On Friday, Nov. 6, Martin McDonagh’s Wild Horse Nine opens in U.S. theaters, with preview screenings Thursday night. It sends two aging CIA officers from Santiago to Easter Island in the days before Chile’s 1973 coup, and it arrives carrying a 94% on Rotten Tomatoes.

I haven’t seen it yet, so this isn’t a review. It’s the guide I’d want before buying a ticket: what’s confirmed, who isn’t buying the hype, what’s real about the history, and where it sits next to McDonagh’s other four movies. Facts come from the sources at the bottom, and my opinions are labeled as mine.

Three things below you won’t find copied from a press kit: a forecast spread that puts three box office estimates on one scale, a ledger that splits the 94% into camps, and my “start here” ladder for anyone new to McDonagh.

The Key Points

  • Wild Horse Nine opens Friday, Nov. 6 in U.S. theaters (previews Thursday). It runs 1 hour 58 minutes and is rated R.
  • It stars John Malkovich and Sam Rockwell as CIA officers Chris and Lee, with Steve Buscemi as their boss. Malkovich won the Volpi Cup for Best Actor at Venice.
  • Rotten Tomatoes showed 94% from 138 reviews on Nov. 4. The dissenters say the politics and the jokes feel thin.
  • It is fiction, set against real history: the days before the Sept. 11, 1973 coup in Chile.
  • Variety reports a roughly 1,000-theater launch aimed at $5 million to $7 million.
  • My pick, before seeing a frame: go opening weekend, and read why below.
01 · The assignment

What is Wild Horse Nine about? Two CIA officers, Easter Island and the days before Chile’s 1973 coup

Chris (Malkovich) is a veteran CIA officer who is dying of cancer. Lee (Rockwell) is his protégé and longtime partner. Their bureau chief, MJ (Buscemi), sends them from Santiago to Easter Island, where Chris strikes up a bond with two rebellious college students, played by Mariana di Girolamo and Ailín Salas. Per the official synopsis, that friendship threatens to send everyone’s trip sideways.

Written and directed byMartin McDonagh (In Bruges, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, The Banshees of Inisherin)
CastJohn Malkovich (Chris), Sam Rockwell (Lee), Steve Buscemi (MJ), Tom Waits (Chris’s brother), Parker Posey (Marge, Lee’s wife), Mariana di Girolamo (Monica), Ailín Salas (Alicia)
DistributorSearchlight Pictures. A UK, U.S. and Chile co-production
Festival runWorld premiere in competition at Venice on Sept. 3. Malkovich won the Volpi Cup for Best Actor. The film was nominated for the Golden Lion
ShotOn Rapa Nui (Easter Island) and in Santiago, spring 2025
Casting noteMark Ruffalo was first attached and left. Buscemi replaced him in March 2025
Based on a true story?No. Per Wikipedia it is fiction, a dark comedy and satire set on a real historical backdrop
02 · The logistics

When does Wild Horse Nine come out, how long is it and why is it rated R?

It opens Friday, Nov. 6, with Thursday previews, according to Forbes and Searchlight’s marketing. One international roundup says UK and Irish cinemas got it on Nov. 4, but Wikipedia lists Nov. 6 for both countries, so check your own theater’s listing. The runtime is 1 hour 58 minutes on Rotten Tomatoes and Box Office Mojo, though one review site lists 117 minutes.

The R rating is for sexual references, pervasive language, drug use and some strong violence, per Rotten Tomatoes. Streaming is a blank: I found no official date from Searchlight. A few sites guess early 2027 on Hulu and Disney+, and I’d treat that as a guess.

03 · The money

Wild Horse Nine box office: three opening weekend forecasts on one scale

Variety says Searchlight is launching it in roughly 1,000 theaters, a bigger footprint than McDonagh’s last film, and that it’s playing to older audiences. Here are the three estimates I found, drawn on the same $0 to $10 million line.

Todd Thatcher’s prediction: $2.9M
Variety, aiming for: $5M to $7M
Box Office Watch tracking: $6M to $10M
$0$5M$10M

My take: the spread is wide because nobody can model how many people over 45 show up on a Friday. I care less about the weekend number than the second weekend. If the drop is gentle, this is a film that lives on word of mouth, which is how McDonagh’s earlier movies found their audiences.

04 · The jury

Wild Horse Nine reviews: the 94% on Rotten Tomatoes, split into three camps

The score was 94% from 138 reviews on Nov. 4 (Forbes counted 134 earlier in the day). Metacritic sat at 80 right after Venice, and 76 from 30 critics is the latest number I found. A percentage hides how people felt, so here’s who said what.

The raves
  • Time Out gave it 5 out of 5 and called Malkovich a tour de force.
  • Variety’s Guy Lodge said Malkovich hadn’t been this engaged in a long time.
  • The Hollywood Reporter’s David Rooney called it among Malkovich’s best work in years.
  • Deadline called it McDonagh’s fifth great film in five tries.
Warm, with doubts
  • Empire gave it 4 out of 5 but said the political backdrop feels underdeveloped.
  • The Guardian gave it 3 out of 5, saying the American setting brings more violence and less charm, as in Seven Psychopaths.
  • IndieWire graded it B-, calling it prickly but unconvincing.
The pans
  • TheWrap’s William Bibbiani said it assumes its dangerous men are lovable instead of earning it.
  • Slant’s Marshall Shaffer found the jokes land as arranged words, not as meaning.

My take: the pattern matters more than the score. Almost everyone loves the double act, and almost every complaint is about the politics. If you go for Malkovich and Rockwell, the praise is aimed at you. If you want a sharp film about American intervention, the warm-but-doubtful camp is the one I’d listen to.

05 · The record

Is Wild Horse Nine a true story? The real 1973 Chile history behind it, in four dates

The characters are invented, but the backdrop is real, and it helps to know it going in. Easter Island, called Rapa Nui by its people, belongs to Chile and sits about 2,200 miles off its coast. It’s famous for roughly 900 carved stone statues called moai.

  1. Sept. 4, 1970Salvador Allende is elected president of Chile. The Church Committee later documented U.S. covert efforts to stop him.
  2. Sept. 11, 1973General Augusto Pinochet’s forces overthrow Allende, beginning a military dictatorship. The film is set in the days before.
  3. Dec. 4, 1975Senator Frank Church releases a staff report finding that covert U.S. involvement in Chile from 1963 to 1973 was extensive and continuous. It found no evidence of direct U.S. involvement in the coup itself.
  4. Sept. 18, 2000A CIA review says the agency did not instigate the coup but knew about the plotting.

That’s the gap McDonagh’s dark comedy sits in: a government with deep, documented involvement in a country, and two men with a lot to answer for.

06 · The filmography

Martin McDonagh’s five movies in order, with Rotten Tomatoes scores and my “start here” pick

In Bruges2008 · RT 84%

Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson play two hitmen hiding out in Bruges. My start-here pick: it’s the cleanest blend of his jokes and his heartbreak.

Seven Psychopaths2012 · RT 82%

A struggling screenwriter, a dognapping scheme and Sam Rockwell. The Guardian compares Wild Horse Nine to this one.

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri2017 · RT 90%

Frances McDormand, Woody Harrelson and Rockwell. Start here if you want the angriest, most American McDonagh.

The Banshees of Inisherin2022 · RT 96%

Farrell and Gleeson as former friends on an Irish island. His highest-rated film and the one I’d pick for pure ache.

Wild Horse Nine2026 · RT 94%

Malkovich, Rockwell and an island of giant statues. Rockwell’s third McDonagh film.

My order for newcomers: In Bruges, then Banshees, then Three Billboards, then this one. It’s an opinion, not a ranking by score. I haven’t seen Wild Horse Nine, so it’s a bet, not a placement.

07 · The audience

Who should see Wild Horse Nine in theaters, and who should wait or skip?

Go if
  • You like McDonagh’s mix of cruelty and tenderness.
  • You want to watch two great actors trade lines for nearly two hours.
  • You like a film that’s about death without being solemn.
Wait or skip if
  • Profanity and violence put you off. It’s rated R for a reason.
  • You want a serious political thriller about Chile. Critics say the politics are the thinnest part.
  • You can’t stand McDonagh’s style. This is his formula, say even fans.
08 · The verdict

My take: why I’d go opening weekend to see Wild Horse Nine, and what would prove me wrong

Here’s the hopeful part. A $5 million to $7 million launch isn’t a Marvel number, but it’s a real bet that grown-ups still go to the movies for a character piece. Films like this live or die by their first weekend, and I’d like it to live.

Here’s the honest part. The critics who push back have a point: the political backdrop sounds like it might be used as scenery. The Guardian’s comparison to Seven Psychopaths is the one I’d keep in my head. I’m still going, because Malkovich’s Venice win and the early reviews of him are the strongest signal I’ve seen this fall.

What would prove me wrong: a bad word-of-mouth drop in the second weekend, or a wave of audience reviews saying the jokes ran out. I’ll know more after I’ve seen it, and I’d rather say that than pretend.

Verdict · Nov. 4, 2026
My pickTheaters, opening weekend, if you’re okay with R-rated language.
Best forMcDonagh fans, and anyone who wants Malkovich and Rockwell on a big screen.
Biggest riskA story that treats 1973 Chile as backdrop more than subject.
What this isA read on the setup, the reviews and the numbers. I haven’t seen the film, so it is not a review.

Quick answers

When does Wild Horse Nine come out?

Friday, Nov. 6, 2026, in U.S. theaters, with preview screenings on Thursday, Nov. 5. One roundup says it opened in UK and Irish cinemas on Nov. 4, while Wikipedia lists Nov. 6 for the UK, so check your local listing.

How long is Wild Horse Nine?

Rotten Tomatoes and Box Office Mojo list 1 hour 58 minutes (118 minutes). One review site lists 117 minutes.

Why is Wild Horse Nine rated R?

Rotten Tomatoes lists the R rating for sexual references, pervasive language, drug use and some strong violence.

Is Wild Horse Nine a true story?

No. Wikipedia describes it as a fictional dark comedy and satire set against a real historical backdrop, the days before the Sept. 11, 1973 coup in Chile.

Who is in Wild Horse Nine?

John Malkovich plays Chris and Sam Rockwell plays Lee, two CIA officers, with Steve Buscemi as their bureau chief MJ. Tom Waits, Parker Posey, Mariana di Girolamo and Ailín Salas are also in the cast.

What are the reviews for Wild Horse Nine?

On Nov. 4, Rotten Tomatoes showed 94% from 138 reviews. Metacritic was 80 after the Venice premiere, and 76 from 30 critics was the latest figure I found. Most critics praise Malkovich and Rockwell, while a few say the politics and the jokes feel thin.

Did John Malkovich win an award for Wild Horse Nine?

Yes. He won the Volpi Cup for Best Actor at the Venice Film Festival in September. The film was also nominated for the festival’s Golden Lion.

Is Wild Horse Nine streaming?

Not yet. I didn’t find an official streaming or digital date from Searchlight. Some sites guess early 2027 on Hulu and Disney+, but that is speculation.

Where This Comes From

HOW WE REPORTED THIS

Independently written for this story from published coverage, the review and tracking pages linked above and the Church Committee and CIA documents, as of Nov. 4, 2026. Scores, forecasts and review counts change often. I haven’t seen the film, so nothing here is a review. The forecast spread, the three-camp ledger, the start-here ladder and the verdict are my own analysis. The cover photo is a real image of the moai of Ahu Tongariki by Rivi, used under the CC BY-SA 3.0 license, chosen as a visual stand-in because the film’s CIA officers are sent to Easter Island. It is not a still from the movie and does not show anyone from the cast. See our full editorial methodology for how we verify claims and separate fact from analysis.

Related Stories