# Code 3 (film)
**Code 3** is a 2025 American action comedy directed by Christopher Leone. Its story follows an exhausted, burned-out paramedic who, while mentoring the rookie taking his place, works a final frantic 24-hour shift before moving on to a career in insurance.[1](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/code-3-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0xmdmxmji0) It stars [Rainn Wilson](https://www.edgepedia.org/rainn-wilson), Lil Rel Howery, and [Aimee Carrero](https://www.edgepedia.org/aimee-carrero), with [Rob Riggle](https://www.edgepedia.org/rob-riggle), Yvette Nicole Brown, Page Kennedy, and Xolo Maridueña in supporting roles.[1](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/code-3-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0xmdmxmji0) • [2](https://www.showtimes.com/movies/code-3-189190/) The title comes from the emergency response code for an ambulance running its sirens and lights.[3](https://midwestfilmjournal.com/2025/09/10/creating-code-3-a-chat-with-christopher-leone-patrick-pianezza-and-paul-pizza-pianezza/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Director and writers | Christopher Leone, who also co-wrote with Patrick Pianezza[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/code_3) |
| Cast | Rainn Wilson as Randy, Lil Rel Howery as Mike, Aimee Carrero as Jessica, Rob Riggle as Dr. Serano[5](https://tv.apple.com/us/movie/code-3/umc.cmc.4k8ylujcm7snivczhnafv7sgb?ctx_at=6) |
| Premiere | Toronto International Film Festival 2024[6](https://www.atlas-film.de/code-3.html) |
| US release | Limited theatrical release September 12, 2025 by Aura Entertainment; digital September 30, 2025; DVD and Blu-ray December 2, 2025[7](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Code-3-%282025%29) • [8](https://www.dvdsreleasedates.com/movies/12608/code-3) |
| Rating | R for language throughout, violent content/bloody images, some drug material, and brief graphic nudity[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/code_3) |
| Box office | $35,190 worldwide[9](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt26394837/) |
| Reception | 79% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer (29 reviews); 96% Popcornmeter[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/code_3) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
Randy (Rainn Wilson) is an exhausted veteran paramedic in Los Angeles who has accepted a job at an insurance company and must complete one final 24-hour shift before leaving. His partner Mike ([Lil Rel Howery](https://www.edgepedia.org/lil-rel-howery)) and his supervisor saddle him with Jessica (Aimee Carrero), an eager but inexperienced trainee whose optimism clashes with Randy's cynicism. What begins as a routine day spirals into a chaotic, citywide odyssey of emergencies, absurd encounters, and confrontations with a broken health-care system.[1](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/code-3-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0xmdmxmji0) • [10](https://www.dga.org/events/2025/october2025/code3_qna_0925) Randy serves as the film's narrator, addressing the camera directly to explain the realities of paramedic practice.[11](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/code-3-rainn-wilson-film-review-2025)
## Origins and production
**A paramedic's story.** The film is the brainchild of Patrick Pianezza, a retired paramedic who served as co-writer and technical consultant; it is based on a short story he wrote about emergency medical services that caught Hollywood's attention.[12](https://www.hmpgloballearningnetwork.com/site/emsworld/feature/code-3-ems-movie) He drew on 12 years of real-life paramedic work, and the film claims that its events are drawn from a real 24-hour period in his life.[3](https://midwestfilmjournal.com/2025/09/10/creating-code-3-a-chat-with-christopher-leone-patrick-pianezza-and-paul-pizza-pianezza/) • [11](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/code-3-rainn-wilson-film-review-2025) The Rob Riggle character, an emergency room doctor, was based on a real person Pianezza described as "a brilliant clinician but also just a dick."[3](https://midwestfilmjournal.com/2025/09/10/creating-code-3-a-chat-with-christopher-leone-patrick-pianezza-and-paul-pizza-pianezza/)
**Direction.** Christopher Leone, who previously directed the 2015 Netflix film *Parallels* and co-wrote the Emmy-nominated Syfy miniseries *The Lost Room*, connected with Pianezza's first draft for its blue-collar accuracy and its gallows humor.[3](https://midwestfilmjournal.com/2025/09/10/creating-code-3-a-chat-with-christopher-leone-patrick-pianezza-and-paul-pizza-pianezza/) At a Directors Guild screening Q&A, Leone described his guiding principle that "the camera is the fourth paramedic," positioning the viewer inside the ambulance with the crew, and explained how his background as a pre-vis 3D animator shaped the film's blocking.[10](https://www.dga.org/events/2025/october2025/code3_qna_0925) The producers include [Justin Baldoni](https://www.edgepedia.org/justin-baldoni), Andrew Calof, Lawrence Mattis, Matt Smith, and Paul "Pizza" Pianezza.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/code_3)
## Release
*Code 3* premiered at the [Toronto International Film Festival](https://www.edgepedia.org/toronto-international-film-festival) in 2024.[6](https://www.atlas-film.de/code-3.html) Aura Entertainment released it in a limited US theatrical run on September 12, 2025, followed by digital release on September 30, 2025, and DVD and Blu-ray on December 2, 2025.[7](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Code-3-%282025%29) • [8](https://www.dvdsreleasedates.com/movies/12608/code-3) In the United Kingdom, Altitude Film Distribution released it, with the [British Board of Film Classification](https://www.edgepedia.org/british-board-of-film-classification) certifying the 99m 50s version on July 16, 2025.[1](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/code-3-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0xmdmxmji0) A German release followed on September 25, 2025, rated FSK 12.[6](https://www.atlas-film.de/code-3.html) The film later streamed on Hulu in the United States and on [Sky Go](https://www.edgepedia.org/sky-go) and Now TV Cinema in the United Kingdom.[13](https://www.flickfinder.net/movie/code-3-2025-1161617)
Reported runtimes differ by source: 104 minutes on IMDb and The Numbers, 99 minutes 50 seconds as classified by the BBFC, and 1 hour 39 minutes on Apple TV.[14](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt26394837/) • [1](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/code-3-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0xmdmxmji0) • [5](https://tv.apple.com/us/movie/code-3/umc.cmc.4k8ylujcm7snivczhnafv7sgb?ctx_at=6)
## Reception
On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds a 79% Tomatometer from 29 reviews and a 96% Popcornmeter audience score from more than 50 verified ratings.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/code_3) Clint Worthington of RogerEbert.com gave it 3 out of 4 stars, writing that "there's a beating heart at the center of this film that helps wallpaper over its flaws," while noting the comparison to Martin Scorsese's *Bringing Out the Dead* that any film in the genre would wither under.[11](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/code-3-rainn-wilson-film-review-2025) Other critics highlighted the film's commentary on health-care bureaucracy; Robert Roten of Laramie Movie Scope wrote that it highlights "bureaucracy and frustrating rules of a terrible health system in a way that most documentaries can't touch."[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/code_3)
Pianezza framed the goal as medical accuracy: "we really wanted any paramedic, any real EMS worker to be able to watch the movie and go, wow, they got it right."[15](https://danielmontgomery3.substack.com/p/code-3-interview-director-writer)
Commercially, the film grossed $35,190 worldwide, all from international markets including South Africa and Nigeria, against a reported production budget of $10 million.[9](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt26394837/) • [16](https://helposter.com/movie/1161617-1161617-code-3)
## References
1. [Code 3, British Board of Film Classification](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/code-3-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0xmdmxmji0)
2. [Code 3, Showtimes.com](https://www.showtimes.com/movies/code-3-189190/)
3. [Creating 'Code 3': A Chat with Christopher Leone, Patrick Pianezza and Paul 'Pizza' Pianezza, Midwest Film Journal](https://midwestfilmjournal.com/2025/09/10/creating-code-3-a-chat-with-christopher-leone-patrick-pianezza-and-paul-pizza-pianezza/)
4. [Code 3, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/code_3)
5. [Code 3, Apple TV](https://tv.apple.com/us/movie/code-3/umc.cmc.4k8ylujcm7snivczhnafv7sgb?ctx_at=6)
6. [Code 3, Atlas Film GmbH](https://www.atlas-film.de/code-3.html)
7. [Code 3 (2025), The Numbers](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Code-3-%282025%29)
8. [Code 3 DVD Release Date December 2, 2025](https://www.dvdsreleasedates.com/movies/12608/code-3)
9. [Code 3 (2025), Box Office Mojo](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt26394837/)
10. [Director Christopher Leone discusses Code 3, Directors Guild of America](https://www.dga.org/events/2025/october2025/code3_qna_0925)
11. [Code 3 movie review, RogerEbert.com](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/code-3-rainn-wilson-film-review-2025)
12. [Code 3, the EMS Movie: A Talk with Movie Co-writer and Former Paramedic Patrick Pianezza, EMS World](https://www.hmpgloballearningnetwork.com/site/emsworld/feature/code-3-ems-movie)
13. [Where to watch Code 3 (2025), FlickFinder](https://www.flickfinder.net/movie/code-3-2025-1161617)
14. [Code 3 (2025), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt26394837/)
15. ['Code 3' filmmakers interview, Daniel Montgomery on Substack](https://danielmontgomery3.substack.com/p/code-3-interview-director-writer)
16. [Code 3 (2025), Helposter](https://helposter.com/movie/1161617-1161617-code-3)
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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 › Comedy and romantic films (individual works) › Comedies of 2025 › Titles A to L*
*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*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license