Downsizing

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2:25

Downsizing

R

2017

2h 15m

Comedy

Drama

Sci-Fi

Fantasy

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

47%

Tomatometer

299 Reviews

26%

Popcornmeter

10,000+ Ratings

Mild-mannered therapist Paul Safranek and his wife, Audrey, decide to undergo a process in which scientists shrink people down to miniature size to live in small communities. The irreversible procedure allows the people to gain wealth and a life of leisure while helping to cut down on the consumption of natural resources. As Paul gets to know his new neighbors and surroundings, he soon learns that living in a tiny suburb comes with its own set of huge problems.

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Critics Consensus

Downsizing assembles a talented cast in pursuit of some truly interesting ideas -- which may be enough for some audiences to forgive the final product's frustrating shortcomings.

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Mark Kermode

Kermode & Mayo's Film Review

Aug 28, 2018

All those disparate elements fail to gel.

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Henry K. Miller

Sight & Sound

Jan 29, 2018

While Downsizing is not not about the end of human life on earth, it confronts the prospect with minimal sentiment, and uses it to ask questions about what the good life might consist of, here and now.

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Wendy Ide

Observer (UK)

Jan 29, 2018

3/5

With his latest film, Alexander Payne finds himself teetering uncomfortably atop a high-concept device and wrestling with tonal clashes.

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Diana Tuova

Spotlight on Film

Aug 9, 2024

3/5

Strangely deviating from its own fascinating concept of small people, the second half of the film shouts bewildering environmental and political messages befitting more a climate or migration documentary.

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Don Shanahan

Every Movie Has a Lesson

Apr 7, 2024

1/5

A smart premise is reduced to groan-inducing humor and languishing unintelligence.

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Dan Schindel

Vague Visages

Dec 6, 2023

Downsizing thinks it has big ideas, but artistically and intellectually, it’s as small as its protagonists.

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Christian W

Jan 3, 2023

It really missed some opportunities. Nearly no interactions with differently sized people: the same story could've been told without shrinking anyone. Squandered possibilities, following one guy's journey and he wasn't even among the most interesting people.

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Fifty T

@RT01421419 Nov 3, 2026

Big Idea, Tiny Follow-Through Downsizing starts with a fantastic hook: shrink yourself to five inches tall, save the planet, and live like a king. The first hour actually works, even if it could use a quick 10-min trim. But then the movie completely loses the plot. The remaining 80-min bounce around so wildly it feels like a new director took over every fifteen minutes. The story just drops the ball, and you will genuinely wonder what Matt Damon was thinking when he agreed to this. Instead of sticking to the fun setup, it suddenly swerves into heavy-handed, preachy lectures about the world ending. 5.5/10: It is a huge letdown that takes a truly fresh idea and throws it away. Stick around for the cool shrinking scenes, then just turn it off and imagine the much better movie this could have been.

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Karen F

@Fryebaby Oct 13, 2026

I thought the concept sounded so intriguing, and had a good cast, so I had hopes I would enjoy, but honestly I found this to be just a terrible movie overall. Very disappointed. Cannot recommend it.

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Lisa F

@RT39183349 Sep 30, 2026

I thought this was a sweet, fun film. I’m actually really surprised that it scored so low. I loved the concept and thought it brought in some interesting angles to it. It had a really nice fantasy film feel to it at the end, which I really liked. I don’t really rate films, in fact I’ve never done this before (in case it wasn’t obvious!) But I really felt like I had to give support to this film as it was really feel-good and worthy of more than has been scored.

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Oskar D

@Oskar12336 Sep 15, 2026

I honestly like it. It shows the problems of the world in many ways. But, the story itself just falls short.

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sarah H

@Humphriessarah2 Aug 15, 2026

I get the message but this was not good. I wanted to turn it off but I thought maybe it'll get better. It really doesn't

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Alexander Payne

Director

Matt Damon

Paul

Christoph Waltz

Dusan

Kristen Wiig

Audrey

Hong Chau

Ngoc Lan

Jason Sudeikis

Dave Johnson

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Synopsis

Mild-mannered therapist Paul Safranek and his wife, Audrey, decide to undergo a process in which scientists shrink people down to miniature size to live in small communities. The irreversible procedure allows the people to gain wealth and a life of leisure while helping to cut down on the consumption of natural resources. As Paul gets to know his new neighbors and surroundings, he soon learns that living in a tiny suburb comes with its own set of huge problems.

Director: Alexander Payne
Producer: Megan Ellison, Mark Johnson, Alexander Payne, Jim Taylor, Jim Burke
Screenwriter: Alexander Payne, Jim Taylor
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Production Co: Paramount Pictures, Ad Hominem Enterprises
Rating: R (Language|Drug Use|Sexual References|Some Graphic Nudity)
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Sci-Fi, Fantasy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 22, 2017, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Feb 23, 2018
Box Office (Gross USA): $24.4M
Runtime: 2h 15m
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

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