{ "id": "ep5cp0pgs2", "slug": "fly-me-to-the-moon-2024-film", "title": "Fly Me to the Moon (2024 film)", "updated": "2026-11-01", "topic_path": [ { "id": "culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture" }, { "id": "culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance", "label": "Comedy and romantic films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-2024", "label": "Comedies of 2024", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-2024" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-2024.alpha-symbols-to-l", "label": "Titles symbols to L", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-2024.alpha-symbols-to-l" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.us.t2021.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-2024", "label": "United States · 2021 and later: Comedies of 2024", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-2024", "path": [ { "id": "geo.us", "label": "United States", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2021", "label": "United States · 2021 and later", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2021.culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021.culture" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2021.culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021.culture.performance" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2021.culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021.culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2021.culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021.culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2021.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2021.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance", "label": "Comedy and romantic films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2021.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-2024", "label": "Comedies of 2024", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2021.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-2024" } ] } ], "excerpt": "Fly Me to the Moon (2024) is an Apple Original Films/Columbia Pictures romantic comedy-drama directed by Greg Berlanti, starring Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum as a marketer and NASA launch director staging a backup fake Apollo 11 landing; released July 12, 2024, on Apple TV from December 6, 2024.", "snippet": "Fly Me to the Moon (2024) is an Apple Original Films/Columbia Pictures romantic comedy-drama directed by Greg Berlanti, starring Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum as a marketer and NASA launch director staging a backup fake Apollo 11 landing; released July 12, 2024, on Apple TV from December 6, 2024.", "node": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-2024.alpha-symbols-to-l", "markdown": "# Fly Me to the Moon (2024 film)\n\n**Fly Me to the Moon** is a 2024 American romantic comedy-drama directed by [Greg Berlanti](https://www.edgepedia.org/greg-berlanti), in which a [Madison Avenue](https://www.edgepedia.org/madison-avenue) marketing executive hired to repair NASA's public image is secretly tasked with staging a fake [Apollo 11](https://www.edgepedia.org/apollo-11) moon landing on a soundstage in case the real mission fails. It stars Scarlett Johansson as Kelly Jones and Channing Tatum as launch director Cole Davis, with Woody Harrelson, Ray Romano, and Jim Rash in supporting roles.[1](https://www.sonypictures.com/movies/flymetothemoon) • [2](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/fly-me-to-the-moon-movie-review-2024) The film was produced by Apple Original Films together with Columbia Pictures, released theatrically in the United States on July 12, 2024, and began streaming on Apple TV on December 6, 2024.[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/fly_me_to_the_moon_2024) • [4](https://apnews.com/article/cb7f220b6c3f8fbf5e6420670432e4e8)\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Director / writer | Greg Berlanti; screenplay by Rose Gilroy, from a story by Keenan Flynn and Bill Kirstein[2](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/fly-me-to-the-moon-movie-review-2024) |\n| Setting | The first half of 1969, leading up to NASA's Apollo 11 moon landing[5](https://au.variety.com/2024/film/reviews/fly-me-to-the-moon-review-scarlett-johansson-channing-tatum-15709/) |\n| Lead roles | Scarlett Johansson as marketing specialist Kelly Jones (also a producer); Channing Tatum as NASA launch director Cole Davis[2](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/fly-me-to-the-moon-movie-review-2024) • [6](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-07-16/fly-me-to-the-moon-review-scarlett-johansson-channing-tatum/104091096) |\n| Release | United States theatrical release July 12, 2024; Apple Original Films with Columbia Pictures; 132 minutes; rated PG-13[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/fly_me_to_the_moon_2024) |\n| Streaming | Global Apple TV premiere on December 6, 2024[4](https://apnews.com/article/cb7f220b6c3f8fbf5e6420670432e4e8) |\n| Critical scores | Metacritic Metascore 53 (mixed or average, 49 reviews); Rotten Tomatoes 66% from 240 critics, 89% from over 1,000 verified audience ratings[7](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/fly-me-to-the-moon/critic-reviews/) • [3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/fly_me_to_the_moon_2024) |\n| Box office | Opened to about $10 million domestically, with *Longlegs* more than doubling its debut the same weekend[8](https://ufdcimages.uflib.ufl.edu/AA/00/06/85/31/01787/07-15-2024.pdf) |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### Premise\n\nThe story is set in 1969, when NASA is struggling to convince a wavering public and skeptical, budget-minded senators that the [Apollo program](https://www.edgepedia.org/apollo-program) deserves continued funding. [Kelly Jones](https://www.edgepedia.org/kelly-jones), a New York advertising executive with a talent for bending the truth, is brought in to sell the space program to the American people, over the objections of Cole Davis, the by-the-book launch director responsible for getting Apollo 11 to the moon.[1](https://www.sonypictures.com/movies/flymetothemoon) • [9](https://www.theguardian.com/film/article/2024/jul/09/fly-me-to-the-moon-review-slinky-scarlett-johansson-in-cynical-moon-landing-conspiracy-comedy)\n\nThe conspiracy element enters through Moe Berkus ([Woody Harrelson](https://www.edgepedia.org/woody-harrelson)), a shadowy operative in the Nixon administration who blackmails Kelly into organizing a film shoot that would simulate the moon landing on a soundstage as a contingency if the real mission fails. Cole knows nothing of the plan.[10](https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/how-fly-me-to-the-moon-pokes-fun-at-moon-landing-conspiracy-theories-180984686/) The film does not assert that the mission was a sham; it imagines, in farcical fashion, what would have happened if the government had prepared such a backup.[10](https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/how-fly-me-to-the-moon-pokes-fun-at-moon-landing-conspiracy-theories-180984686/) Kelly's public-relations work includes dressing the astronauts in branded products and, in the film's telling, persuading NASA to televise the landing.[6](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-07-16/fly-me-to-the-moon-review-scarlett-johansson-channing-tatum/104091096)\n\nCole's backstory is tied to the [Apollo 1](https://www.edgepedia.org/apollo-1) fire, which the film revisits and opens with as a tribute to the lost astronauts.[11](https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2024/07/fly-me-to-the-moon-movie/678982/) • [12](https://time.com/6995862/fly-me-to-the-moon-conspiracy-theories-public-mistrust/) Reviewers noted that the fake-landing subplot, promoted as the film's main hook, is not introduced until well into the running time.[13](https://ufdcimages.uflib.ufl.edu/UF/00/02/83/15/08587/07-11-2024.pdf)\n\n## Production\n\nRose Gilroy wrote the screenplay, her first feature credit, from a story by Keenan Flynn and Bill Kirstein.[2](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/fly-me-to-the-moon-movie-review-2024) Jason Bateman initially signed on to direct and was later replaced by Greg Berlanti, the television producer behind the CW's DC Comics shows and *Riverdale*, whose directing credits include *Love, Simon*.[6](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-07-16/fly-me-to-the-moon-review-scarlett-johansson-channing-tatum/104091096) • [11](https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2024/07/fly-me-to-the-moon-movie/678982/) Johansson served as a producer as well as the lead.[6](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-07-16/fly-me-to-the-moon-review-scarlett-johansson-channing-tatum/104091096) According to a review in RogerEbert.com, Chris Evans was originally meant to play Cole.[2](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/fly-me-to-the-moon-movie-review-2024)\n\nThe production received cooperation from NASA, which allowed filming at Cape Kennedy in Florida, and former Apollo flight director Gerry Griffin served as an adviser. The fictional Cole Davis was inspired in part by real flight directors [Gene Kranz](https://www.edgepedia.org/gene-kranz) and Griffin.[10](https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/how-fly-me-to-the-moon-pokes-fun-at-moon-landing-conspiracy-theories-180984686/) Bill Barry, NASA's chief historian from 2010 to 2020, consulted on the script and told *Time* that there was no special effort to \"sell\" the Apollo program comparable to the film's premise, and that he considered the movie a clear parody of conspiracy theorists rather than a documentary.[14](https://time.com/6997494/fly-me-to-the-moon-movie-true-story/)\n\n## The conspiracy-theory backdrop\n\nThe film trades on the long-debunked claim that the Apollo 11 landing was staged, a theory that took hold less than a decade after July 20, 1969 and received a boost from the 1976 book *We Never Went to the Moon: America's Thirty Billion Dollar Swindle* by Bill Kaysing, a former [Rocketdyne](https://www.edgepedia.org/rocketdyne) employee.[10](https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/how-fly-me-to-the-moon-pokes-fun-at-moon-landing-conspiracy-theories-180984686/) The movie makes running jokes about [Stanley Kubrick](https://www.edgepedia.org/stanley-kubrick), whom real-world conspiracy theorists have credited with faking the lunar footage, and Kelly at one point sighs, \"We should've gotten Kubrick.\"[11](https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2024/07/fly-me-to-the-moon-movie/678982/) • [10](https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/how-fly-me-to-the-moon-pokes-fun-at-moon-landing-conspiracy-theories-180984686/) Critics placed the film in a lineage with the 1977 conspiracy thriller *[Capricorn One](https://www.edgepedia.org/capricorn-one)*, which NASA also supported despite its far more sinister portrayal of the agency, and with satires such as *Wag the Dog*.[10](https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/how-fly-me-to-the-moon-pokes-fun-at-moon-landing-conspiracy-theories-180984686/) • [15](https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/movies/2024/07/11/fly-me-moon-tatum-johansson/) • [11](https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2024/07/fly-me-to-the-moon-movie/678982/)\n\n## Reception\n\nCritical response was mixed. The film's Metascore of 53 on Metacritic, from 49 reviews, fell in the \"mixed or average\" band, with 19 positive, 25 mixed, and 5 negative reviews.[7](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/fly-me-to-the-moon/critic-reviews/) On Rotten Tomatoes it held 66 percent from 240 critics against 89 percent from more than 1,000 verified audience ratings, with the site's critics consensus crediting the leads' screwball chemistry even when the plotting strains credulity.[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/fly_me_to_the_moon_2024) Positive reviews, such as [Richard Roeper](https://www.edgepedia.org/richard-roeper)'s in the *Chicago Sun-Times*, praised Berlanti's weaving of storylines and the script's crisp humor; negative ones, such as Christy Lemire's at RogerEbert.com, called the film tonally messy and overlong, lurching from rom-com to political satire to drama.[7](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/fly-me-to-the-moon/critic-reviews/) • [2](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/fly-me-to-the-moon-movie-review-2024)\n\nCommercially, the film underperformed. It opened to about $10 million domestically over its first weekend while *Despicable Me 4* led the box office and the horror film *Longlegs* more than doubled its debut; the *Associated Press* reported the result as the weekend's big upset further down the charts.[8](https://ufdcimages.uflib.ufl.edu/AA/00/06/85/31/01787/07-15-2024.pdf) After its theatrical run, it premiered globally on Apple TV on December 6, 2024, and it has since been available by subscription on Apple TV, with rental and purchase options on Apple TV Store, Amazon Video, and Fandango at Home, and on Blu-ray.[4](https://apnews.com/article/cb7f220b6c3f8fbf5e6420670432e4e8) • [16](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/fly-me-to-the-moon-2024)\n\n## References\n\n1. [Fly Me to the Moon, Sony Pictures Entertainment](https://www.sonypictures.com/movies/flymetothemoon)\n2. [Christy Lemire, \"Fly Me to the Moon movie review,\" RogerEbert.com, July 11, 2024](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/fly-me-to-the-moon-movie-review-2024)\n3. [Fly Me to the Moon (2024), Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/fly_me_to_the_moon_2024)\n4. [\"What to stream,\" AP News, November 29, 2024](https://apnews.com/article/cb7f220b6c3f8fbf5e6420670432e4e8)\n5. [\"'Fly Me to the Moon': Review,\" Variety Australia, July 8, 2024](https://au.variety.com/2024/film/reviews/fly-me-to-the-moon-review-scarlett-johansson-channing-tatum-15709/)\n6. [Luke Goodsell, \"Fly Me to the Moon review,\" ABC News (Australia), July 16, 2024](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-07-16/fly-me-to-the-moon-review-scarlett-johansson-channing-tatum/104091096)\n7. [Fly Me to the Moon critic reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/fly-me-to-the-moon/critic-reviews/)\n8. [Arts & Entertainment section (box office report), July 15, 2024, University of Florida Digital Collections](https://ufdcimages.uflib.ufl.edu/AA/00/06/85/31/01787/07-15-2024.pdf)\n9. [\"Fly Me to the Moon review,\" The Guardian, July 9, 2024](https://www.theguardian.com/film/article/2024/jul/09/fly-me-to-the-moon-review-slinky-scarlett-johansson-in-cynical-moon-landing-conspiracy-comedy)\n10. [Chris Klimek, \"How 'Fly Me to the Moon' Pokes Fun at Moon Landing Conspiracy Theories,\" Smithsonian Magazine, July 12, 2024](https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/how-fly-me-to-the-moon-pokes-fun-at-moon-landing-conspiracy-theories-180984686/)\n11. [\"If the Moon Landing Were a Romantic Comedy,\" The Atlantic, July 12, 2024](https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2024/07/fly-me-to-the-moon-movie/678982/)\n12. [\"'Fly Me to the Moon' Is a Lighthearted Conspiracy Romp,\" Time, July 2024](https://time.com/6995862/fly-me-to-the-moon-conspiracy-theories-public-mistrust/)\n13. [Movie review, Citrus County Chronicle, July 11, 2024](https://ufdcimages.uflib.ufl.edu/UF/00/02/83/15/08587/07-11-2024.pdf)\n14. [\"Separating Truth From Fiction in the New Space Race Movie 'Fly Me to the Moon',\" Time, July 12, 2024](https://time.com/6997494/fly-me-to-the-moon-movie-true-story/)\n15. [\"'Fly Me to the Moon' is saved by the stars,\" The Washington Post, July 11, 2024](https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/movies/2024/07/11/fly-me-moon-tatum-johansson/)\n16. [Fly Me to the Moon (2024) streaming, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/fly-me-to-the-moon-2024)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Comedy and romantic films (individual works) › Comedies of 2024 › Titles symbols to L*\n\n*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/fly-me-to-the-moon-2024-film", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/fly-me-to-the-moon-2024-film.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"Fly Me to the Moon (2024 film)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/fly-me-to-the-moon-2024-film. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[Fly Me to the Moon (2024 film)](https://www.edgepedia.org/fly-me-to-the-moon-2024-film)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/fly-me-to-the-moon-2024-film](https://www.edgepedia.org/fly-me-to-the-moon-2024-film). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"Fly Me to the Moon (2024 film)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/fly-me-to-the-moon-2024-film. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "Fly Me to the Moon is an Apple Original Films/Columbia Pictures romantic comedy-drama directed by Greg Berlanti, starring Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum as a marketer and NASA launch director staging a backup fake Apollo 11 landing; released July 12, 2024, on Apple TV from December 6, 2024." }