Likes It', 'Grand Theft Hamlet' top SXSW juried award winners". screendaily.com. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
  8. ↑ Kennedy, Victoria (15 October 2024). "Hamlet film made in GTA Online coming to US cinemas and global streaming services". Eurogamer . Retrieved 25 October 2024.
  9. ↑ "Grand Theft Hamlet". Rotten Tomatoes . Retrieved 18 June 2025.
  10. ↑ "Grand Theft Hamlet". Metacritic . Retrieved 15 March 2025.
  11. ↑ Kenny, Glenn (14 January 2025). "Grand Theft Hamlet". RogerEbert.com . Retrieved 15 January 2025.
  12. ↑ Davis, Clayton (14 October 2025). "'Orwell: 2+2=5' and 'The Perfect Neighbor' Lead Critics Choice Documentary Awards Nominations". Variety . Retrieved 14 October 2025.
  13. ↑ Calnan, Ellie (19 December 2024). "'The Brutalist', 'Anora' lead London Critics' Circle Film nominations". Screen Daily . Retrieved 22 January 2025.
  14. ↑ "Todos los ganadores de Sitges - Festival Internacional de Cinema Fantàstic de Catalunya 2024". EscribiendoCine (in Spanish). Retrieved 22 January 2025.
  15. ↑ "Grand Theft Hamlet (2024) Awards & Festivals". mubi.com. Retrieved 22 January 2025.
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