Ad Astra

***Ad Astra*** (Latin for "To the Stars") is a 2019 American science fiction psychological drama film produced, co-written, and directed by James Gray. Starring Brad Pitt, Tommy Lee Jones, Ruth Negga, Liv Tyler, and Donald Sutherland, it follows an astronaut who goes into space in search of his lost father, whose experiment threatens the solar system.

The project was announced in early 2016, with Gray saying he wanted to feature "the most realistic depiction of space travel that's been put in a movie". Pitt signed on to star in April 2017 and the rest of the cast joined later that year. Filming began around Los Angeles that August, lasting through October.

## Storyline

### Plot

Astronaut Roy McBride undertakes a mission across an unforgiving solar system to uncover the truth about his missing father and his doomed expedition that now, 30 years later, threatens the universe.

### Genres

* Adventure
* Drama
* Mystery
* Sci-Fi
* Thriller

### Motion Picture Rating

* **13** (Argentina)
* **M** (Australia)
* **14** (Austria)
* **KT/EA** (Belgium)
* **14** (Brazil)
* **C** (Bulgaria)
* **PG** (Canada)
* **TE** (Chile)
* **12** (Colombia)
* **12** (Czech Republic)
* **11** (Denmark)
* **12** (Ecuador)
* **K-12** (Finland)
* **Tous publics** (France)
* **12** (Germany)
* **K-12** (Greece)
* **IIA** (Hong Kong)
* **16** (Hungary)
* **12** (Iceland)
* **13+** (Indonesia)
* **12A** (Ireland)
* **T** (Italy)
* **G** (Japan)
* **N-13** (Lithuania)
* **12** (Luxembourg)
* **P13** (Malaysia)
* **12A** (Malta)
* **B** (Mexico)
* **12** (Netherlands)
* **M** (New Zealand)
* **12A** (Nigeria)
* **12** (Norway)
* **14** (Peru)
* **PG-13** (Philippines)
* **12** (Poland)
* **M/12** (Portugal)
* **PG-13** (Puerto Rico)
* **16+** (Russia)
* **12** (Serbia)
* **PG13** (Singapore)
* **12** (Slovakia)
* **16** (South Africa)
* **12** (South Korea)
* **7** (Spain)
* **15** (Sweden)
* **12** (Switzerland)
* **PG-12** (Taiwan)
* **13A** (Turkey)
* **12A** (UK)
* **PG-13** (USA)
* **12** (Ukraine)
* **C13** (Vietnam)

## Images

USA Blu-Ray coverUSA 4K UHD Blu-Ray coverUK DVD coverUK Blu-Ray coverUK 4K UHD Blu-Ray cover
## Cast and Crew

### Writing Credits (WGA)

* James Gray (written by) and
* Ethan Gross (written by)

### Cast

* Brad Pitt - Roy McBride
* Tommy Lee Jones - H. Clifford McBride
* Ruth Negga - Helen Lantos
* Liv Tyler - Eve
* Donald Sutherland - Thomas Pruitt
* John Ortiz - Lieutenant General Rivas
* Greg Bryk - Chip Garnes
* Loren Dean - Donald Stanford
* Natasha Lyonne - Tanya Pincus
* John Finn - Brigadier General Stroud
* Kimberly Elise - Lorraine Deavers
* Sean Blakemore - Willie Levant
* Bobby Nish - Franklin Yoshida
* LisaGay Hamilton - Adjutant General Vogel
* Donnie Keshawarz - Captain Lawrence Tanner

### Producers

* Marc Butan (executive producer)
* Jeffrey Chan (executive producer)
* Paul Conway (executive producer)
* Dede Gardner (producer) (p.g.a.)
* James Gray (producer) (p.g.a.)
* Anthony Katagas (producer) (p.g.a.)
* Jeremy Kleiner (producer) (p.g.a.)
* Sophie Mas (executive producer)
* Arnon Milchan (producer)
* Yariv Milchan (executive producer)
* Anthony Mosawi (executive producer)
* Christina Oh (associate producer)
* Brad Pitt (producer)
* Lorenco Sant' Anna (producer)
* Michael Schaefer (executive producer)
* Rodrigo Teixeira (producer) (p.g.a.)
* Doug Torres (co-producer)
* Dong Yu (executive producer)

## Details

### Countries

* China
* USA

### Language

* English
* Norwegian

### Release Dates

* August 29, 2019 (Italy) (Venice Film Festival)
* September 13, 2019 (Japan) (Tokyo) (premiere)
* September 18, 2019 (France)
* September 18, 2019 (UK)
* September 18, 2019 (Ireland)
* September 18, 2019 (USA) (Hollywood, California) (premiere)
* September 19, 2019 (Argentina)
* September 19, 2019 (Australia)
* September 19, 2019 (Colombia)
* September 19, 2019 (Czech Republic)
* September 19, 2019 (Germany)
* September 19, 2019 (Denmark)
* September 19, 2019 (Greece)
* September 19, 2019 (Croatia)
* September 19, 2019 (Hungary)
* September 19, 2019 (Israel)
* September 19, 2019 (South Korea)
* September 19, 2019 (Kuwait)
* September 19, 2019 (Lebanon)
* September 19, 2019 (Malaysia)
* September 19, 2019 (Netherlands)
* September 19, 2019 (New Zealand)
* September 19, 2019 (Portugal)
* September 19, 2019 (Saudi Arabia)
* September 19, 2019 (Slovenia)
* September 19, 2019 (Slovakia)
* September 19, 2019 (Ukraine)
* September 19, 2019 (Uruguay)
* September 20, 2019 (Austria)
* September 20, 2019 (Bulgaria)
* September 20, 2019 (Canada)
* September 20, 2019 (Estonia)
* September 20, 2019 (Egypt) (El Gouna Film Festival)
* September 20, 2019 (Spain)
* September 20, 2019 (Finland)
* September 20, 2019 (Indonesia)
* September 20, 2019 (India)
* September 20, 2019 (Japan)
* September 20, 2019 (Lithuania)
* September 20, 2019 (Latvia)
* September 20, 2019 (Mexico)
* September 20, 2019 (Norway)
* September 20, 2019 (Philippines)
* September 20, 2019 (Poland)
* September 20, 2019 (Romania)
* September 20, 2019 (Sweden)
* September 20, 2019 (Turkey)
* September 20, 2019 (Taiwan)
* September 20, 2019 (USA)
* September 20, 2019 (Vietnam)
* September 23, 2019 (Kazakhstan)
* September 26, 2019 (Brazil)
* September 26, 2019 (Chile)
* September 26, 2019 (Hong Kong)
* September 26, 2019 (Italy)
* September 26, 2019 (Russia)
* September 27, 2019 (Iceland)
* October 10, 2019 (Peru)
* October 18, 2019 (India) (Mumbai Film Festival)
* December 6, 2019 (China)

### Trailer Release Dates

* Trailer 1 - June 5, 2019
* Trailer 2 - July 18, 2019
* Trailer 3 - August 21, 2019

### Home Media Release Dates

* December 17, 2019 (USA) (DVD)
* December 17, 2019 (USA) (Blu-Ray)
* December 17, 2019 (USA) (4K UHD Blu-Ray)
* January 27, 2020 (UK) (DVD)
* January 27, 2020 (UK) (Blu-Ray)
* January 27, 2020 (UK) (4K UHD Blu-Ray)

## Production

Director James Gray first confirmed his plans to write and direct *Ad Astra* on May 12, 2016 during the 2016 Cannes Film Festival. In April 2017, while promoting *The Lost City of Z*, Gray compared the story of *Ad Astra* to Joseph Conrad's *Hearts of Darkness*. Gray also mentioned that he intended for the film to feature "the most realistic depiction of space travel that's been put in a movie and to basically say, 'Space is awfully hostile to us.'" Gray also confirmed that filming for *Ad Astra* would commence on July 17, 2017.

On April 10, 2017, Gray confirmed that Brad Pitt would star in *Ad Astra*. In June, Tommy Lee Jones joined the cast to portray Pitt's lost father. In August, Ruth Negga, John Finn, and Donald Sutherland joined the cast.

Principal photography on the film began in mid-August 2017 in Santa Clarita, California, lasting 60 days. Following poor initial test screenings, reshoots were conducted (although Pitt was unavailable), increasing the production budget from $80 million to over $100 million.

## Reception

### Box office

*Ad Astra* grossed $127,461,872 worldwide on a budget of around $80-100 million.

In the United States and Canada, the film was released alongside *Downton Abbey* and *Rambo: Last Blood*, and was projected to gross $15-20 million from 3,450 theaters in its opening weekend. The film made $7.2 million on its first day, including $1.5 million from Thursday night previews. It went on to debut to $19 million, finishing second behind *Downton Abbey*. The opening was compared to *First Man* (2018), another drama involving outer space which received high praise from critics but a lukewarm audience reception, resulting in a muted box office turnout despite its cast and budget. Deadline Hollywood deduced the film would lose Fox $30 million off a projected $150 million worldwide gross. The film made $10.1 million in its second weekend and $4.4 million in its third, finishing fifth and sixth, respectively.

### Critical response

The film has a 6.6 rating on IMDb and an 84% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

## Company Credits

### Production Companies

* 20th Century Fox
* Regency Enterprises
* Bona Film Group
* New Regency Pictures
* Plan B Entertainment
* RT Features
* Keep Your Head
* MadRiver Pictures
* TSG Entertainment

### Distributors

* Huaxia Film Distribution (2019) (China) (theatrical)
* Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures (2019) (Australia) (theatrical)
* Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures (2019) (Japan) (theatrical)
* Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures (2019) (Germany) (theatrical)
* Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures (2019) (Argentina) (theatrical)
* Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures (2019) (Brazil) (theatrical)
* Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures (2019) (Canada) (theatrical)
* Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures (2019) (Spain) (theatrical)
* Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures (2019) (France) (theatrical)
* Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures (2019) (UK) (theatrical)
* Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures (2019) (India) (theatrical)
* Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures (2019) (South Korea) (theatrical)
* Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures (2019) (Malaysia) (theatrical)
* Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures (2019) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
* Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures (2019) (Singapore) (theatrical)
* Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures (2019) (USA) (theatrical)
* Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures (2019) (Italy) (theatrical)
* Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures (2019) (Russia) (theatrical)
* Buena Vista Home Entertainment (2019) (USA) (DVD)
* Buena Vista Home Entertainment (2019) (USA) (Blu-Ray)
* Buena Vista Home Entertainment (2019) (USA) (4K UHD Blu-Ray)
* Buena Vista Home Entertainment (2020) (UK) (DVD)
* Buena Vista Home Entertainment (2020) (UK) (Blu-Ray)
* Buena Vista Home Entertainment (2020) (UK) (4K UHD Blu-Ray)

### Special Effects

* Halon Entertainment (previs and postvis)
* Lidar Guys (lidar scanning)
* Protagon (cyber scanning)
* Industrial Light and Magic (visual development) (as ILM Art Department)
* Moving Picture Company (visual effects) (as MPC)
* Method Studios (visual effects and animation)
* Mr. X (visual effects)
* Weta Digital (visual effects and animation)
* Pixel Pirates (additional visual effects)
* BOT VFX (additional visual effects)
* Soho VFX (visual effects)
* Lola Visual Effects (additional visual effects) (as Lola VFX)
* Capital T (additional visual effects)
* Brainstorm Digital (additional visual effects)
* MELS (additional visual effects) (as Mels Studios)
* Vitality Visual Effects (additional visual effects)
* Shade VFX (additional visual effects)

## Trivia

* This is the last Regency Enterprises film to be distributed by 20th Century Fox before it was renamed to 20th Century Studios in 2020.
* The film reunites Donald Sutherland, Tommy Lee Jones and Loren Dean who previously appeared in *Space Cowboys* (2000).
* Brad Pitt in *Ad Astra* is the 8th cast member from the *Ocean's Eleven* series to appear in an outer space movie, after Don Cheadle in *Mission to Mars* (2000), George Clooney in *Solaris* (2002) and with Sandra Bullock in *Gravity* (2013), Andy Garcia in *Passengers* (2016), Matt Damon in *The Martian* (2015) and with Anne Hathaway and Casey Affleck in *Interstellar* (2014).
* Donald Sutherland and Tommy Lee Jones previously appeared in *JFK* (1991) and *Space Cowboys* (2000).