# Agent Cody Banks
**Agent Cody Banks** is a 2003 American teen spy comedy directed by Harald Zwart, starring [Frankie Muniz](https://www.edgepedia.org/frankie-muniz) as a 15-year-old undercover CIA operative who is sent to befriend a classmate, Natalie Connors ([Hilary Duff](https://www.edgepedia.org/hilary-duff)), to reach her scientist father, whose nanobot inventions have been co-opted by the evil organization ERIS.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/agent_cody_banks) • [7](https://play.google.com/store/movies/details/Agent_Cody_Banks?hl=en_US&id=I29BkMNcat0) Produced by [Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer](https://www.edgepedia.org/metro-goldwyn-mayer) with Splendid Pictures and Maverick Films, it opened wide in the United States on March 14, 2003 and earned $47.3 million at the domestic box office.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/agent_cody_banks) A sequel, *Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London*, followed in 2004.[11](https://www.film-foundation.org/contents/reports/2006/2006.pdf)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | Wide US theatrical release March 14, 2003; distributor Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/agent_cody_banks) |
| Director and stars | Harald Zwart; Frankie Muniz, Hilary Duff, Angie Harmon[2](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/62250-AGENT-CODY-BANKS) |
| Runtime and rating | 102 minutes; MPAA PG for action violence, mild language, and some sensual content[2](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/62250-AGENT-CODY-BANKS) • [5](https://tv.apple.com/us/movie/agent-cody-banks/umc.cmc.70g4gnyfmbmqnrcolvpco1mes) |
| Box office | $47.3 million US gross; $15 million opening weekend from 3,369 screens[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/agent_cody_banks) • [8](https://www.screendaily.com/agent-cody-banks/4012717.article) |
| Critical scores | 38% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer (102 reviews); Metascore 41 on Metacritic[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/agent_cody_banks) • [9](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0313911/criticreviews/) |
| Production | Shot in Vancouver, British Columbia, June–July 2002, in 52 days[10](https://www.cinema.com/articles/1908/agent-cody-banks-production-notes.phtml) |
| Sequel | *Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London* (2004), directed by Kevin Allen[11](https://www.film-foundation.org/contents/reports/2006/2006.pdf) |
## Spoilers
### Plot and premise
Cody Banks appears to be an ordinary teenager: he skateboards, hates math homework, and is hopelessly awkward around girls. In secret, he is a graduate of a CIA-sponsored summer camp for junior agents, with five years of special training behind him.[5](https://tv.apple.com/us/movie/agent-cody-banks/umc.cmc.70g4gnyfmbmqnrcolvpco1mes) • [6](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/agent-cody-banks) His handler, Ronica Miles ([Angie Harmon](https://www.edgepedia.org/angie-harmon)), assigns him to enroll at the exclusive William Donovan Prep School and befriend Natalie Connors (Hilary Duff) to get close to her father, Dr. Connors ([Martin Donovan](https://www.edgepedia.org/martin-donovan)), a scientist who is unknowingly developing a fleet of deadly nanobots for the villainous organization ERIS.[7](https://play.google.com/store/movies/details/Agent_Cody_Banks?hl=en_US&id=I29BkMNcat0) Roger Ebert, the longtime [Chicago Sun-Times](https://www.edgepedia.org/chicago-sun-times) critic, described the setup as "James Bond as a suburban American 15-year-old": the villains Brinkman and Molay (Ian McShane and Arnold Vosloo) pursue world domination with nanobots that can eat through anything, holding Dr. Connors in an arctic mountain lair.[4](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/agent-cody-banks-2003)
The film equips its hero with Bond-style gadgets, including a versatile skateboard, a jet-powered snowboard, X-ray glasses, and a watch that delivers electric shocks.[4](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/agent-cody-banks-2003) [Darrell Hammond](https://www.edgepedia.org/darrell-hammond) plays Earl, the film's equivalent of Bond's gadget-master Q, and [Keith David](https://www.edgepedia.org/keith-david) plays the CIA Director.[6](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/agent-cody-banks) • [5](https://tv.apple.com/us/movie/agent-cody-banks/umc.cmc.70g4gnyfmbmqnrcolvpco1mes) The opening sequence has Cody skateboarding down a steep hill to rescue a toddler trapped in a runaway car, and the finale is a mountaintop showdown at the ERIS lair.[10](https://www.cinema.com/articles/1908/agent-cody-banks-production-notes.phtml) • [7](https://play.google.com/store/movies/details/Agent_Cody_Banks?hl=en_US&id=I29BkMNcat0)
### Sequel
After the opening weekend, MGM set sequel deals for both Zwart and Muniz, planning to begin production on *Agent Cody Banks 2* in London in June 2003.[12](https://www.screendaily.com/zwart-quits-mgms-cody-banks-sequel/4013047.article) Zwart withdrew in April 2003 over budgetary disagreements, telling the Norwegian daily Dagbladet that MGM's $26 million sequel budget was too low given that the first film had cost around $25 million; "If the commercial and the creative sides cannot meet, I think it is best to abandon the whole thing," he said.[12](https://www.screendaily.com/zwart-quits-mgms-cody-banks-sequel/4013047.article) The sequel was ultimately made with Kevin Allen directing, and *Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London* was released by MGM in 2004, with Muniz returning as Cody.[11](https://www.film-foundation.org/contents/reports/2006/2006.pdf) • [15](https://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/2024240314/2004-03-11/ed-1/seq-23.pdf)
## Production
Producer Dylan Sellers was drawn to the premise of a teenage agent trained by the real CIA rather than a fictional agency; when Frankie Muniz, then starring in *Malcolm in the Middle*, expressed early interest, Sellers brought the project to MGM and moved quickly to secure Muniz before he returned to the series.[10](https://cinema.com/articles/1908/agent-cody-banks-production-notes.phtml) Sellers hired Zwart, a Norwegian director previously known for *One Night at McCool's* and the Swedish production *Hamilton*, after seeing his commercial reel.[10](https://cinema.com/articles/1908/agent-cody-banks-production-notes.phtml) • [12](https://www.screendaily.com/zwart-quits-mgms-cody-banks-sequel/4013047.article)
The film was shot on location in Vancouver, British Columbia, during June and July 2002 over 52 days.[10](https://www.cinema.com/articles/1908/agent-cody-banks-production-notes.phtml) Production designer Rusty Smith, working from Zwart's instruction that the film should not be a full-on contemporary spy story but something "almost retro," designed sets that paid homage to classic Bond films and vintage science fiction, with visual nods to *2001*, *Dr. Strangelove*, *Star Wars*, *Barbarella*, *Moonraker*, and *Goldfinger*; the geodesic dome holding Natalie prisoner in the ERIS mountain lair references [Kurt Vonnegut](https://www.edgepedia.org/kurt-vonnegut)'s *Slaughterhouse-Five*.[10](https://www.cinema.com/articles/1908/agent-cody-banks-production-notes.phtml) The credits list four writers, [Scott Alexander](https://www.edgepedia.org/scott-alexander), Larry Karaszewski, Ashley Edward Miller, and Zack Stentz, from a story by Jeffrey Jurgensen, along with five producers and eight executive producers, among them Madonna; Screen Daily's John Hazelton suggested this crowded creative setup explained the film's "calculated" feel.[2](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/62250-AGENT-CODY-BANKS) • [8](https://www.screendaily.com/agent-cody-banks/4012717.article) [John Powell](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-powell) composed the score.[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/agent_cody_banks/cast-and-crew)
## Box office and reception
The film opened to $15 million from 3,369 screens, a site average of $4,175, which Screen Daily called decent theatrical results driven by teen and pre-teen interest in Muniz and Duff, then known from *Malcolm in the Middle* and [Disney Channel](https://www.edgepedia.org/disney-channel)'s *Lizzie McGuire*.[8](https://www.screendaily.com/agent-cody-banks/4012717.article) It went on to gross $47.3 million in the United States.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/agent_cody_banks)
Critical response was lukewarm. The film holds 38% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer from 102 reviews, with a critics consensus that it "should satisfy young teens, but offers nothing new for those who are familiar with the formula," and a 32% audience Popcornmeter score.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/agent_cody_banks) Its Metacritic Metascore is 41 based on 24 reviews.[9](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0313911/criticreviews/) Reviewers repeatedly measured it against [Robert Rodriguez](https://www.edgepedia.org/robert-rodriguez)'s *Spy Kids* films: Ebert judged it more expensive and high-tech but less fun, while the Houston Chronicle called it "a shameless ripoff" of the two earlier, superior *Spy Kids* movies.[4](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/agent-cody-banks-2003) • [13](https://www.chron.com/entertainment/movies_tv/article/agent-cody-banks-1967805.php) Variety's Scott Foundas was more positive, writing that as a spy picture it had "more pizzazz than the last few Bond adventures."[9](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0313911/criticreviews/)
In the United Kingdom, the BBFC classified the film at 12A only after the distributor cut a shot of a dangerous imitable combat technique, a double ear clap; an uncut version was available at 15, and the same cut was required on home video to match the theatrical version.[14](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/agent-cody-banks-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0zndq2otc)
## References
1. [Agent Cody Banks, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/agent_cody_banks)
2. [Agent Cody Banks (2003), AFI Catalog](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/62250-AGENT-CODY-BANKS)
3. [Agent Cody Banks: Full Cast & Crew, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/agent_cody_banks/cast-and-crew)
4. [Agent Cody Banks movie review, RogerEbert.com (March 14, 2003)](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/agent-cody-banks-2003)
5. [Agent Cody Banks, Apple TV](https://tv.apple.com/us/movie/agent-cody-banks/umc.cmc.70g4gnyfmbmqnrcolvpco1mes)
6. [Agent Cody Banks, Common Sense Media](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/agent-cody-banks)
7. [Agent Cody Banks, Google Play](https://play.google.com/store/movies/details/Agent_Cody_Banks?hl=en_US&id=I29BkMNcat0)
8. [Agent Cody Banks review, Screen Daily (March 21, 2003)](https://www.screendaily.com/agent-cody-banks/4012717.article)
9. [Agent Cody Banks (2003), Metacritic reviews via IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0313911/criticreviews/)
10. [Agent Cody Banks: Production Notes, Cinema.com](https://www.cinema.com/articles/1908/agent-cody-banks-production-notes.phtml)
11. [The Film Foundation Annual Report 2006 (Film Foundation preservation records)](https://www.film-foundation.org/contents/reports/2006/2006.pdf)
12. [Zwart quits MGM's Cody Banks sequel, Screen Daily (April 23, 2003)](https://www.screendaily.com/zwart-quits-mgms-cody-banks-sequel/4013047.article)
13. [Agent Cody Banks review, Houston Chronicle](https://www.chron.com/entertainment/movies_tv/article/agent-cody-banks-1967805.php)
14. [Agent Cody Banks, British Board of Film Classification](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/agent-cody-banks-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0zndq2otc)
15. [Movies by Lois Wadsworth, Eugene Weekly (March 11, 2004)](https://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/2024240314/2004-03-11/ed-1/seq-23.pdf)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Franchise and series entries as standalone works › Teen and comedy series film entries › Entries released in the 2000s*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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