The film premiered in New York City on May 21, 2013, and was released in the United States on May 31 by Summit Entertainment. It received mixed reviews from critics, with particular criticism directed at its ending, but emerged as a commercial success, grossing $351.7 million worldwide against a $75 million budget.[5] It won the People's Choice Award for Favorite Thriller Movie and received nominations for Best Thriller at the Empire Awards and for Best Thriller Film and Best Music at the Saturn Awards.
Four magicians—J. Daniel Atlas, an illusionist, Merritt McKinney, a mentalist, Henley Reeves, an escape artist, and Jack Wilder, a card shark and pickpocket—each receive a tarot card summoning them to a New York City apartment, where they discover holographic instructions from an unknown benefactor.
One year later, they perform in Las Vegas as "The Four Horsemen," sponsored by insurance magnate Arthur Tressler. Their act culminates in a trick that appears to transport an audience member into a Paris bank vault, dispersing stolen euros over the crowd. When the bank is found empty, the FBI and Interpol arrest the Horsemen, but they release them due to lack of evidence. FBI agent Dylan Rhodes and Interpol detective Alma Dray consult with Thaddeus Bradley, a former magician-turned-debunker who is notorious amongst magicians for having destroyed their careers. Thaddeus deduces and explains to Dylan and Alma that the Horsemen used a mock vault, hypnotized the participant beforehand, and used flash paper disguised as cash, which burned when the vents were activated, leaving no smoke or residue.
With Bradley's help, their investigation follows the Horsemen to New Orleans, where they publicly transfer funds from Tressler’s accounts to audience members who were denied insurance after Hurricane Katrina. Dylan tries to capture them but fails after Daniel drops his tracker in Dylan's pocket. Angered by his loss of money, Tressler hires Bradley to expose the Four Horsemen. Alma suspects the group is linked to "the Eye," a mythical secret society of magicians who aid the oppressed, suspecting that a third party is helping them. The Horsemen continue to evade capture, even swapping Dylan’s phone with a bugged replica to stay ahead. In New York, three of the Horsemen escape from an FBI raid, but Jack appears to die in a car crash after being chased by Dylan and Alma.
Before Jack dies as his car explodes, Dylan finds documents in his hand pointing to their next target: Elkhorn Security. The FBI intercepts a safe being transported under suspicious orders, but it contains only balloon animals. The Horsemen announce that their final show is going to take place in public at 5 Pointz. Dylan, Alma, and the team rush to 5 Pointz, but they are unable to capture the three Horsemen. The show ends with their disappearance amid a flurry of counterfeit money. The actual stolen funds are discovered in Bradley’s car, leading to his arrest. In jail, Bradley deduces that not only had Jack faked his death in the car crash, but that Dylan is the real orchestrator of the Horsemen’s heists. At Central Park, the Three Horsemen meet with Jack and Dylan, where Dylan formally inducts the Horsemen into the Eye.
Dylan later meets Alma in Paris and confirms his role, revealing that the heists were revenge against those responsible for the death of his father, Lionel Shrike. Lionel was once a beloved magician whose career was destroyed by Bradley, so he had attempted a dangerous escape act which failed due to a faulty Elkhorn safe that led to his drowning, and his life insurance was denied by Tressler. Alma, sympathetic to his motives, agrees to protect his secret.
Cast
Jesse Eisenberg as J. Daniel Atlas: An arrogant illusionist and street magician, and the ostensible leader of the Four Horsemen.
Woody Harrelson as Merritt McKinney: A hypnotist, mentalist, and a self-proclaimed psychic. Originally more famous in his youth, his manager brother absconded with all his money, leaving McKinney with a long hard trek back to his former glory. Middle-aged, McKinney is the oldest of the Four Horsemen.
Isla Fisher as Henley Reeves: An escapist and stage magician who is the only female member of the Four Horsemen. She is also Danny's former assistant and ex-lover.
Dave Franco as Jack Wilder: A sleight of hand illusionist, street magician, and a talented impressionist of other people's voices. Additionally, he is a pickpocket, and is able to pick locks. In his early twenties, Jack is the youngest of the Four Horsemen.
Mark Ruffalo as Dylan Rhodes: an FBI agent struggling to capture and bring the Four Horsemen to justice for their unique heist agenda.
Mélanie Laurent as Alma Dray, a French Interpol agent who is partnered up with Dylan to investigate the Four Horsemen.
Morgan Freeman as Thaddeus Bradley, a former magician who, for thirty years, has profited by revealing the secrets behind other magicians' tricks.
Jessica C. Lindsey as Hermia, Thaddeus Bradley's assistant.
Michael Caine as Arthur Tressler, an insurance magnate and the Four Horsemen's sponsor.
Elias Koteas appears, uncredited, as Lionel Shrike, a magician who drowned while performing an escape trick thirty years earlier.
Production
On October 25, 2011, Summit Entertainment announced that Now You See Me would be released on July 18, 2013.[7] A synopsis and teaser poster were revealed on November 3, 2011.[8]
During the production, actress Isla Fisher experienced a near-drowning incident while filming a scene involving a submerged water tank. According to Fisher, a malfunction with the release chain caused her to be trapped underwater longer than expected, and crew members initially believed she was acting. A nearby stunt coordinator ultimately activated a quick-release mechanism to bring her to safety.[14]
The official soundtrack for Now You See Me, titled Now You See Me (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack), was composed by Brian Tyler. It was released by Glassnote Records on May 28, 2013, in both physical and digital formats.[15]
The film was released on DVD and Blu-ray on September 3, 2013, by Lionsgate Home Entertainment. The Blu-ray edition includes an extended cut of the film with approximately ten additional minutes of footage.[1] Special features include two featurettes—one covering behind-the-scenes production and another titled The History of Magic—as well as approximately 30 minutes of deleted scenes.[16]
Reception
Box office
Now You See Me grossed $117.7 million in the United States and Canada and $234 million in international markets, for a worldwide total of $351.7 million against a production budget of $75 million.[1] The film debuted in second place at the North American box office, earning $29.4 million from 2,925 theaters during its opening weekend, behind Fast & Furious 6. By the end of June 2013, it had earned double its production cost.[1] The film remained in the top ten at the North American box office for six consecutive weeks following its release.[17]
Internationally, the film performed strongly in several territories. Its highest-grossing markets included France ($25.7 million), China ($22.9 million), Russia ($21.2 million), South Korea ($17.1 million), the United Kingdom ($16.8 million), and Australia ($16.1 million).[18]
Critical response
On Rotten Tomatoes, Now You See Me holds an approval rating of 51% based on 171 reviews, with an average rating of 5.8/10. The website's consensus reads: "Now You See Me's thinly sketched characters and scattered plot rely on sleight of hand from the director to distract audiences."[19]Metacritic assigned the film a score of 50 out of 100, based on 35 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews."[20] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale.[21]
Critical opinions were polarized. Peter Hammond of Movieline praised the film's entertainment value, calling it "pure summer movie magic—literally," and "more fun than Ocean’s 11, 12, and 13 combined."[22]James Berardinelli of ReelViews complimented the film’s pacing and tone, noting its resemblance to a "magic-themed version of Ocean’s Eleven."[23] Ignatiy Vishnevetsky‘s review on Roger Ebert emphasized the film’s embrace of “razzle-dazzle fantasy,” describing it as slick, stylized, and deliberately escapist.[24]
Other critics were more reserved. Scot Mendelson of Forbes deemed it “mostly enjoyable” due to its cast and flair, but noted its shortcomings in emotional depth and logic.[25]The New York Times described the film as "so eager to be clever that it trips over its own devices,”[26] and Variety called it "diverting if overly convoluted."[27]
The twist ending received notable criticism. Lee Cassanell from Cine Vue argued that the filmmakers “ran out of top hats and rabbits and decided to saw their audiences’ brains in half.”[28]ScreenAnarchy's Eric D. Snider described the film as enjoyable until its final reveal, which he considered a "disappointing wreck."[29] Kent Garrison from MadAboutMovies was especially critical, writing that the ending relied on “one of the worst, if not the worst twist in cinema history,” which "erases everything that it builds up to."[30] Stella Papamichael of Digital Spy echoed similar concerns, describing the film as "magic-themed smoke and mirrors" lacking substance.[31]Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian labeled it “overcooked, overcomplicated and underinteresting,” criticizing its implausibility and tonal inconsistency.[32]
On May 22, 2015, Lionsgate announced that early development had begun on a third installment, with Feltheimer confirming plans for Now You See Me 3.[41] In 2024, filming began under the direction of Ruben Fleischer, and the film, now titled, Now You See Me: Now You Don't, is scheduled to be released on November 14, 2025.[42]
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