Monday, January 26, 2026

Marty Supreme (2025)

 


Marty Supreme is a 2025 American sports comedy-drama film directed by Josh Safdie who co-wrote it with Ronald Bronstein. Timothée Chalamet stars in the title role, with Gwyneth Paltrow, Odessa A'zion, Kevin O'Leary, Tyler Okonma, Abel Ferrara, and Fran Drescher in supporting roles. Set in the 1950s, the film is loosely based on American table tennis player Marty Reisman.[8][9]

Safdie and co-writer Bronstein began developing the film in 2018 after Safdie was gifted a copy of Marty Reisman's 1974 memoir, The Money Player: The Confessions of America's Greatest Table Tennis Champion and Hustler. Safdie met with Chalamet in 2018 and offered him the lead role. Following a multi-year development period, the project was officially announced in July 2024; it marks Safdie's first solo directorial effort since The Pleasure of Being Robbed (2008).

Marty Supreme premiered as a "secret screening" at the 2025 New York Film Festival on October 6, 2025, followed by a U.S. theatrical release by A24 on December 25,[10] where it received widespread acclaim. The National Board of Review and the American Film Institute named it one of the top ten films of the year. The film received nine nominations at the 98th Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director (Safdie) and Best Actor (Chalamet). It also earned three nominations at both the 83rd Golden Globe Awards and 32nd Actor Awards. Chalamet won a Golden Globe Award and Critics' Choice Award for his performance.

Plot

In 1952 New York City, Marty Mauser works as a shoe salesman at his uncle Murray’s shop while also competing professionally as a table tennis player. Marty dreams of winning the British Open and defeating defending champion Béla Kletzki to bring American attention to the sport. He also pitches selling orange novelty table tennis balls bearing his name to his friend Dion and Dion's businessman father. Marty demands $700 for his London trip, but Murray refuses, citing concern for Marty's mother and wanting him to keep his job. After hours, Marty robs the shop's vault by threatening his coworker Lloyd at gunpoint.

In London, Marty, unhappy with the players' barracks, instead stays at the Ritz Hotel, where he seduces former actress Kay Stone and meets her wealthy husband, pen magnate Milton Rockwell. Marty defeats Kletzki in the semi-finals but loses the final to Koto Endo, a deaf Japanese player using a sponge racket. Rockwell offers Marty an exhibition match against Endo in Tokyo before the World Championships, but Marty declines upon learning he would be expected to throw the match to appease Japanese audiences. Marty then tours internationally with Kletzki as a novelty act for the Harlem Globetrotters.

Back in New York, Marty is arrested for stealing from Murray but escapes. He reconnects with his childhood friend Rachel Mizler, who is having an affair with him to escape her abusive husband Ira, and learns she is pregnant with Marty's child. While staying in a run-down hotel with his friend Wally, a taxi driver, Marty discovers he has been banned from the World Championship unless he pays a $1,500 fine to the International Table Tennis Association (ITTA) for fraudulently expensing his Ritz stay. Marty's bathtub collapses through the floor, injuring mobster Ezra Mishkin, who pays Marty to take his dog Moses to a veterinarian. Marty instead hustles patrons at a New Jersey bowling alley with Wally to raise the money. The bowlers later find and attack them at a gas station; Wally's taxi is damaged during their escape, and Moses runs away.

Rockwell returns to New York, having financed a play to relaunch Kay's career. After having sex with Kay, Marty attempts to pawn her necklace, but learns it is costume jewelry. Rachel comes to Marty with a black eye claiming Ira has beaten her, prompting Marty to assault him. Marty and Rachel stay with Dion, who reveals he had produced the novelty balls but Marty failed to follow up. Marty and Rachel steal Dion's car and attempt to find Moses to extort money from Mishkin, but flee after being shot at by a farmer who has taken Moses in. Dion throws them out for stealing and damaging his car and discards the novelty balls. Marty learns Rachel faked her injury to manipulate him and abandons her. Rachel tells Ira the baby is not his, and he throws her out.

At the opening of Kay's play, Marty apologizes for stealing her jewelry. Though she sees through him, Kay tells Marty to meet her that night in Central Park, where she gives him a valuable necklace to pay his fine and travel. Marty and Kay become intimate in the park but are soon caught by police, and use the necklace to bribe the officers into releasing them. Kay offers him another necklace, but receives a poor review during the afterparty for the play and breaks down, leaving her indisposed. Marty then begs Rockwell to revive the Tokyo exhibition offer, and Rockwell agrees on the condition that Marty submit to a humiliating public spanking.

Before Marty leaves, he and Rachel are kidnapped by Mishkin after Rachel attempted to con him with another dog. Mishkin forces them to the farmhouse where Moses was found. A shootout leaves the farmer, Mishkin, and his men dead, and Rachel wounded. Marty discovers the money is mostly worthless clippings. He takes Rachel to the hospital as she goes into premature labor, and then leaves for Tokyo.

In Japan, Marty is told he's too late to enter the World Championship even if he pays his fine. He loses the exhibition match as planned, but when Rockwell plans to further humiliate him, Marty announces that the match was a sham and demands a real rematch, to which Endo agrees. Marty narrowly wins and is refused passage home by Rockwell. Marty flies back with U.S. Army soldiers, reunites with his mother at the hospital, confesses his love to a recovering Rachel, and breaks down in tears upon meeting his newborn son.

Cast

  • Timothée Chalamet as Marty Mauser, an aspiring table tennis champion, fiercely determined to be the best in the sport. The character is loosely based on real-life table tennis player Marty Reisman.
  • Gwyneth Paltrow as Kay Stone, a wealthy, retired actress and socialite who forms a sexual relationship with Marty.
  • Odessa A'zion as Rachel Mizler, a married, childhood friend of Marty who is having an affair with him.
  • Kevin O'Leary as Milton Rockwell, an influential businessman and Kay's husband who takes interest in Marty and table tennis.
  • Tyler, the Creator[a] as Wally, a taxi driver and Marty's friend, also skilled at table tennis.
  • Abel Ferrara as Ezra Mishkin, a criminal with whom Marty crosses paths.
  • Fran Drescher as Rebecca Mauser, Marty's mother.
  • Luke Manley as Dion Galanis, Marty's friend who lives with his parents.
  • Emory Cohen as Ira Mizler, Rachel's husband.
  • Larry "Ratso" Sloman as Murray Norkin, Marty's uncle and shoe shop owner.
  • Ralph Colucci as Lloyd, Marty's coworker at the shoe shop.
  • Géza Röhrig as Bela Kletzki, a Holocaust survivor and table tennis champion representing Hungary. The character is loosely based on real-life table tennis player Alojzy Ehrlich.
  • Koto Kawaguchi as Koto Endo, a deaf table tennis champion representing Japan. The character is partially inspired by Kawaguchi himself and partially by real-life table tennis player Hiroji Satoh.
  • Pico Iyer as Ram Sethi, the head of the International Table Tennis Association.
  • John Catsimatidis as Christopher Galanis, a businessman and Dion's father.
  • Sandra Bernhard as Judy, Marty's neighbor who lives downstairs.
  • George Gervin as Lawrence, a table tennis club owner.
  • Ted Williams as Ted, a worker at Lawrence's table tennis club.
  • Penn Jillette as Hoff, a farmer in New Jersey.
  • Isaac Mizrahi as Merle, a publicist working with Kay.
  • David Mamet as Glenn Nordmann, a stage director working with Kay.
  • Fred Hechinger as Troy, a stage actor working with Kay.
  • Spenser Granese as Clark, a man who gets hustled by Marty and Wally.
  • Levon Hawke as Christian, a man who gets hustled by Marty and Wally.
  • Isaac Simon as Roger, a man who gets hustled by Marty and Wally.
  • Hailey Gates as Trish, Roger's girlfriend.
  • Mitchell Wenig as Mitch, Ezra's henchman.
  • Mariann Tepedino as Mariann, a shoe store customer.
  • Philippe Petit as a Brussels MC.
  • Tracy McGrady as a Globetrotter.
  • Kemba Walker as a Globetrotter.
  • Naomi Fry as an assistant to Kay Stone.
  • Ronald Bronstein as the voice of Blarney Stone Phone.
  • Ray Tintori as a Wembley cameraman.
  • Paul Grimstad as a theatre production manager.
  • Robert Pattinson as the voice of the British umpire at the tournament. (uncredited)[11]

Production

Background and development

Josh Safdie's interest in table tennis began in his youth, as his grandparents often had "eccentric Jewish immigrant Lower East Side characters" playing the sport at their house.[12] In 2018, Safdie's wife and executive producer on the film, Sara Rossein, bought a copy of tennis player Marty Reisman's 1974 autobiography The Money Player, thinking Safdie would enjoy it. Safdie was in conversations with Timothée Chalamet at the time, as they had recently become friends, and presented him the project by focusing on Reisman's physical similarities to the actor. Chalamet accepted the role and began taking table tennis lessons that same year.[12][13] Chalamet named Robert Rossen's The Hustler (1961) and Martin Scorsese's The Color of Money (1986) as references for the film.[14]

In December 2023 Chalamet said his next film would involve table tennis.[15] By July 2024, the project was confirmed as Marty Supreme, to be directed by Safdie, his first solo project without his brother Benny since The Pleasure of Being Robbed in 2008.[16] Safdie and Ronald Bronstein wrote the script based on Reisman's life, though "sources close to the production" called the story "a fictionalized original, rather than a biopic".[17] They wrote backstories for every person that appeared on the film.[18] The film was produced by Central Pictures and IPR.VC in addition to A24.[19]

Casting

Safdie wrote the roles played by Chalamet, Gwyneth Paltrow, Tyler Okonma, and Abel Ferrara with them in mind.[20][21] However, it was speculated that Julia Roberts had been offered Paltrow's part first, but turned it down.[22] After failing to find a suitable actor for the role of Milton Rockwell, Kevin O'Leary was pursued by Safdie and Bronstein due to his persona in the reality television series Shark Tank; they flew out to O'Leary's home to watch him read for the role.[23][24] Khondji said the film featured around 140 non-actors, including French highwire artist Philippe Petit.[25] Casting director Jennifer Venditti had previously scouted Isaac Simon and Odessa A'zion; Luke Manley was discovered by the team on social media; Isaac Mizrahi was suggested by Safdie, who knew him.[26][27] Venditti scouted Ralph Colucci at a horse track, as indicated by the backstory Safdie had written for his character.[18] Yale professor Paul Grimstad appeared at the behest of Bronstein, as they were roommates in the late 1990s; Grimstad had previously appeared in Bronstein's film Frownland.[28] Mitchell Wenig was cast as a henchman; he is a friend of Safdie's who previously appeared in Safdie's Uncut Gems and Adam Sandler: Love You.[29]

The former basketball player Joe Johnson was flown to New York to appear in the film, but did not arrive on set.[30] Professional ping-pong player Wally Green was cast in a small speaking role, but his scene was cut.[31] Venditti set up a ping-pong table to use during improvisational setups as part of the casting process.[32] During post-production, Safdie got Robert Pattinson to cameo as the voice of an off-screen British Open umpire.[11] Mordechai Rubinstein, a New York City fashion blogger, and friend of Safdie, appears uncredited as a shoe store salesman.[33][34] Kim Hastreiter, co-founder of Paper, a New York City magazine, was cast by Vendetti and appears uncredited as a shoe store customer.[35]

Production design

Safdie contacted veteran production designer Jack Fisk to work on the project. To match the 1950s New York City setting, Fisk and his team built several pieces to block modern buildings and signs, including a delivery truck for Jewish newspaper The Forward, using old reference photos for the design. The original Forward building also appeared in the background of several scenes alongside the truck.[36] Fisk was able to build the Lawrence's Broadway Table Tennis Club, which was demolished, with help from blueprints and black-and-white photos. Rossein was able to get a 16mm recording of the building which gave them an idea of the color palette.[36] Even though Norkin's Shoe Shop, where Marty works, was a real location, the crew built modular units of the storefront to avoid a modern hotel nearby.[36] For the scenes set in Auschwitz, the crew built the barracks inside the same New Jersey house they used to film a scene featuring a farm.[36] Safdie wanted the city to feel real, and became obsessed with the garbage on the streets in particular. Set decorator Adam Willis proposed wetting the trash, so the actors felt the grit of the environment their characters lived in.[29]

Filming

Principal photography began in New York City on September 23, 2024, with set photos of Chalamet released the following week.[37][38] Production wrapped on December 5, 2024 with, according to Odessa A'zion, a scene between her and Fran Drescher being filmed.[39][40] Additional filming later took place in Japan in February 2025.[41] Only key members of the crew travelled to the country, and a Japanese crew was hired, having only a week of prep before shooting.[42]

Cinematographer Darius Khondji, who worked with Safdie on Uncut Gems (2019), shot Marty Supreme mostly on 35mm film (although there were some digital shots), using Arriflex cameras and vintage Panavision C Series and B Series anamorphic lenses[43][44][45] to recreate the feel of the 1950s and atmosphere of the movie.[42] Khondji explained: "I knew we were going to be filming very close to (the actors), as if we were using a magnifier ... and so, we selected lenses that would take us in this direction, mostly very long anamorphics, almost like having binoculars or a magnifier when looking at the characters. We used long zooms, too."[45] Khondji used 65mm, 75mm or 100mm anamorphic long lenses for medium or medium-tight shots.[45] Most of the film was shot with two cameras together.[42] The $60–70 million budget made it A24's most-expensive film, surpassing Civil War (2024).[46][4]

Chalamet said that Safdie encouraged him to do some of his own stunts in the movie.[47] For example, according to Kevin O'Leary, a stunt double was initially intended to perform the paddle spanking scene opposite O'Leary, but Chalamet insisted on doing it himself. The prop paddle then broke during the first take, so a real paddle had to be used.[48][49] O'Leary came up with one of his last lines of dialogue, in which he refers to himself as a vampire. In January 2026, during a conversation with Sean Baker for the A24 podcast, Safdie revealed one of the original ideas for the ending was for an older Marty to be taking his granddaughter to a concert in the 1980s, only for O'Leary's Milton Rockwell to be revealed as an actual vampire and bite Marty on the neck.[50] This ending, originally suggested by O'Leary, was initially supported by Safdie and Bronstein, who went as far to make "digital teeth" for O'Leary, but was ultimately rejected by studio executives.[50] O'Leary also suggested that the film should end with A'zion's character dying in childbirth, which Safdie decided was too dark.[23]

The director wanted Chalamet's eyes to look smaller, so he made him wear prescription glasses with contact lenses underneath, which impaired his vision temporarily.[51] Make-up artist Michael Fontaine applied pockmarks, freckles and nicks to Chalamet's face to give him a more weathered, street appearance.[52] The effect was so convincing that Paltrow thought it was real, privately suggesting to the actor that he try micro-needling to fix his acne scars.[53] For the ping-pong scenes, Chalamet trained for months and was coached by Diego Schaaf and former American Olympian Wei Wang.[54][25]

Post-production

Marty Supreme was finished on the eve of its premiere at the New York Film Festival.[13] The color grading was done by Yvan Lucas at Company 3. Alongside Khondji, they created a 4K DCP, as well as developing 70mm and 35mm prints.[42] Safdie did not have final cut privilege in his contract but it was not an issue as A24 fully supported his vision.[55] The original ending, playing over the credits and involving showing Marty's future with Chalamet in aging prosthetics, was filmed but not used in the final cut.[56] Several other scenes were cut for pacing.[57]

Music

Main article: Marty Supreme (soundtrack)

The score was composed by electronic artist Daniel Lopatin. Lopatin, who had already worked with the Safdie brothers in their previous films, first read the script in 2023.[58] Lopatin used a Spotify playlist to guide him through the composition, which included music from artists such as New Order, Tears for Fears, Fats Domino and Constance Demby.[58] Safdie and Lopatin worked on the score for around 10 weeks at a studio space in Manhattan. Mixing took place at Electric Lady Studios in New York City.[58] Musician Weyes Blood provided background vocals for the soundtrack.[59] Peter Gabriel's song "I Have the Touch" is featured in the film, which Gabriel was thankful for.[60]

Other songs that appear in the film are:[61]

Release

Marty Supreme had its world premiere as a "secret screening" in the Main Slate of the 2025 New York Film Festival, on October 6, 2025.[10] It was released in the United States on December 25, 2025 by A24.[62]

Marketing

To promote the film Chalamet posted on his social media a staged recording of a Zoom call with A24's marketing team, where he presented increasingly ridiculous promotional ideas. It was written and directed by Chalamet.[56] The meta-video was praised by GQ as a "pitch-perfect, dryly hilarious satire of both corporate meeting culture and movie star narcissism".[63][64] One of the ideas presented in the video was actually realized: flying a bright orange rented blimp (tailnumber N614LG) with "Marty Supreme" imprinted on each side across the United States. Chalamet's visual artist drawing of the blimp in the video was also featured as a Google easter egg when searching for Chalamet or Marty Supreme on Google. In December, Safdie and the cast were present to light the Empire State Building orange, similar to another idea featured in the video, ahead of the New York premiere.[65][66] That same month Chalamet uploaded a video of himself on top of the Las Vegas' Sphere, the first person to do so, to promote the theatrical release. The Sphere's team presented the idea to Chalamet, who later designed and funded the stunt in collaboration with CashApp.[67]

Chalamet collaborated with the clothing brand Nahmias to design merchandise including a jacket that Chalamet sent to athletes and celebrities he considered "great", such as Susan Boyle, Tom Brady, Misty Copeland, Stephen Curry, Karl-Anthony Towns, Anthony Edwards, Patti LuPone, Bill Nye, Michael Phelps, Declan Rice, Ringo Starr and Lamine Yamal. Other celebrities such as Kid Cudi, Frank Ocean, Fakemink, Charli XCX, Kendall Jenner, Kylie Jenner, Justin Bieber and his wife Hailey Bieber were also seen sporting the jacket.[68][69][70] At first, it was conceived to be worn only by the actor during the press tour, but after becoming involved, A24 decided to also release it to the public. In November, a temporary pop-up store was set up in New York City, which Chalamet visited.[71] Tyler Okonma's Golf Wang street-wear brand sold hoodies, t-shirts and hats branded with Marty Supreme through their website.[72]

During promotional interviews Chalamet was asked about widely reported rumours that he was the secret identity behind the masked British rapper EsDeeKid and gave non-committal answers, such as, "All will be revealed in due time."[73][74] On December 19, 2025, Chalamet posted a video on social media of him appearing alongside EsDeeKid in a remix of his track "4 Raws", adding a verse of his own to the song in which he mentions Marty Supreme.[75][76] In January 2026, a statue of Chalamet as Marty Mauser was unveiled at the Italian National Museum of Cinema to promote the film's release in Italy.[77]

Reception

Box office

As of January 25, 2026, Marty Supreme has grossed $86.3 million in the United States and Canada, and $18.8 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $105.1 million.[6][7]

Marty Supreme began its limited release in six theaters in Los Angeles and New York City on December 19. It made $875,000 in its opening weekend for a per-theater average of $145,933, the highest ever for A24 and the best overall since La La Land (2016).[78][79][80] It was projected to gross $12–20 million from 2,668 theaters over its four-day Christmas frame.[5] It made $9.8 million on its first day of wide release (which included $2 million from Christmas Eve previews),[81][82] surpassing projections and finishing second behind Avatar: Fire and Ash, over the four-day Christmas weekend with $27.3 million ($17.7 million in its traditional 3-day weekend).[6][83] The film made $12.5 million, $7.6 million, and $6.6 million in its second, third and fourth weekends, becoming A24's highest-grossing film at the domestic box office.[84][85][86]

Marty Supreme also became A24's highest-grossing film in the UK, earning $8.6 million as of January 6, 2026.[87]

Critical response

Timothée Chalamet's performance garnered critical acclaim, with several critics deeming it his best to-date.

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 94% of 315 critics' reviews are positive. The website's consensus reads: "Serving up Timothée Chalamet at his most infectiously charismatic, Marty Supreme is a propulsive epic that realizes its sky-high aspirations even while it critiques its indelible hero's toxic ambition."[88] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 89 out of 100, based on 58 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[89] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave Marty Supreme an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.[90]

Chalamet's performance received acclaim, with some commentators calling it career-defining.[91][92][93] David Ehrlich of IndieWire referred to it as "one of the most colossal movie performances of the 21st century",[94] while Brian Tallerico of RogerEbert.com called it the best performance of Chalamet's career.[95] Caryn James of the BBC described Chalamet as "engaging" and wrote that the film was fresh, funny, and exhilarating largely because of his presence.[96] Rolling Stone critic David Fear likened the performance to the early work of Al Pacino and Dustin Hoffman, describing it as "a constant state of motion even when standing still."[97] IGN critic Michael Calabro wrote that Chalamet's portrayal had the same intensity Pacino displayed in Dog Day Afternoon, combined with the charisma of Paul Newman in The Sting.[98] Chief film critic Kevin Maher of The Times wrote that Chalamet channeled the classic roles of Robert De Niro through an intense portrayal of ambition and ego.[99] Odessa A'zion was also singled out by Chris Evangelista of /Film and Ian Sandwell of Digital Spy, who described her performance as "immensely charming" and the strongest outside of Chalamet.[100][101] The performances of Gwyneth Paltrow, Kevin O'Leary, Tyler Okonma, Abel Ferrara, and Koto Kawaguchi were also praised.[102][103][104]

The Guardian's Peter Bradshaw gave Marty Supreme five out of five stars, calling it "a spectacular screwball ping-pong nightmare". He praised the pacing, describing it as "a marathon sprint of gonzo calamities and uproar".[104] David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter described the film as "Uncut Gems meets Catch Me If You Can". Rooney praised the casting in mixing seasoned actors with non-traditional performers such as O'Leary, Okonma, and Kawaguchi, comparing the approach to Ken Jacobs' 1955 documentary short, Orchard Street.[105] Marshall Shaffer of Slant Magazine gave the film four out of four, writing: "Marty Supreme offers a clear-eyed look at the hollow promise of American self-reliance. [Safdie and Bronstein] see through the terminology used to sell outsiders on social advancement—purpose, obligation, sacrifice—as tools that reinforce the stranglehold of the rich."[106]

Critics praised Safdie's direction, with Maher highlighting his "effective bravado" and confident directorial approach.[99] Shaffer commended Safdie's collaboration with Ronald Bronstein on the screenplay and editing.[106] Fear acclaimed Jack Fisk's production design and Daniel Lopatin's musical score.[97] Along with the score, Darius Khondji's cinematography was lauded by Jamie Graham of Empire.[107] Filmmakers Olivier Assayas, Joe Dante, A.V. Rockwell, Joachim Rønning, Paul Schrader, Celine Song, Juel Taylor, and Gints Zilbalodis chose the film as one of their favorites of the year.[108] In a more critical review, William Bibbiani of TheWrap felt the story became arbitrary by the end.[109] Stephanie Zacharek of Time also felt the film relied too much on amorality and lacked an emotional core, stating: "For Safdie, a movie seems to be just an excuse for a million and one digressions and distractions; he'll throw anything at the wall to see if it sticks."[110]

Accolades

Main article: List of accolades received by Marty Supreme

Marty Supreme has received numerous awards and nominations, with acclaim for its direction, screenplay, editing, score, performances, cinematography, costumes and production design. The film received eight nominations at the 31st Critics' Choice Awards, three nominations at the 83rd Golden Globe Awards and 32nd Actor Awards and nine nominations at the 98th Academy Awards.[111][112][113][114] Chalamet's performance has been awarded several accolades, including a Golden Globe Award and Critics' Choice Award for Best Actor.[115][116] It was selected as one of the top ten films of the year by the National Board of Review and the American Film Institute.[117][

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