24 Hour Party People

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24 Hour Party People

R,

2002,

1h 57m,

Comedy/

Drama

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Watchlist

Watchlist

87%

102 Reviews

Tomatometer

87%

25,000+ Ratings

Popcornmeter

87%

Tomatometer

102 Reviews

87%

Popcornmeter

25,000+ Ratings

Manchester, 1976. Tony Wilson (Steve Coogan) is an ambitious but frustrated local TV news reporter looking for a way to make his mark. After witnessing a life-changing concert by a band known as the Sex Pistols, he persuades his station to televise one of their performances, and soon Manchester's punk groups are clamoring for him to manage them. Riding the wave of a musical revolution, Wilson and his friends create the legendary Factory Records label and The Hacienda club.

Critics Consensus

The colorful, chaotic 24 Hour Party People nimbly captures the spirit of the Manchester music scene.

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Kevin Maher

The Times (UK)

Oct 9, 2026

5/5

It looked chaotic, it seemed improvised and yet the script was built upon a plethora of epigrammatic zingers written by Cottrell-Boyce.

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Peter Bradshaw

Guardian

Oct 8, 2026

4/5

The loose, baggy energy is what makes this film so watchable, and yet it sometimes feels formless, with something detached in Winterbottom’s direction.

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Nell Minow

Common Sense Media

Aug 26, 2010

4/5

Excellent movie about punk's origins; older teens only.

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Chance Solem-Pfeifer

Willamette Week

Apr 2, 2026

The shifty protagonist lends himself a tone brilliantly managed by director Michael Winterbottom.

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Sean Axmaker

Stream on Demand

Apr 6, 2024

Director Michael Winterbottom’s sprawling, jagged film is happily, even willfully unreliable as history and it embraces the tug-of-war between factual events and the stories and legends that have around them.

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Farah Cheded

A Good Movie To Watch

Nov 25, 2023

24 Hour Party People takes the same punk approach to storytelling as its subjects did to music, playfully throwing off the dull constraints that often make based-on-a-true-story movies feel like uninspired celluloid translations of a Wikipedia page.

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Hermione M

Jan 13, 2019

Such a wonderful film. I love Joy Division / New Order and this was highly enjoyable. Steve Coogan is electric...!!!!

Harry M

May 16, 2018

Its pacing feels a little off, but it's an interesting look at the Manchester music scene from the 70's to the 90's and has a good performance from Steve Coogan.

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Finn G

Apr 2, 2018

Shot in the style of a mockumentary, this film is about Manchester's music scene from 1976 to 1992 and therefore it would be difficult for people without previous knowledge to follow the frantic rythm by which names and events are presented. Quite impressive nevertheless.

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Leia G

Jan 29, 2018

I loved this movie, the humour the bands the story. Sad about Ian Curtis, what a guy died way to early. I love the entire movie then I wnet out and bought the album 24 Hour Party People, Happy Mondays, which is really cool.

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Ron S

Jan 25, 2018

The 4th wall is broken so many times that you have to wonder if there was a wall in the first place! A mix between a biography, a documentary and a comedy-drama. At the end is all very simple: do you like this kind of music? You'll love this movie. Do you listen to reggaeton? Don't bother. Just wait for a masterpiece about that, I am sure is coming any day now. And even if I prefer the music from "the first act" the whole thing, works very well and it is pretty funny too!

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Rey S

Dec 28, 2017

A hoot. We laughed like drains. Some of it may have been true.

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Michael Winterbottom

Director

Steve Coogan

Anthony Wilson

Lennie James

Alan Erasmus

Shirley Henderson

Lindsey Wilson

Paddy Considine

Rob Gretton

Andy Serkis

Martin Hannett

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Synopsis

Manchester, 1976. Tony Wilson (Steve Coogan) is an ambitious but frustrated local TV news reporter looking for a way to make his mark. After witnessing a life-changing concert by a band known as the Sex Pistols, he persuades his station to televise one of their performances, and soon Manchester's punk groups are clamoring for him to manage them. Riding the wave of a musical revolution, Wilson and his friends create the legendary Factory Records label and The Hacienda club.

Director: Michael Winterbottom
Producer: Andrew Eaton
Screenwriter: Frank Cottrell Boyce
Distributor: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Production Co: Miramax
Rating: R (Sexuality|Drug Use|Strong Language)
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Aug 9, 2002, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 16, 2008
Box Office (Gross USA): $1.1M
Runtime: 1h 57m
Sound Mix: Dolby Stereo, Dolby A, SDDS, DTS, Surround, Dolby Digital, Dolby SR

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