ⓘ Details

Movie TitleAmerican Psycho

Release DateApril 14, 2000 in the United States

TaglineKiller looks.

Runtime102 minutes / 1 hour 42 minutes

DirectorMary Harron

Screenplay Written ByMary Harron and Guinevere Turner

Based OnBret Easton Ellis’ 1991 novel American Psycho

Is It a Remake?No. It is the first feature-film adaptation of the novel.

BudgetApproximately $7 million

Box OfficeApprox. $15.07 million domestic / approx. $34.27 million worldwide

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👥 Main Cast

Christian BalePatrick Bateman

Willem DafoeDetective Donald Kimball

Jared LetoPaul Allen

Chloë SevignyJean

Reese WitherspoonEvelyn Williams

Samantha MathisCourtney Rawlinson

Justin TherouxTimothy Bryce

Josh LucasCraig McDermott

Matt RossLuis Carruthers

Bill SageDavid Van Patten

Cara SeymourChristie

Guinevere TurnerElizabeth

Stephen BogaertHarold Carnes

Reg E. CatheyAl

Krista SuttonSabrina

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🏆 Awards

⭐ Chlotrudis Award Nominee — Best Actor, Christian Bale

⭐ International Online Cinema Awards Nominee — Best Actor, Christian Bale

⭐ Online Film Critics Society Award Nominee — Best Breakthrough Performance, Christian Bale

⭐ No Academy Award nominations were verified for the film.

⭐ No Golden Globe nominations were verified for the film.

⭐ No BAFTA nominations were verified for the film.

⭐ Its real legacy is cult status, Christian Bale’s career-defining performance, and its sharp satire of wealth, vanity, masculinity, and 1980s Wall Street emptiness.

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📖 Short Plot Summary

Patrick Bateman is a rich, polished, status-obsessed investment banker living in 1980s Manhattan. By day, he blends into a world of identical suits, exclusive restaurants, perfect business cards, and empty conversations. By night, he claims to indulge in violent fantasies and murders that become increasingly grotesque and surreal. As Bateman’s mask begins to crack, the movie blurs confession, delusion, reality, and satire until even his own identity seems as disposable as everyone else’s.

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❝ Key Quotes

“I have to return some videotapes.” — Patrick Bateman

“That’s bone.” — Patrick Bateman

“Try getting a reservation at Dorsia now.” — Patrick Bateman

“Do you like Huey Lewis and the News?” — Patrick Bateman

“This confession has meant nothing.” — Patrick Bateman

“There is no real me.” — Patrick Bateman

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💡 Trivia

Director

American Psycho was directed by Mary Harron.
Harron co-wrote the screenplay with Guinevere Turner, who also appears in the film as Elizabeth.
The movie reframes Bret Easton Ellis’ controversial novel as a cold, absurd, pitch-black satire of consumerism and male vanity.
Harron’s restrained, clinical visual style helps make Bateman’s world feel polished, dead, and deeply ridiculous.
The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival before its U.S. theatrical release.

Cast / Casting

Christian Bale stars as Patrick Bateman, in one of his most famous early leading roles.
Willem Dafoe plays Detective Donald Kimball, whose scenes keep Bateman and the audience unsure whether the investigation is closing in.
Jared Leto plays Paul Allen, Bateman’s coworker and target of professional jealousy.
Chloë Sevigny plays Jean, Bateman’s secretary, and Reese Witherspoon plays Evelyn, his fiancée.
The supporting cast is packed with actors who became even more recognizable later, including Justin Theroux, Josh Lucas, Matt Ross, and Reg E. Cathey.

Soundtrack / Score

John Cale composed the film’s score.
The soundtrack uses carefully selected 1980s pop songs as part of Bateman’s identity and performance.
Bateman’s monologues about Huey Lewis and the News, Whitney Houston, and Phil Collins turn music criticism into comedy, menace, and self-parody.
The contrast between upbeat pop and horrifying behavior is one of the movie’s most memorable tonal tricks.

Location

The story is set in 1980s Manhattan, especially the elite world of Wall Street, luxury apartments, restaurants, clubs, and status-driven nightlife.
Filming took place primarily in Toronto, Ontario, with locations standing in for New York City.
The movie’s clean offices, sterile apartments, and trendy restaurants make Bateman’s world feel expensive but emotionally empty.
Dorsia, the impossible-to-book restaurant everyone obsesses over, became one of the film’s most quoted fictional status symbols.

Behind-The-Scenes

The film was produced by Edward R. Pressman, Chris Hanley, and Christian Halsey Solomon.
Lions Gate Films released the movie in the United States on April 14, 2000.
The movie’s estimated production budget was approximately $7 million.
Box Office Mojo lists the domestic gross at $15,070,285 and worldwide gross at $34,266,564.
The film’s reputation grew significantly after release, becoming one of the most discussed cult films of the early 2000s.

Nostalgia

American Psycho has become a meme machine, but beneath the memes is a savage satire of greed, branding, conformity, and status anxiety.
The business card scene remains one of the funniest and most anxiety-inducing status battles in modern film.
Bateman’s skin-care routine, music monologues, and “videotapes” excuse became instantly recognizable pieces of pop culture.
The movie’s 1980s setting now works as both period satire and a strangely timeless send-up of corporate vanity.

Easter Eggs

The novel’s author, Bret Easton Ellis, created a larger literary world where characters sometimes cross over between books.
Bateman’s obsession with restaurants, fashion, music, and business cards is part of the film’s joke that identity has been replaced by consumption.
The repeated confusion between characters emphasizes how interchangeable Bateman and his peers are.
The ambiguous ending keeps the audience questioning whether Bateman’s crimes happened as shown, were covered up, or exist partly inside his own fractured ego.
The film’s title works as both horror label and cultural diagnosis: the “psycho” is also the perfectly dressed American success fantasy.

Misc.

American Psycho is rated R.
IMDb lists the runtime at 1 hour 42 minutes.
The film is based on Bret Easton Ellis’ 1991 novel of the same name.
Rotten Tomatoes lists the film as a horror, comedy, and satire title, reflecting its unusual tone.
Your 3 Guys and a Flick ratings page lists American Psycho as Episode 62, with Don rating it 4.00, Ken rating it 1.00, Jon rating it 2.25, and an overall rating of 2.42.

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