| Perfect Strangers | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Italian | Perfetti sconosciuti |
| Directed by | Paolo Genovese |
| Screenplay by |
|
| Story by | Paolo Genovese |
| Produced by | Marco Belardi |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Fabrizio Lucci |
| Edited by | Consuelo Catucci |
| Music by | Maurizio Filardo |
Production companies |
|
| Distributed by | Medusa Distribuzione |
Release date |
|
Running time | 97 minutes |
| Country | Italy |
| Language | Italian |
| Box office | $32.2 million[1] |
Perfect Strangers (Italian:Perfetti sconosciuti[2][perˈfɛttiskonoʃˈʃuːti]) is a 2016 Italiancomedy-drama film directed and co-written byPaolo Genovese.[3][4] It was released in Italy on 11 February 2016.[4]
The film was a critical and commercial success, winning theDavid di Donatello in the Best Film Category and grossing more than €16 million in Italy.
Having been remade 24 times, the film was recognized as the most remade film inGuinness World Records.[5]
On the evening of atotal eclipse of the moon, which is said to make people more emotional, seven close friends gather for a dinner party. Early in the meal time, one of the friends, a relationshiptherapist named Eva, says that she is convinced that many couples would separate if they saw the messages on each other's phones. As the friends debate this contention, they agree—some of them reluctantly—to play a game. They will each place their phone on the table and they will share their messages and calls with the rest of the group.
At first, the game seems harmless; no one has anything to hide. Gradually, the calls and messages become more compromising. They reveal that one married woman is having an affair and that a man who has been pretending to have an absent girlfriend is not who he seems to be. As the calls continue, the network of lies and secrets become increasingly tangled. Almost no one at the table is spared. By the end of the night, the group's friendships, marriages, and romances have been shattered.[6]
As the guests leave the apartment, they behave as if nothing had happened, the end of the eclipse seemingly causing them to forget what happened during it. Each of their relationships are exactly as they were at the start of the evening, as if the game never happened, and they return to their lives.
The film was number-one on its opening week in Italy, withUS$3.7 million.[3] It grossed $31.6 million at the box office.[1]
OnRotten Tomatoes, it has an approval rating of 77% based on reviews from 13 critics, and an average rating of 6.7/10.[7]
| Year | Award/Festival | Category | Recipients | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | David di Donatello | Best Film | Paolo Genovese | Won |
| Best Director | Paolo Genovese | Nominated | ||
| Best Script | Paolo Genovese,Filippo Bologna,Paolo Costella,Paola Mammini,Rolando Ravello | Won | ||
| Best Actress | Anna Foglietta | Nominated | ||
| Best Actor | Marco Giallini | Nominated | ||
| Best Actor | Valerio Mastandrea | Nominated | ||
| Best Original Song | Perfetti sconosciuti byBungaro,Cesare Chiodo andFiorella Mannoia | Nominated | ||
| Best Editing | Consuelo Catucci | Nominated | ||
| Best Sound | Umberto Montesanti | Nominated | ||
| 2016 | Bari International Film Festival | Tonino Guerra Award for Best Scriptment | Paolo Genovese | Won |
| 2016 | Tribeca Film Festival | Best Screenplay | Paolo Genovese, Filippo Bologna, Paolo Costella, Paola Mammini, Rolando Ravello | Won |
| 2017 | Vilnius International Film Festival | Audience's Favourite Film[8] | Paolo Genovese | Won |
| Country | Original title | English title | Release date | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greece | Τέλειοι Ξένοι | Perfect Strangers | 15 December 2016 | [9] |
| Spain | Perfectos desconocidos | Perfect Strangers | 1 December 2017 | Directed byÁlex de la Iglesia.[10] |
| Turkey | Cebimdeki Yabancı | Stranger in My Pocket [tr] | 2 February 2018 | [11] |
| France | Le Jeu | Nothing to Hide | 17 October 2018 | Directed byFred Cavayé.[12] |
| South Korea | 완벽한 타인 | Intimate Strangers | 31 October 2018 | [13] |
| Hungary | BÚÉK | Happy New Year [hu] | 6 December 2018 | Directed byKrisztina Goda.[14] |
| Mexico | Perfectos desconocidos | Perfect Strangers | 25 December 2018 | [15] |
| China | 来电狂响 | Kill Mobile [zh] | 29 December 2018 | [16] |
| Russia | Громкая связь | Loud Connection | 14 February 2019 | [17] A sequel,Obratnaya svyaz, was released in 2020.[18] |
| Armenia | Անհայտ բաժանորդ | Unknown Subscriber [hy] | 5 September 2019 | [19] |
| Poland | (Nie)znajomi [pl] | 16 September 2019 | [20] | |
| Germany | Das perfekte Geheimnis [de] | 31 October 2019 | [21] | |
| Vietnam | Tiệc trăng máu | Blood Moon Party [vi] | 23 October 2020 | [22] |
| Japan | おとなの事情 スマホをのぞいたら [ja] | 8 January 2021 | [23] | |
| Slovakia, Czech Republic | Známi neznámi [sk] | 5 August 2021 | [24] | |
| Romania | Complet necunoscuți | Perfect Strangers [ro][25] | 24 September 2021 | [26] |
| Netherlands | Alles op tafel | Perfect Strangers [nl] | 4 November 2021 | [27] |
| Israel | זרים מושלמים | Perfect Strangers [he] | 11 November 2021 | Directed byLior Ashkenazi.[28] |
| Egypt, Lebanon, United Arab Emirates | أصحاب ...ولا أعزّ | Perfect Strangers | 20 January 2022 | Released byNetflix.[29] |
| Norway | Full dekning [no] | 25 February 2022 | [30] | |
| Indonesia | Perfect Strangers [id] | 20 October 2022 | Released byAmazon Prime Video.[31] | |
| Azerbaijan | Geri dönənlər | 28 December 2022 | [32] | |
| Iceland | Villibráð | Wild Game | 6 January 2023[33] | [34] |
| Denmark, Iceland | Hygge! | 26 October 2023 | [35] | |
| India | Khel Khel Mein | 15 August 2024 | [36] | |
| Finland | Täydelliset vieraat [fi] | 19 September 2025 | [37] | |
| Brazil | Perfeitos Desconhecidos [pt] | 7 November 2025 | [38] | |
| Estonia | Täiuslikud võõrad | 16 January 2026 | Filmed simultaneously inVilnius.[39] | |
| Lithuania | ||||
| Latvia | ||||
As of December 2017[update], remakes were underway in Qatar and Sweden.[40]
In February 2017,The Weinstein Company acquired the rights to an English-language remake.[41] In December 2019,Issa Rae was announced to write, star in, and produce the US remake withSpyglass Media Group, a subsidiary ofLantern Entertainment, which acquired the assets of The Weinstein Company after its bankruptcy.[42] In December 2023, producerTarak Ben Ammar revealed that hisEagle Pictures was working on the remake with Italian filmmakerCarlo Carlei set to direct the film. Rae was no longer attached to star.[43]
Having been remade 24 times, the film was recognized as the most remade film inGuinness World Records.[44] In 2025, Genovese said he had a "conflicting relationship" with the remakes, naming the Spanish remake as "the worst" and the Korean one as his favourite.[45]
The Indian filmsLoudspeaker (2018),1001 Nunakal (2022) andRing Ring (2025) have been accused to have plagiarisedPerfect Strangers.[46][47][48]12th Man (2022) was inspired byPerfect Strangers.[49]
A number of Spanish-language stage adaptations ofPerfect Strangers have been produced. An Argentine adaptation directed byGuillermo Francella premiered in March 2018.[50] A Spanish version adapted byDavid Serrano andDaniel Guzmán and directed by Guzmán premiered on 26 September 2018.[51] A Uruguayan production premiered in April 2019.[52] A Peruvian adaptation premiered on 9 October 2019.[53] A Mexican production premiered in November 2019.[54] A Colombian production premiered in March 2022.[55]
An Israeli adaptation opened at theHabima Theatre on 22 November 2018.[56] Two Slovene adaptations opened in 2019 and 2023, respectively.[57][58]
An Italian adaptation, directed by Genovese himself, in his theatrical debut, premiered on 10 February 2023.[59][60]
A Bosnian adaptation, directed by Lajla Kaikčija premiered in May 2024, in SarajevosKamerni teatar 55 (Chamber Theater 55).[61][62]
An English-language adaptation written and directed byRobert O'Hara, titledShit. Meet. Fan., premieredoff-Broadway atMCC Theater on 10 October 2024.[63]