How to Make a Killing was released in the United States by A24 on February 20, 2026, and will be released in the United Kingdom by StudioCanal on 11 March 2026, and in France on March 25, 2026. The film has so far received mixed reviews from critics.
Plot
On death row for murder, Becket Redfellow converses with a priest on why he ended up there to begin with. As a child, Becket is raised by his single mother, Mary, who was exiled from the wealthy Redfellow family for choosing to keep her teenage pregnancy. He befriends the more affluent Julia Steinway. Prior to her death, Mary stresses to a young Becket that he should fight for the life he "deserves" to have.
After encountering a married Julia and getting demoted from his job as a suit salesman, an adult Becket decides to eliminate the remaining Redfellows in order to claim his inheritance to the family fortune. Becket first kills his cousin Taylor and meets Taylor's father Warren at the funeral, who offers Becket Taylor's old job at a financial investment firm. While planning the murder of his cousin Noah, Becket befriends Noah's girlfriend Ruth. After killing Noah, two FBI agents approach Becket, discussing the two suspicious deaths, though they do not accuse Becket of murder after Becket pretends to not know whether he is eligible for the inheritance. Julia appears in Becket's office, claiming her husband Lyle is broke and asks for a loan, which he denies. Becket and Ruth begin dating and move in together. Despite being rapidly promoted in his job and content with his relationship with Ruth, Becket kills three more Redfellows: Steven, Cassandra, and MacArthur. Warren, who Becket is unable to bring himself to kill, has a heart attack and dies, leaving only one more living Redfellow: Becket's grandfather Whitelaw.
As Whitelaw invites Becket to dinner at his mansion on the night of Becket and Ruth's engagement party, Julia reveals to Becket that she has evidence of his murders, which she will reveal unless he gives her money immediately (delivered to her husband Lyle). Becket complies, going to Lyle's office to hand-deliver a check to him. Becket forgoes his engagement party to go to the mansion, where he meets Whitelaw, who locks the doors and attempts to kill him with a shotgun. Becket kills Whitelaw in self-defense, making him the sole inheritor to the fortune. At a celebratory party at the mansion, Becket is approached again by the FBI agents, who arrest him for the murder of Lyle, who was found stabbed to death in his office using a letter opener that Becket touched when he delivered the money, leaving fingerprint evidence.
24 hours before he is set to be executed, Julia visits Becket in jail. During the meeting, she notes that there was a suicide note written by Lyle that was withheld from the trial. Becket pressures Julia to release the note, which she agrees to only if Becket signs over the entire Redfellow fortune to her. Becket reluctantly agrees. Julia then releases the note as promised. With Becket's innocence proven, he is set free. Ruth waits for him outside the prison, only to return his mother's locket to him and leaves afterwards without saying a word to Becket. Becket sees Julia waiting for him with the Redfellow family driver, and the two travel to the Redfellow family mansion together.
Ford's screenplay originally appeared on the 2014 Black List under the title Rothchild. In 2019, Jon S. Baird signed on to direct the film, with Shia LaBeouf and Mel Gibson starring.[4] Development of the film resumed in March 2023, with plans for Ford to direct the film himself. The film, retitled Huntington, was reportedly inspired by the 1949 film Kind Hearts and Coronets by Robert Hamer and John Dighton.[5]
How to Make a Killing was released in the United States by A24 on 20 February 2026,[13] and will be released in the United Kingdom by StudioCanal on 11 March 2026.[14] The film is scheduled to be released in France on March 25, 2026.[14]
Reception
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 46% of 131 critics' reviews are positive.The website's consensus reads: "Deploying Glen Powell's magnetic likability to head-scratching ends, this tonally bizarre comedic thriller wants to eat its rich and have it, too."[15]Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 51 out of 100, based on 35 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[16]
Benjamin Lee of The Guardian called the film "stylishly made", but ultimately "a real mess."[17]
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