Ready Player One ( film ) - wikipedia Ready Player One ( film ) Ready Player One Theatrical release poster Directed by Steven Spielberg Produced by Steven Spielberg Donald De Line Dan Farah Kristie Macosko Krieger Screenplay by Zak Penn Ernest Cline Based on Ready Player One by Ernest Cline Starring Tye Sheridan Olivia Cooke Ben Mendelsohn T.J. Miller Simon Pegg Mark Rylance Music by Alan Silvestri Cinematography Janusz Kamiński Edited by Michael Kahn Sarah Broshar Production company Warner Bros. Pictures Amblin Partners Amblin Entertainment Village Roadshow Pictures De Line Pictures Access Entertainment Dune Entertainment Farah Films & Management Distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures Release date March 11, 2018 ( 2018 - 03 - 11 ) ( SXSW ) March 29, 2018 ( 2018 - 03 - 29 ) ( United States ) Running time 140 minutes Country United States Language English Budget $175 million Box office $581.5 million Ready Player One is a 2018 American science fiction adventure film produced and directed by Steven Spielberg, and written by Zak Penn and Ernest Cline, based on Cline 's 2011 novel of the same name. The film stars Tye Sheridan, Olivia Cooke, Ben Mendelsohn, Lena Waithe, T.J. Miller, Simon Pegg, and Mark Rylance. The film takes place in the year 2045, when much of humanity uses the virtual reality software OASIS to escape the desolation of the real world. Orphaned teenager Wade Watts ( Sheridan ) discovers clues to a hidden game within the program that promises the winner full ownership of the OASIS, and joins several allies to try to complete the game before a large company run by businessman Nolan Sorrento ( Mendelsohn ) can do so. Ready Player One premiered at South by Southwest on March 11, 2018, was theatrically released by Warner Bros. Pictures in the United States on March 29, 2018, in 2D, Real D 3D, IMAX and IMAX 3D. It has grossed $581 million worldwide, making it the fourth - highest - grossing film of 2018. The film received generally positive reviews, with critics praising its visuals, brisk pacing, and Rylance 's performance. The film was noted to have significant differences from the book, with some critics calling the film 's plot an improvement over the source material. Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Production 3.1 Development 3.2 Casting 3.3 Filming 3.4 Visual effects and post-production 4 Cultural references 5 Music 6 Release 7 Reception 7.1 Box office 7.1. 1 North America 7.1. 2 Other territories 7.2 Critical response 8 Possible sequel 9 Notes 10 References 11 External links Plot In 2045, due to various geopolitical events, many of Earth 's cities have become slums ; its inhabitants regularly escape into the virtual reality world of the OASIS. Its co-founder, the late James `` Anorak '' Halliday, announces a contest in which players must find an Easter egg inside a gate that requires three keys hidden in the worlds ; the winner to receive full ownership and control of the OASIS. This attracts a number of Gunters ( `` egg hunters '' ) as well as the video game conglomerate Innovative Online Industries ( IOI ), headed by their new CEO Nolan Sorrento, who employs researchers of Halliday, as well as top gamers and indentured servants called `` Sixers ''. In Columbus, Ohio, Wade Watts, an orphaned 17 - year - old Gunter, lives with his aunt Alice in the `` stacks '', makeshift towers of trailer homes, and logs onto the OASIS from a nearby cargo van. His avatar Parzival, and his online friend Aech, a male first - person shooter expert and virtual mechanic, participate in the first quest : a vehicle race across ever - shifting roadways in Manhattan. Parzival befriends a well - known Gunter named Art3mis by saving her from being `` zeroed out '' by King Kong, which would have wiped her character progression. At Anorak 's virtual archives containing video clips reconstructing Halliday 's life, Parzival gets an insight from a comment that Halliday made to his former business partner, Ogden Morrow, and on the next race, uncovers an underground shortcut to the finish line to acquire the first key. Aech and Art3mis, as well as players Daito and Sho, soon follow ; appearing atop the global scoreboard as the `` High Five ''. At an OASIS dance club, i - R0k, a mercenary helping Sorrento, overhears Parzival tell Art3mis his real name. Sorrento requests Wade to join IOI, but when he refuses out of distrust, Sorrento and his aide F'Nale Zandor bomb Wade 's stack, killing Alice and Wade 's neighbors. Wade is taken to a Gunter hideout where he meets Art3mis in reality : Samantha Cook. They discover that Halliday regretted a movie date with a woman named Kira, who later married Morrow. After Parzival wins a coin on a small bet with the archive 's curator, the High Five enter a re-creation of The Shining where they traverse a series of frightening events to eventually reach Kira to acquire the second key. Zandor tracks Wade to the Gunter hideout, but finds only Samantha, who is arrested and made into a Sixer for defaulting on her family 's debt. Wade is extracted by the other High Five players -- Aech / Helen Harris, Daito / Toshiro, and Sho / Zhou -- who have been secretly running their avatars from Helen 's postal truck. i - R0k activates a force field around the location of the third key inside a fortress on Planet Doom. After tricking Sorrento into revealing Samantha 's location, Wade helps her escape. She hacks Sorrento 's station, allowing Wade to recruit OASIS players to join an all - out assault against Sorrento and the Sixers at the fortress. Hiding among the active Sixers, Samantha shuts down the force field. During the battle, the rebels defeat Sorrento 's Mechagodzilla and i - R0k, but Parzival zeroes out Samantha 's avatar to let her escape IOI in reality. Parzival and Sho find Sixers lining up to play on an Atari 2600 console, but failing on each game after time expires, even when one of them beats Adventure. Sorrento activates the Cataclyst, which zeroes out everyone on Planet Doom ( including himself ). However, the curator 's coin spares Parzival as an extra life. Parzival deduces that the goal is not to win Adventure but to simply find its own Easter egg, which Parzival completes to reveal the third key. Inside the gate, Anorak presents Parzival a contract ; however, Wade declines as it is similar to the one Morrow had signed that dissolved his partnership with Halliday. Anorak transforms into Halliday and affirms Wade 's decision to be correct. After showing Parzival a Big Red Button that would shut down the OASIS permanently, Halliday officially awards him the Golden Egg as the winner of the contest. Sorrento and Zandor are arrested after Aech had sent the police a recording of Sorrento 's conversation with Wade that resulted in the bombing. IOI 's indentured players are freed from their debts, heavily restructuring the company. The High Five share control of the OASIS, with Wade hiring Morrow, who is revealed to be the archive curator, as a consultant. The OASIS resumes operations, but is shut down on Tuesdays and Thursdays to force people to spend more time in the real world, including Wade and Samantha who have formed a relationship and bought an apartment together. Cast Tye Sheridan as Parzival / Wade Watts, a Gunter and one of the `` High Five '', who wishes to win the Quest so he can leave the stacks. Olivia Cooke as Art3mis / Samantha Cook, a famous Gunter and one of the `` High Five '', who works with various allies to ensure the OASIS is kept free and out of the hands of IOI. Ben Mendelsohn as Nolan Sorrento, the recently appointed CEO of Innovative Online Industries, who seeks full control over the OASIS. He leads the Sixers, an army of indentured servants in the OASIS. Lena Waithe as Aech / Helen Harris, a Gunter and one of the `` High Five '', who is male in the OASIS and longtime friend of Wade 's. Aech runs a virtual garage in her free time to create and fix various vehicles and items. T.J. Miller as i - R0k, a freelance weapons and magic item dealer and bounty hunter, who is often employed by IOI. Simon Pegg as Curator / Ogden Morrow, a co-creator of the OASIS, who eventually left the company due to personal reasons. He harbors a concern about how many people have developed an unhealthy dependency on the game. Mark Rylance as Anorak / James Halliday, the deceased co-creator of the OASIS, who includes an Easter Egg hidden in the OASIS after his passing that grants control over the OASIS to its winner. Philip Zhao as Sho / Zhou, a Gunter and one of the `` High Five '', an 11 - year - old in reality. Win Morisaki as Daito / Toshiro, a Gunter and one of the `` High Five ''. Hannah John - Kamen as F'Nale Zandor, the head of IOI 's operations in the physical world, as well as their indentured servitude programs. Additionally, Susan Lynch portrays Alice, Wade 's aunt ; Ralph Ineson portrays Rick, Alice 's abusive boyfriend ; Perdita Weeks portrays Karen `` Kira '' Underwood, Morrow 's wife ; Clare Higgins portrays Mrs. Gilmore, Wade 's neighbor ; and Letitia Wright portrays a rebel who can briefly be seen at the safe house. McKenna Grace and Lulu Wilson appear as elementary school children who use the OASIS. Production Development Warner Bros. and De Line Pictures won an auction for the rights to Ernest Cline 's novel Ready Player One in 2010, before it had been published. Cline was set to write the script for the film, which Donald De Line and Dan Farah would produce. Eric Eason rewrote Cline 's script, and Zak Penn was hired to rewrite the previous drafts by Cline and Eason. Village Roadshow Pictures came aboard to co-finance and co-produce the film with Warner Bros. Steven Spielberg signed on to direct and produce the film, which Kristie Macosko Krieger also produced, along with De Line and Farah. Ready Player One is Spielberg 's first action - fantasy film since The Adventures of Tintin in late 2011. Cline and Penn made several revisions while adapting the novel to film. Most of these changes were to eliminate scenes that would be uninteresting in a visual format, such as when Wade beats a high score in Pac - Man, or recites all the lines from the film WarGames. Casting Director Steven Spielberg ( far left ) and Ernest Cline with the cast of Ready Player One at San Diego Comic - Con. From third of left : Tye Sheridan, Olivia Cooke, T.J. Miller and Ben Mendelsohn Three actresses were top - runners for the role of Art3mis : Elle Fanning, Olivia Cooke, and Lola Kirke ; In September 2015, Cooke was announced as having been cast in the coveted female lead role. In January 2016, Ben Mendelsohn joined the cast. In February 2016, Tye Sheridan was confirmed as playing the lead role of Wade, after a lengthy nationwide casting call failed to produce an unknown for the part. In March 2016, Simon Pegg joined the cast. In April 2016, Mark Rylance joined the cast, and in June 2016, T.J. Miller, Hannah John - Kamen and Win Morisaki also joined. In July 2016, Philip Zhao joined the cast, and Lena Waithe, Ralph Ineson, McKenna Grace, and Letitia Wright were later also announced to have been cast. Filming Production was set to begin in July 2016. Screenwriter Zak Penn tweeted on July 1, 2016 that the first week of filming had been completed. In August and September 2016, filming took place in Birmingham, England ; this included Livery Street in the Jewellery Quarter area of the city, which was extensively used, including the van chase that takes place towards the film 's end. The chase was edited to make the street appear longer than it actually is. The backpackers ' hostel Hatters, also on Livery Street, was used for internal filming for a basement scene. Also utilized was the Ludgate Hill Car Park lot on Lionel Street, in which caravan homes were partially built ; a planned explosion caused some local business and homes to call emergency services, as no prior notification were given by the production. Other locations in the city included the former industrial area of Digbeth, with a rooftop scene that overlooks the Birmingham City Centre skyline, with some of the city 's landmark buildings being erased and replaced with CGI buildings in order to create a dystopian Ohio in the year 2045. Principal photography ended on September 27, 2016. Visual effects and post-production Spielberg worked with Industrial Light & Magic ( ILM ) to oversee the film 's visual effects, meeting with ILM for 3 hours three times a week. He has stated that `` ( t ) his is the most difficult movie I 've done since Saving Private Ryan. '' A significant part of the film takes place in a virtual space based on the Overlook Hotel in the film The Shining. This was mostly a digital recreation of the film using high - quality telecine of the original film, giving them some freedom of new camera angles and shots that could be generated from this recreation. The final film includes a combination of the original footage from The Shining and ILM 's additional work. Only a few scenes in this sequence which involved real actors, such as the appearance of the Grady twins, required them to construct a faithful reproduction of The Shining 's set for the actors to interact with. Finally, the sequence was post-processed to introduce film grain and other aging effects to make the new footage indistinguishable from the original film. Cultural references Ready Player One pays homage to the popular culture of the 1970s and 1980s as in the book, but also extends to the 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s ; several reviewers have identified well over one hundred references to films, television shows, music, toys, video games, anime and comics of these eras. Cline did not have any issues with these copyrighted elements when he published the book, but was aware that securing all necessary rights would be a major obstacle for a film adaptation, a task made easier by Spielberg 's reputation. Spielberg and producer Kristie Macosko Krieger spent several years securing the rights for the copyrighted elements used in the film, starting before filming began, since some scenes would not be possible without certain copyrighted elements. Spielberg estimated that they had gotten about 80 % of the copyrighted elements they wanted. Spielberg noted that in some cases, the filmmakers were able to secure rights for some but not all the characters they wanted ; in negotiating with Warner Bros., they could not secure Close Encounters of the Third Kind from Columbia Pictures, despite the latter being one of Spielberg 's first films as director. Blade Runner, which was integral to the plot of the book, was off limits to the film adaptation because Blade Runner 2049 was in production at the same time as Ready Player One. As a replacement, they conceived of players having to play out the events of The Shining, which Spielberg was able to secure the rights to as an homage to his friend Stanley Kubrick. While Cline 's original work heavily used the character of Ultraman, the rights over the character were still under legal dispute, requiring them to replace Ultraman with the titular robot from The Iron Giant. Spielberg recognized that his past films were a significant part of the 1980s popular culture cited in the book, and to avoid being accused of `` vanity '', he opted to remove many of the references to his own work. Cline stated that he believed Spielberg wanted to avoid self - references to films he directed, due to the criticism he received for his film 1941, which lampooned his own previous works Jaws and Duel. Cline said he had to convince Spielberg to include some iconic elements, such as the Back to the Future DeLorean time machine, which Spielberg conceded as the film was one he produced rather than directed. Cline also asked ILM to include a reference to Last Action Hero, one of Penn 's first screenplays, without Penn 's knowledge. Music On June 9, 2016, Variety stated that Spielberg 's regular collaborator John Williams was planning to compose the film 's score. However, in July 2017, it was reported that Williams had left the project to work on Spielberg 's The Post instead, with Alan Silvestri hired to take over scoring duties for Ready Player One. The official score was released by WaterTower Music as a two - CD set on March 30, 2018, with vinyl and cassette releases projected for the summer. At Spielberg 's request, Silvestri references his own music from Back to the Future within the film 's score, as well as quoting the music from The Shining for the film 's sequence at the Overlook Hotel. The film also includes licensed music from the 1970s and 1980s, which appears on the digital - only album Ready Player One : Songs From The Motion Picture. show Original Soundtrack No. Title Performed by Length 1. `` I Wanna Be Your Lover '' Prince 5 : 48 2. `` Everybody Wants to Rule the World '' Tears for Fears 4 : 12 3. `` Just My Imagination ( Running Away with Me ) '' The Temptations 3 : 49 4. `` Stand on It '' Bruce Springsteen 3 : 06 5. `` One Way or Another '' Blondie 3 : 27 6. `` Ca n't Hide Love '' Earth, Wind & Fire 4 : 09 7. `` Blue Monday '' New Order 7 : 24 8. `` Stayin ' Alive '' Bee Gees 4 : 45 9. `` We 're Not Gonna Take It '' Twisted Sister 3 : 38 10. `` You Make My Dreams '' Hall & Oates 3 : 12 11. `` Pure Imagination ( feat. Merethe Soltvedt ) '' Bryan Nguyen 2 : 33 show Ready Player One ( Original Motion Picture Soundtrack ) No. Title Writer ( s ) Length 1. `` The Oasis '' Alan Silvestri 1 : 49 2. `` Hello, I 'm James Halliday '' Alan Silvestri 2 : 01 3. `` Why Ca n't We Go Backwards ? '' Alan Silvestri 4 : 18 4. `` An Orb Meeting '' Alan Silvestri 4 : 11 5. `` Real World Consequences '' Alan Silvestri 3 : 30 6. `` Sorrento Makes an Offer '' Alan Silvestri 3 : 34 7. `` Welcome to the Rebellion '' Alan Silvestri 3 : 14 8. `` High 5 Assembles '' Alan Silvestri 4 : 24 9. `` Orb of Osuvox '' Alan Silvestri 3 : 45 10. `` Sorrento Punked '' Alan Silvestri 3 : 57 11. `` Wade 's Broadcast '' Alan Silvestri 5 : 51 12. `` Arty on the Inside '' Alan Silvestri 2 : 33 13. `` Looking for a Truck '' Alan Silvestri 5 : 36 14. `` She Never Left '' Alan Silvestri 2 : 41 15. `` Last Chance '' Alan Silvestri 3 : 21 16. `` Get Me Out of This '' Alan Silvestri 1 : 35 17. `` Hold on to Something '' Alan Silvestri 5 : 14 18. `` This Is Wrong '' Alan Silvestri 3 : 49 19. `` What Are You ? '' Alan Silvestri 3 : 29 20. `` There 's Something I Need to Do '' Alan Silvestri 5 : 01 21. `` Main Title '' Alan Silvestri 2 : 27 22. `` End Credits '' Alan Silvestri 8 : 04 Release Ready Player One was initially scheduled to be released on December 15, 2017, but was pushed back to March 30, 2018, to avoid competition with Star Wars : The Last Jedi. In January 2018, it was announced the film 's release date had been moved up one day to March 29, 2018. The film had its world premiere at the Paramount Theatre in Austin, Texas on March 11, 2018 ( as part of the South by Southwest Film Festival ). Warner Bros. distributes the film worldwide, with Village Roadshow Pictures distributing in several overseas territories. Ready Player One is scheduled to be released on digital retailers on July 3, 2018, followed by a home media release date of July 24. Reception Box Office As of June 17, 2018, Ready Player One has grossed $136.7 million in the United States and Canada, and $444.8 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $581.5 million. Made on a production budget of $175 million, with about $150 million more spent on global marketing costs, the film needed to gross at least $440 million in order to break - even. North america In the United States and Canada, Ready Player One was released alongside God 's Not Dead : A Light in Darkness and Acrimony, and was projected to gross $40 -- 50 million from 4,100 theaters over its first four days. It made $12.1 million on its first day, including $3.75 million from Wednesday night previews. It ended up grossing $41.8 million in its opening weekend ( for a four - day total of $53.7 million ), marking Spielberg 's biggest debut since 2008 's Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. In its second weekend it grossed $25.1 million ( a drop of 40 % ), finishing second behind newcomer A Quiet Place ( $50 million ). In its third weekend the film made $11.2 million, coming in fourth behind Rampage, A Quiet Place and Truth or Dare. In its fourth weekend the film made $7.4 million, finishing sixth at the box office In its fifth weekend it grossed $2.4 million, a drop of 67 % from previous weekend and finishing ninth. Other territories Worldwide, the film was released day - in - date in 62 countries, including China, where it was expected to make $100 -- 120 million in its opening weekend. It grossed $2.9 million on its first day from 11 countries, including $980,000 from Korea. In China the film made $14.75 million on its first day and earned a score of 9.2 from audiences on Douban ( compared to the average 6 -- 7 earned by Hollywood films ). It grossed $61.7 million in China in its opening weekend which is the highest opening ever for Warner Bros in said territory. The film 's other major opening weekend territories were South Korea ( $8.1 million ), United Kingdom ( $7.3 million ), Russia ( $6.1 million ) and France ( $6 million ). In its second weekend in China it grossed $42 million, and in third weekend grossed $13.9 million. The film grossed $81.7 million in its second weekend overseas, dropping only 35 % and is ahead of other newcomers A Quiet Place and Blockers. In its third weekend it grossed $33.8 million overseas dropping 58.6 %. On April 21, 2018, the film topped $200 million in China, becoming the tenth - biggest U.S. release ever in the country. In its fourth weekend in China, it grossed $8.24 million finishing third at the box office and has a total gross of $207 million. It grossed $23 million overseas from 67 territories in its fourth weekend. It opened in Japan, its final major market and grossed $4.4 million. In its fifth weekend overseas, it grossed $8.6 million from 63 territories. In China, the weekend was $2.4 M to push it past Avatar as the no. 9 Hollywood title ever in the market with $213.8 M ( RMB 1.34 B ). Japan 's third frame held well during Golden Week with just a 6 % drop from the last session. The total there is currently at $17.5 M. In its sixth weekend in China, it bumped up 10 % from last session to lift the local cume to $220.2 M. As of April 29, the film 's largest markets after China are United Kingdom ( $22.6 million ), France ( $20.3 million ), Korea ( $18.6 million ), Japan ( $17.5 million ), and Russia - CIS ( $12.7 million ). Critical response On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 73 % based on 331 reviews, and an average rating of 6.9 / 10. The website 's critical consensus reads, `` Ready Player One is a sweetly nostalgic thrill ride that neatly encapsulates Spielberg 's strengths while adding another solidly engrossing adventure to his filmography. '' On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 64 out of 100, based on 54 critics, indicating `` generally favorable reviews ''. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of `` A -- '' on an A+ to F scale, while PostTrak reported filmgoers gave it an 82 % overall positive score and a 65 % `` definite recommend ''. In a review for RogerEbert.com, Brian Tallerico wrote that the film 's `` overwhelming '' nature and non-stop action will likely thrill fans of pop culture ; while he observed narrative weaknesses, such as a lack of depth among the supporting characters, he felt that they ultimately do not hinder the film from working `` on the level of technical, blockbuster mastery that Spielberg helped define. '' Writing for Variety, Owen Gleiberman called the film a `` coruscating explosion of pop - culture eye candy, '' and found The Shining sequence to be `` irresistible ''. However, he also criticized Spielberg 's dichotomization of fantasy and reality, as well as the film having `` more activity than it does layers. '' IndieWire 's Eric Kohn characterized the film as `` an astonishing sci - fi spectacle and a relentless nostalgia trip at once '' and praised both The Shining sequence as well as Penn 's screenplay, particularly with respect to Mendelsohn 's character. Nevertheless, he remarked that the film `` drags a bunch in its final third ''. Alissa Wilkinson, writing for Vox, praised both the quality and quantity of the world building. She also commented on just how dystopian the future portrayed is, where the main characters fight to save the OASIS and the escape from reality it represents, with arguably less concern for the problems of the real world. Monica Castillo was more critical of the film in her review for The Guardian and drew attention to the absence of character arcs, the lack of resolution for plot holes in the novel, and the bloating of scenes in the film by trivia. Matt Bobkin scored the film a 6 out of 10 for Exclaim ! saying the film `` is not so much a groundbreaking recontextualizing, more doe - eyed affection with no critical commentary. '' Possible Sequel Cline is working on a sequel to the novel. For a sequel to the film, he stated, `` (... ) I think there 's a good chance that, if this one does well, Warner Bros. will want to make a sequel. I do n't know if Steven ( Spielberg ) would want to dive back in, because he would know what he is getting into. He 's said that it 's the third - hardest film he 's made, out of dozens and dozens of movies. '' Notes Jump up ^ IOI employees are called Sixers because their employee IDs are six digits long and begin with the number 6 References ^ Jump up to : `` Film Releases ''. Variety Insight. Variety Media. Archived from the original on February 5, 2018. Retrieved March 31, 2018. Jump up ^ Aziz, Neha ( March 10, 2018 ). `` 2018 SXSW Film Festival Announces World Premiere of Steven Spielberg 's Ready Player One ''. South by Southwest. Retrieved March 11, 2018. Jump up ^ `` READY PLAYER ONE ( 12A ) ''. British Board of Film Classification. March 19, 2018. Retrieved March 23, 2018. ^ Jump up to : Rubin, Rebecca ; Setoodeh, Ramin ( March 12, 2018 ). `` Steven Spielberg on Why ' Ready Player One 's ' SXSW Debut Gave Him an ' Anxiety Attack ' ''. Variety. Penske Business Media. Retrieved March 13, 2018. Jump up ^ McClintock, Pamela ( March 28, 2018 ). `` Box - Office Preview : Steven Spielberg 's ' Ready Player One ' Eyes $45 M - $50 M Bow ''. The Hollywood Reporter. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved March 28, 2018. ^ Jump up to : `` Ready Player One ( 2018 ) ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved June 18, 2018. Jump up ^ Jagneaux, David ( March 13, 2018 ). `` Ready Player One Movie Review Roundup : Another Spielberg Classic ? ''. UploadVR. Retrieved March 26, 2018. Jump up ^ Casey, Henry T. ( March 14, 2018 ). `` Ready Player One Review Roundup : Pretty, Flawed ''. Tom 's Guide. Purch Group. Retrieved March 26, 2018. ^ Jump up to : Fullerton, Huw ( March 29, 2018 ). `` The 11 biggest differences between Ready Player One and the original novel ''. Radio Times. Immediate Media Company. Retrieved April 20, 2018. ^ Jump up to : Fleming, Mike Jr. ( June 18, 2010 ). `` Warner Bros and De Line Pictures Win Book Auction For ' Ready Player One ' ''. Deadline Hollywood. Penske Business Media. Retrieved March 30, 2015. Jump up ^ Sneider, Jeff ( January 13, 2012 ). `` Eason to rewrite ' Player ' script ''. Variety. Penske Business Media. Retrieved March 30, 2015. Jump up ^ Sneider, Jeff ; Shaw, Lucas ( June 23, 2014 ). `` ' X-Men ' Scribe Zak Penn to Rewrite ' Ready Player One ' for Warner Bros. ( Exclusive ) ''. TheWrap. Retrieved March 30, 2015. Jump up ^ Kit, Borys ( March 25, 2015 ). `` Steven Spielberg to Direct Sci - Fi Novel ' Ready Player One ' for Warner Bros ''. The Hollywood Reporter. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved March 31, 2015. Jump up ^ Mendelson, Scott ( February 28, 2018 ). `` Does Steven Spielberg Need A Box Office Comeback And Will ' Ready Player One ' Provide It ? ''. Forbes. Retrieved March 1, 2018. ^ Jump up to : Rottenberg, Josh ( April 1, 2018 ). `` How the team behind ' Ready Player One ' wrangled a bonanza of pop culture references into a single film ''. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 2, 2018. Jump up ^ Sneider, Jeff ( September 1, 2015 ). `` Steven Spielberg 's ' Ready Player One ' Shortlist Includes Elle Fanning, Olivia Cooke, Lola Kirke ( Exclusive ) ''. TheWrap. Retrieved September 2, 2015. Jump up ^ Kit, Borys ( September 11, 2015 ). `` Steven Spielberg 's ' Ready Player One ' Finds Female Lead in Olivia Cooke ( Exclusive ) ''. The Hollywood Reporter. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved September 13, 2015. Jump up ^ Kit, Borys ( January 6, 2016 ). `` Ben Mendelsohn Eyed for Villain Role in Steven Spielberg 's ' Ready Player One ' ( Exclusive ) ''. The Hollywood Reporter. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved January 7, 2016. Jump up ^ Chitwood, Adam ( February 24, 2016 ). `` Tye Sheridan Lands Lead in Steven Spielberg 's ' Ready Player One ' ''. Collider. Complex Media. Retrieved March 23, 2018. Jump up ^ Kit, Borys ( March 17, 2016 ). `` Simon Pegg in Talks to Join Steven Spielberg 's ' Ready Player One ' ( Exclusive ) ''. The Hollywood Reporter. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved March 19, 2016. Jump up ^ McNary, Dave ( April 13, 2016 ). `` Mark Rylance Joins Steven Spielberg 's ' Ready Player One ' ''. Variety. Penske Business Media. Retrieved June 9, 2016. Jump up ^ Kit, Borys ( June 1, 2016 ). `` ' Silicon Valley ' Star T.J. Miller Joins Steven Spielberg 's ' Ready Player One ' ( Exclusive ) ''. The Hollywood Reporter. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved September 7, 2017. ^ Jump up to : Busch, Anita ( June 24, 2016 ). `` Hannah John - Kamen Lands Role In Steven Spielberg 's ' Ready Player One ' ''. Deadline Hollywood. Penske Business Media. Retrieved June 25, 2016. Jump up ^ Variety Staff ( June 5, 2016 ). `` Japan 's Win Morisaki Joins Steven Spielberg 's ' Ready Player One ' ''. Variety. Retrieved March 23, 2018. Jump up ^ Blair, Gavin J. `` Steven Spielberg 's ' Ready Player One ' Adds Japanese Actor - Singer Win Morisaki ''. The Hollywood Reporter. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved August 9, 2017. Jump up ^ Busch, Anita ( July 29, 2016 ). `` Steven Spielberg 's ' Ready Player One ' Casts Young Newcomer Philip Zhao ''. Deadline Hollywood. Penske Business Media. Retrieved July 30, 2016. Jump up ^ Breznican, Anthony ( July 14, 2017 ). `` See an exclusive first look at Steven Spielberg 's Ready Player One ''. Entertainment Weekly. Time. Retrieved March 23, 2018. Jump up ^ Squires, John ( July 22, 2017 ). `` Freddy Krueger Appears in Epic ' Ready Player One ' Trailer ! # SDCC ''. Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved March 23, 2018. Jump up ^ Bonomolo, Cameron ( February 1, 2018 ). `` New Look At ' X-Men ' Star Tye Sheridan in ' Ready Player One ' ''. Comicbook.com. Retrieved March 16, 2018. Jump up ^ Carr, Mary Kate ( February 16, 2018 ). `` 5 things to know about Black Panther breakout star Letitia Wright ''. Entertainment Weekly. Time. Retrieved March 23, 2018. Jump up ^ Penn, Zak ( @ zakpenn ) ( July 1, 2016 ). `` First week of # ReadyPlayerOne finished. Surreal. It went to 11. Thanks for writing your book @ erniecline and the assist in Oology '' ( Tweet ). Retrieved March 23, 2018 -- via Twitter. Jump up ^ Evry, Max ( August 16, 2016 ). `` Ready Player One Set Photos Show a Grungy Dystopia ''. ComingSoon.net. CraveOnline Media. Retrieved August 17, 2016. Jump up ^ Young, Graham ; Beardsworth, Luke ; Bains, Sanjeeta ( September 6, 2016 ). `` Recap : Spielberg films Ready Player One in JQ - another set location revealed plus car chase filmed ''. Birmingham Mail. Midland Newspapers. Retrieved September 6, 2016. Jump up ^ Penn, Zak ( @ zakpenn ) ( September 25, 2016 ). `` Two days of production left on # ReadyPlayerOne '' ( Tweet ). Retrieved November 23, 2017 -- via Twitter. ^ Jump up to : Thompson, Anne ( November 7, 2017 ). `` Steven Spielberg Has Finally Finished ' The Post ' ''. IndieWire. Penske Business Media. Retrieved November 23, 2017. Jump up ^ Lussier, Germain ( April 11, 2018 ). `` Here 's How Steven Spielberg and ILM Recreated That Movie for Ready Player One ''. io9. Univision Interactive Media. Retrieved April 11, 2018. Jump up ^ Crow, David ; Cecchini, Mike ( April 1, 2018 ). `` Ready Player One : Complete Easter Egg and Reference Guide ''. Den of Geek. Dennis Publishing. Retrieved April 1, 2018. Jump up ^ Dyce, Andrew ( March 29, 2018 ). `` Ready Player One : The COMPLETE Easter Egg Guide ''. Screen Rant. Retrieved April 1, 2018. Jump up ^ Gallagher, Simon ( March 29, 2018 ). `` Ready Player One : 135 Easter Eggs & References Explained ''. What Culture. Retrieved April 1, 2018. Jump up ^ Barnes, Brooks ( March 21, 2018 ). `` Can Steven Spielberg Remember How to Have Fun ? ''. The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved March 21, 2018. Jump up ^ Hugh, William ( March 19, 2018 ). `` Well, nevermind, then : Of course there 's going to be Star Wars shit in Ready Player One ''. The A.V. Club. The Onion. Retrieved March 19, 2018. Jump up ^ Burke, Carolyn ( March 15, 2018 ). `` Ready Player One Wo n't Reference Disney 's Star Wars Movies ( Updated ) ''. Screen Rant. Retrieved March 16, 2018. Jump up ^ Lussier, Germain ( March 15, 2018 ). `` Steven Spielberg Tried to Get Star Wars Into Ready Player One, But Could n't ''. io9. Univision Interactive Media. Retrieved March 16, 2018. Jump up ^ Couch, Aaron ( July 22, 2017 ). `` Steven Spielberg Brings Ambitious ' Ready Player One ' Footage to Comic - Con ''. The Hollywood Reporter. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved July 25, 2017. Jump up ^ Long, Christian ( February 27, 2018 ). `` Ernest Cline on ' Ready Player Two ' and the Scene Spielberg Fought For ''. The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 16, 2018. Jump up ^ Lussier, Germain ( March 22, 2018 ). `` Last Action Hero and Ready Player One Screenwriter Shocked to Find Last Action Hero Reference in Ready Player One ''. io9. Univision Interactive Media. Retrieved March 23, 2018. Jump up ^ Burlingame, Jon ( June 9, 2016 ). `` AFI Honoree John Williams Looks Back on Six Decades of Iconic Themes ''. Variety. Penske Business Media. Retrieved June 9, 2016. Jump up ^ Burlingame, Jon ( July 7, 2017 ). `` John Williams and Alan Silvestri to Score Steven Spielberg 's Next Films ( EXCLUSIVE ) ''. Variety. Penske Business Media. Retrieved July 8, 2017. Jump up ^ `` Ready Player One - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack ''. WaterTower Music. March 30, 2018. Retrieved April 20, 2018. Jump up ^ Newman, Melinda ( March 28, 2018 ). `` How Steven Spielberg Picked ' Ready Player One 's ' Classic ' 70s and ' 80s Tunes : Exclusive Track Listing ''. Billboard. Retrieved March 30, 2018. Jump up ^ Burton, Byron ( April 2, 2018 ). `` ' Ready Player One ' Composer Alan Silvestri on Its Touching Final Moments ''. The Hollywood Reporter. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved April 5, 2018. Jump up ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. ( August 6, 2015 ). `` Steven Spielberg 's ' Ready Player One ' Slotted For December 2017 ''. Deadline Hollywood. Penske Business Media. Retrieved August 7, 2015. Jump up ^ Chitwood, Adam ( February 9, 2016 ). `` Steven Spielberg 's ' Ready Player One ' Flees ' Star Wars ', Sets New 2018 Release Date ''. Collider. Complex Media. Retrieved June 10, 2017. Jump up ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony ( January 25, 2018 ). `` ' Ready Player One ' Opening A Day Earlier Over Easter Weekend ''. Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 25, 2018. Jump up ^ Warner Bros. Pictures ( July 7, 2017 ). `` Warner Bros. Pictures Gets Ready to Run the Gamut at Comic - Con International : San Diego ''. Business Wire. Berkshire Hathaway. Retrieved July 9, 2017. Jump up ^ Gallichio, Christian ( May 22, 2018 ). `` Ready Player One Blu - ray Release Details ''. Screen Rant. Retrieved June 14, 2018. ^ Jump up to : D'Alessandro, Anthony ( April 1, 2018 ). `` How Warner Bros. Sold ' Ready Player One ' On The Spielberg Spirit & Beat Tracking With $53 M+ 4 - Day -- Sunday Postmortem ''. Deadline Hollywood. Penske Business Media. Retrieved April 1, 2018. ^ Jump up to : D'Alessandro, Anthony ; Tartaglione, Nancy ( March 27, 2018 ). `` Steven Spielberg 's ' Ready Player One ' To Get Its Game On With $140 M+ Global Start ''. Deadline Hollywood. Penske Business Media. Retrieved March 27, 2018. Jump up ^ Associated Press ( April 2, 2018 ). `` Box office Top 20 : ' Ready Player One ' launches with $53.7 M ''. ABC News. American Broadcasting Company. Archived from the original on April 5, 2018. Retrieved April 3, 2018. Jump up ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony ( April 8, 2018 ). `` ' A Quiet Place ' Screams To $50 M+ Opening ; ' Blockers ' Breaks Through To $21 M+ -- Early Sunday Update ''. Deadline Hollywood. Penske Business Media. Retrieved April 8, 2018. Jump up ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony ( April 15, 2018 ). `` The Rock Rebounds : ' Rampage ' Shushes ' A Quiet Place ' With $34 M+ No. 1 Opening ''. Deadline Hollywood. Penske Business Media. Retrieved April 15, 2018. Jump up ^ `` Weekend Box Office Results for April 20 -- 22, 2018 - Box Office Mojo ''. www.boxofficemojo.com. Retrieved April 30, 2018. Jump up ^ `` Weekend Box Office Results for April 27 -- 29, 2018 - Box Office Mojo ''. www.boxofficemojo.com. Retrieved April 30, 2018. Jump up ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony ( March 31, 2018 ). `` ' Ready Player One ' Raises Global Score To $109 M Through Three Days ''. Deadline Hollywood. Penske Business Media. Retrieved March 31, 2018. Jump up ^ Rubin, Rebecca ( April 1, 2018 ). `` ' Ready Player One ' Impresses With $61.7 Million in China ''. Variety. Retrieved April 23, 2018. ^ Jump up to : Rubin, Rebecca ( April 8, 2018 ). `` ' Ready Player One ' Crushes ' A Quiet Place, ' ' Blockers ' Overseas ''. Variety. Penske Business Media. Retrieved April 18, 2018. ^ Jump up to : Tartaglione, Nancy ( April 15, 2018 ). `` ' Rampage ' Rocks Up $114 M Offshore Bow ; ' Quiet Place ' Screams To $52 M -- International Box Office ''. Deadline Hollywood. Penske Business Media. Retrieved April 18, 2018. Jump up ^ `` ' Ready Player One ' Tops $500 M Global Box Office, Scores $200 M+ In China ''. Deadline Hollywood. April 21, 2018. Retrieved April 22, 2018. Jump up ^ Frater, Patrick ( April 23, 2018 ). `` China Box Office : ' Rampage ' Wins Quiet Weekend ''. Variety. Retrieved April 23, 2018. ^ Jump up to : Rubin, Rebecca ( April 22, 2018 ). `` Dwayne Johnson 's ' Rampage ' Continues to Roar Overseas ''. Variety. Retrieved April 23, 2018. ^ Jump up to : Tartaglione, Nancy ( April 29, 2018 ). `` ' Avengers : Infinity War 's $630 M Global Bow Sets All - Time Record -- International Box Office ''. Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 29, 2018. ^ Jump up to : Tartaglione, Nancy ( May 6, 2018 ). `` ' Avengers : Infinity War ' Surges To $1.164 B Global & # 5 Superhero Movie Ever WW ; $713 M Overseas -- International Box Office ''. Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 6, 2018. Jump up ^ `` Ready Player One ( 2018 ) ''. Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved June 5, 2018. Jump up ^ `` Ready Player One Reviews ''. Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved April 4, 2018. Jump up ^ Tallerico, Brian ( March 12, 2018 ). `` SXSW Film Festival 2018 : `` Ready Player One '' ``. RogerEbert.com. Ebert Digital. Retrieved March 12, 2018. Jump up ^ Gleiberman, Owen ( March 12, 2018 ). `` SXSW Film Review : ' Ready Player One ' ''. Variety. Penske Business Media. Retrieved March 12, 2018. Jump up ^ Kohn, Eric ( March 12, 2018 ). `` ' Ready Player One ' Review : Steven Spielberg Delivers Astonishing Sci - Fi Spectacle and Relentless Nostalgia -- SXSW 2018 ''. IndieWire. Penske Business Media. Retrieved March 12, 2018. Jump up ^ Wilkinson, Alissa ( March 29, 2018 ). `` Ready Player One is a fun romp that 's even more dystopian than it realizes ''. Vox. Vox Media. Retrieved March 30, 2018. Jump up ^ Castillo, Monica ( March 12, 2018 ). `` Ready Player One review -- Spielberg 's shiny VR caper is n't worth playing ''. The Guardian. Guardian News and Media. Retrieved March 12, 2018. Jump up ^ Bobkin, Matt ( March 31, 2018 ). `` Ready Player One ''. Exclaim !. Retrieved March 31, 2018. Jump up ^ Sequel citations : Lussier, Germain ( January 16, 2015 ). `` Ernie Cline Writing a ' Ready Player One ' Sequel ''. / Film. Retrieved May 2, 2017. West, Kelly ( January 16, 2015 ). `` Ready Player One Is Getting A Sequel ''. CinemaBlend. GatewayBlend. Retrieved May 2, 2017. Berkey, Rachel ( January 25, 2015 ). `` READY PLAYER ONE Sequel Rumored To Be In The Works - Nerdist ''. Nerdist. Retrieved May 2, 2017. Knight, Jacob ( December 12, 2017 ). `` Ernie Cline Penning A Sequel Novel To READY PLAYER ONE ''. Birth. Movies. Death. Retrieved April 4, 2018. Jump up ^ Radish, Christina ( March 29, 2018 ). `` Ernest Cline on ' Ready Player One ', Working with Spielberg, and Hopes for a Sequel ''. Collider. Complex Media. Retrieved April 1, 2018. Jump up ^ Moran, Sarah ( March 30, 2018 ). `` Ready Player Two ? It Could Happen -- And The First Movie May Tease It ''. Screen Rant. Retrieved April 1, 2018. External links Official website Ready Player One on IMDb Ready Player One at AllMovie Ready Player One at Box Office Mojo Steven Spielberg Filmography Awards and nominations Films directed Firelight ( 1964 ) Slipstream ( 1967 ) Amblin ' ( 1968 ) Night Gallery ( `` Eyes '' segment, 1969 ) L.A. 2017 ( 1971 ) Duel ( 1971 ) Something Evil ( 1972 ) Savage ( 1973 ) The Sugarland Express ( 1974, also wrote ) Jaws ( 1975 ) Close Encounters of the Third Kind ( 1977, also wrote ) 1941 ( 1979 ) Raiders of the Lost Ark ( 1981 ) E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial ( 1982 ) Twilight Zone : The Movie ( `` Kick the Can '' segment, 1983 ) Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom ( 1984 ) The Color Purple ( 1985 ) Empire of the Sun ( 1987 ) Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade ( 1989 ) Always ( 1989 ) Hook ( 1991 ) Jurassic Park ( 1993 ) Schindler 's List ( 1993 ) The Lost World : Jurassic Park ( 1997 ) Amistad ( 1997 ) Saving Private Ryan ( 1998 ) A.I. Artificial Intelligence ( 2001, also wrote ) Minority Report ( 2002 ) Catch Me If You Can ( 2002 ) The Terminal ( 2004 ) War of the Worlds ( 2005 ) Munich ( 2005 ) Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull ( 2008 ) The Adventures of Tintin ( 2011 ) War Horse ( 2011 ) Lincoln ( 2012 ) Bridge of Spies ( 2015 ) The BFG ( 2016 ) The Post ( 2017 ) Ready Player One ( 2018 ) Films written Ace Eli and Rodger of the Skies ( 1973 ) Poltergeist ( 1982, also produced ) The Goonies ( 1985 ) Films produced An American Tail : Fievel Goes West ( 1991 ) Memoirs of a Geisha ( 2005 ) Flags of Our Fathers ( 2006 ) Letters from Iwo Jima ( 2006 ) Super 8 ( 2011 ) The Hundred - Foot Journey ( 2014 ) Television Amazing Stories ( 1985 -- 87 ) High Incident ( 1996 -- 97 ) Invasion America ( 1998 ) See also Steven Spielberg bibliography Amblin Partners Amblin Entertainment Amblin Television DreamWorks Television Amblimation DreamWorks USC Shoah Foundation Institute for Visual History and Education Works by Zak Penn Director Incident at Loch Ness ( 2004 ) The Grand ( 2007 ) Atari : Game Over ( 2014 ) Writer Last Action Hero ( 1993 ) PCU ( 1994 ) Inspector Gadget ( 1999 ) Behind Enemy Lines ( 2001 ) X2 ( 2003 ) Suspect Zero ( 2004 ) Elektra ( 2005 ) X-Men : The Last Stand ( 2006 ) The Incredible Hulk ( 2008 ) The Avengers ( 2012 ) Ready Player One ( 2018 ) Television Alphas ( 2011 - 2012 ) Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ready_Player_One_(film)&oldid=846508886 '' Categories : 2018 films English - language films 2010s adventure films 2010s coming - of - age films 2010s science fiction films 2018 3D films Amblin Entertainment films American adventure films American coming - of - age films American films American 3D films American science fiction films Crossover films Cyberpunk films Drone films Dystopian films Films about telepresence Films about video games Films about virtual reality Films based on American novels Films based on science fiction novels Films directed by Steven Spielberg Films produced by Steven Spielberg Films scored by Alan Silvestri Films set in 2045 Films set in Columbus, Ohio Films shot in Hertfordshire Films shot in London Films shot in Warwickshire Films with live action and animation IMAX films Motion capture in film Science fiction adventure films Village Roadshow Pictures films Warner Bros. films Hidden categories : Use mdy dates from June 2018 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Wikiquote Български Català Čeština Dansk Deutsch Eesti Español Euskara فارسی Français 한국어 Bahasa Indonesia Italiano עברית Nederlands 日本 語 Polski Português Русский Српски / srpski Suomi Svenska ไทย Türkçe Українська Tiếng Việt 粵語 中文 20 more Edit links This page was last edited on 19 June 2018, at 05 : 55 ( UTC ). 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Question: when did ready player one come to theaters
Answer: March 29, 2018