The underrated crime comedy thriller The Phoenician Scheme, featuring the legendary Tom Hanks, has become a global streaming hit after its modest 2025 theatrical release. Directed by Wes Anderson, The Phoenician Scheme has a massive A-list cast, also including the likes of Benicio del Toro, Scarlett Johansson, Bryan Cranston, Riz Ahmed, Willem Dafoe, Bill Murray, and more.
The Phoenician Scheme follows the crooked, extremely wealthy businessman Zsa-zsa Korda (del Toro), who names his only daughter the heir to his fortune. While clashing with Liesl (Mia Threapleton) and reckoning with the events that led to her mother’s murder, Zsa-zsa travels the world trying to pull together a risky business endeavor while being targeted by various assassins.
The Phoenician Scheme has a 77% on Rotten Tomatoes, putting it at no. 8 among Anderson’s highest-rated directorial features, and grossed $40 million at the worldwide box office. Thus, it was a comparatively quiet addition to the acclaimed director’s repertoire. However, as of January 19, The Phoenician Scheme is also the no. 5 movie in the world on HBO Max, per FlixPatrol.
The Phoenician Scheme is notably not available on HBO Max in the U.S., where viewers can stream it via Prime Video. HBO is still being dominated by One Battle After Another, seemingly the future 2026 Best Picture winner, which is currently no. 1 on the global streaming charts. Also ranking above The Phoenician Scheme is Immaculate, 2025’s How to Train Your Dragon, and Alien: Romulus.
The Phoenecian Scheme isn’t seen as one of Wes Anderson’s best movies, but the director’s famously quirky and symmetrical style has been praised for how it appears in other features, including The Royal Tenenbaums, Fantastic Mr. Fox, Isle of Dogs, Moonrise Kingdom, The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Three More, and The Grand Budapest Hotel.
Anderson’s frequent collaborators include Jason Schwartzman, Owen Wilson, Jeff Goldblum, Edward Norton, Tilda Swinton, and Adrien Brody. Tom Hanks worked with the director for the first time on 2023’s Asteroid City. Hanks then returned to star again in The Phoenician Scheme, portraying Leland, a businessman from California with whom Zsa-zsa plays a high-stakes basketball game.
Anderson is also known for recruiting expansive all-star casts to appear in his movies, which sometimes border on a series of vignettes in order to feature all of them. Leading man of The Phoenician Scheme, Benicio del Toro, may also be up for an Oscar this year for his performance in One Battle After Another. In the meantime, fans of Anderson or any of his collaborators can check out this entry on streaming.
- Release Date
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May 30, 2025
- Runtime
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102 minutes
