ⓘ Details

Movie TitleNope

Release DateLos Angeles premiere: July 18, 2022 / U.S. theatrical release: July 22, 2022

TaglineWhat’s a bad miracle?

Runtime130 minutes / 2 hours 10 minutes

DirectorJordan Peele

Screenplay Written ByJordan Peele

Based OnOriginal screenplay by Jordan Peele

Is It a Remake?No. Nope is an original science-fiction horror film.

BudgetApproximately $68 million

Box OfficeApprox. $123.3 million domestic / approx. $171.9 million worldwide

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👥 Main Cast

Daniel KaluuyaOtis “OJ” Haywood Jr.

Keke PalmerEmerald “Em” Haywood

Steven YeunRicky “Jupe” Park

Michael WincottAntlers Holst

Brandon PereaAngel Torres

Keith DavidOtis Haywood Sr.

Wrenn SchmidtAmber Park

Barbie FerreiraNessie

Devon GrayeRyder Muybridge

Terry NotaryGordy

Jacob KimYoung Ricky “Jupe” Park

Sophia CotoMary Jo Elliott

Jennifer LafleurPhyllis Mayberry / Margaret Houston

Donna MillsBonnie Clayton

Osgood PerkinsFynn Bachman

Eddie JemisonBuster

Andrew Patrick RalstonTom Bogan

Lincoln LambertColton Park

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🏆 Awards

⭐ AFI Award Winner — Movie of the Year / one of AFI’s top films of 2022

⭐ Saturn Award Winner — Best Science Fiction Film

⭐ Saturn Award Winner — Best Supporting Actress: Keke Palmer

⭐ New York Film Critics Circle Winner — Best Supporting Actress: Keke Palmer

⭐ Critics Choice Super Awards Winner — Best Actress in a Science Fiction / Fantasy Movie: Keke Palmer

⭐ Critics Choice Super Awards Winner — Best Actor in a Science Fiction / Fantasy Movie: Daniel Kaluuya

⭐ NAACP Image Awards recognition for Keke Palmer

⭐ Multiple critics groups recognized the film’s cinematography, sound, visual effects, and supporting performance by Keke Palmer.

⭐ No Academy Award nomination was verified for the film.

⭐ No Golden Globe or BAFTA nomination was verified for the film.

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📖 Short Plot Summary

After their father dies in a bizarre accident caused by objects falling from the sky, OJ and Emerald Haywood struggle to keep their family’s Hollywood horse ranch alive. When they notice a mysterious presence hiding in the clouds above their Agua Dulce property, they realize capturing proof of the impossible could save the ranch and make them famous. With help from tech salesman Angel and legendary cinematographer Antlers Holst, the Haywoods set out to get the ultimate shot. But the thing in the sky is not just a spectacle — it is a predator, and looking at it may be the worst possible move.

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❝ Key Quotes

“What’s a bad miracle? They got a word for that?” — OJ Haywood

“Nope.” — OJ Haywood

“I don’t think they take you if you don’t look at them.” — OJ Haywood

“We going to get the Oprah shot.” — Emerald Haywood

“You don’t deserve the impossible.” — Antlers Holst

“The first-ever horse trainers in Hollywood.” — Emerald Haywood

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💡 Trivia

Director

Nope was written, directed, and produced by Jordan Peele.
The film was produced by Peele and Ian Cooper through Monkeypaw Productions.
It was Peele’s third feature film as director after Get Out and Us.
Peele described the movie as being about spectacle, image-making, and the danger of trying to consume trauma as entertainment.
The film blends sci-fi horror, western imagery, Hollywood history, creature-feature suspense, and a critique of fame culture.

Cast / Casting

Daniel Kaluuya stars as OJ Haywood, reuniting with Jordan Peele after Get Out.
Keke Palmer plays Emerald Haywood, OJ’s charismatic sister and one of the film’s biggest scene-stealers.
Steven Yeun plays Ricky “Jupe” Park, a former child star whose past trauma connects to the film’s theme of exploited spectacle.
Michael Wincott plays Antlers Holst, a gravel-voiced cinematographer chasing the impossible shot.
Brandon Perea plays Angel Torres, the electronics-store employee who becomes part of the UFO investigation.
Keith David plays Otis Haywood Sr., whose death kicks off the mystery surrounding the Haywood ranch.

Soundtrack / Score

The score was composed by Michael Abels, who also scored Peele’s Get Out and Us.
The music mixes western grandeur, sci-fi unease, horror tension, and moments of awe.
The film’s soundtrack includes songs such as Corey Hart’s “Sunglasses at Night” and Dionne Warwick’s “Walk On By.”
Sound design is central to the creature’s menace, especially its distant screams, electrical interference, and atmospheric presence.
The film turns silence, wind, horse reactions, and sky noise into warning signs that something very wrong is overhead.

Location

The film is set in Agua Dulce, California.
Condé Nast Traveler reported that Peele and production designer Ruth De Jong used Agua Dulce and neighboring Santa Clarita for authentic ranch settings.
Set-Jetter identifies Firestone Ranch in Agua Dulce as a major filming area.
Universal Studios Hollywood is also connected to the film through the movie’s Hollywood production-world material and the Jupiter’s Claim set added to the Studio Tour.
The dry California ranch landscape is essential to the film’s western feel, giving the UFO story wide-open skies, dust, horses, and nowhere to hide.

Behind-The-Scenes

Hoyte van Hoytema served as cinematographer, giving the film its large-format spectacle and striking night-sky imagery.
Nicholas Monsour edited the film.
The Jupiter’s Claim set became part of the Universal Studios Hollywood Studio Tour, opening the same day the film hit theaters.
The film was shot with IMAX photography in mind, emphasizing scale, sky, and spectacle.
Box Office Mojo lists the production budget at approximately $68 million.
The Numbers lists domestic box office at $123,277,080 and worldwide box office at $171,932,082.

Nostalgia

Nope plays with classic UFO and creature-feature expectations while refusing to explain everything in a clean, comforting way.
The movie evokes old-school westerns, Spielbergian sky-gazing, monster movies, and Hollywood backlot mythology.
The Haywood family’s claim to early motion-picture history ties the film’s sci-fi story directly to cinema’s origins.
Jupe’s backstory with Gordy’s Home turns a sitcom set into one of the film’s most disturbing horror memories.
For modern horror fans, Nope became one of those movies people argue about after the credits — alien movie, monster movie, Hollywood satire, trauma story, or all of the above? Yes.

Easter Eggs

The Haywood family’s connection to early motion-picture history references Eadweard Muybridge’s famous horse footage.
Jupiter’s Claim functions as both a western theme park and a shrine to Jupe’s unresolved childhood trauma.
The Gordy sequence connects directly to the movie’s larger warning about trying to control or profit from wild, dangerous spectacle.
Jean Jacket’s final reveal shifts the movie from UFO mystery to creature-feature confrontation.
The inflatable tube men become both a practical warning system and one of the movie’s weirdest, most memorable visual signatures.

Misc.

Nope is rated R.
Box Office Mojo classifies the film as horror, mystery, sci-fi, and thriller.
Rotten Tomatoes describes the story as siblings discovering something sinister in the skies above their California horse ranch.
AFI honored Nope as one of its top films of 2022.
Your 3 Guys and a Flick ratings page lists the episode as Episode 178, with Don rating it 4.00, Ken rating it 4.00, Jon rating it 3.00, and an overall rating of 3.67.

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