# Juror #2
**Juror #2** is a 2024 American courtroom thriller directed by [Clint Eastwood](https://www.edgepedia.org/clint-eastwood), in which a juror on a high-profile murder trial realizes he may himself be connected to the death being judged. [Nicholas Hoult](https://www.edgepedia.org/nicholas-hoult) plays family man Justin Kemp, who struggles with the dilemma of whether to use his inside knowledge to sway the verdict toward conviction or acquittal of the accused.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/juror_2)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Director / writer | Clint Eastwood, from a screenplay by Jonathan Abrams[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/juror_2) • [2](https://apnews.com/article/e481412b89da33949ef4317d645edc9e) |
| Release | Limited US theatrical release November 1, 2024; digital December 3, 2024; streaming on Max December 20, 2024[3](https://kiefersutherland.com/juror-2/) |
| Runtime / rating | 114 minutes, PG-13[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/juror_2) |
| Main cast | Nicholas Hoult (Justin Kemp), Toni Collette (Faith Killebrew), J.K. Simmons (Harold), Chris Messina (Eric Resnick), Gabriel Basso (James Michael Sythe), Zoey Deutch (Allison Crewson), Kiefer Sutherland[4](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/juror-2) |
| Critical scores | 93% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer (184 reviews); 90% Popcornmeter; 72 Metascore on Metacritic[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/juror_2) • [5](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/juror-2/critic-reviews/) |
| Production companies | Malpaso Productions and Dichotomy Films, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/juror_2) |
## Spoilers
### Premise
Justin Kemp, a recovering alcoholic magazine writer with his first child about to be born, is selected for jury duty in a Georgia murder trial. As evidence unfolds in court, he comes to believe he may have unknowingly caused the victim's death, having struck something during a blinding rainstorm one night and assumed it was a deer. He must then choose between steering the jury away from convicting the accused, James Sythe, without exposing himself, or revealing the truth.[2](https://apnews.com/article/e481412b89da33949ef4317d645edc9e) • [6](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/juror-2-eastwoods-courtroom-thriller-throwback-era-straightforwardly-grown-studio-entertainment)
The trial centers on Sythe, the bad-tempered boyfriend of the victim, Kendall Carter, who is accused of pushing his girlfriend over a bridge. Prosecutor Faith Killebrew pursues conviction while campaigning for district attorney, and defense attorney Eric Resnick believes in Sythe's innocence. Kemp's pregnant wife Allison, who has suffered several miscarriages, depends on him as the trial proceeds.[4](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/juror-2) • [7](https://time.com/7106837/juror-no-2-clint-eastwood-ending-explained/)
Rather than build suspense around the question of what really happened, the film shows its hand early and develops instead as a moral study of its characters, who occupy what screenwriter Jonathan Abrams describes as a moral gray area.[6](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/juror-2-eastwoods-courtroom-thriller-throwback-era-straightforwardly-grown-studio-entertainment) • [7](https://time.com/7106837/juror-no-2-clint-eastwood-ending-explained/)
## Production
The project was announced in April 2023, and filming began in June of that year. Production was suspended for several months during the [SAG-AFTRA](https://www.edgepedia.org/sag-aftra) strike and resumed in November 2023; post-production was completed in April 2024.[8](https://as.com/meristation/cine/clint-eastwood-vuelve-al-cine-con-juror-no-2-un-thriller-judicial-sobre-un-jurado-atrapado-en-su-propio-crimen-n/)
The film's world premiere closed the 38th edition of AFI FEST, an arrangement the [American Film Institute](https://www.edgepedia.org/american-film-institute) announced on September 12, 2024.[9](https://www.afi.com/press/world-premiere-of-clint-eastwoods-juror-2-to-close-afi-fest-presented-by-canva/) It was produced by Eastwood, Tim Moore, Jessica Meier, Adam Goodman, and Matt Skiena.[9](https://www.afi.com/press/world-premiere-of-clint-eastwoods-juror-2-to-close-afi-fest-presented-by-canva/)
**Casting and directing style.** [Kiefer Sutherland](https://www.edgepedia.org/kiefer-sutherland) wrote a letter asking whether a role might exist for him.[2](https://apnews.com/article/e481412b89da33949ef4317d645edc9e) Accounts of the shoot describe Eastwood's characteristic efficiency, sometimes two takes per scene with a third nearly unheard of; Hoult said he and the jury actors rehearsed in secret to master the longer deliberation scenes.[2](https://apnews.com/article/e481412b89da33949ef4317d645edc9e) The film's position in Eastwood's directing career is reported differently by different outlets: [Sight and Sound](https://www.edgepedia.org/sight-and-sound) calls it his 40th film as director,[6](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/juror-2-eastwoods-courtroom-thriller-throwback-era-straightforwardly-grown-studio-entertainment) while the Associated Press calls it his 42nd film behind the camera.[2](https://apnews.com/article/e481412b89da33949ef4317d645edc9e)
## Release and reception
**A limited theatrical run.** Warner Bros. opened the film in a limited number of US theaters, reported as 35 by Pulse of Cinema[10](https://pulseofcinema.com/en/film/juror-2/) and as about 50 by Time, without expanding the count afterward, and released no official domestic box office figure; the same film played more than 300 cinemas in the United Kingdom.[10](https://pulseofcinema.com/en/film/juror-2/) • [11](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2024/nov/01/juror-2-the-curious-case-of-the-missing-clint-eastwood-film) • [7](https://time.com/7106837/juror-no-2-clint-eastwood-ending-explained/) The studio said the film earned $5 million from international showings on 1,348 screens during its opening period; domestic ticket sales were withheld.[12](https://apnews.com/article/acf6fdf99e1a6647ba1f6609bdebc662) The film did not appear on Warner Bros.' awards-for-your-consideration website despite its reviews.[11](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2024/nov/01/juror-2-the-curious-case-of-the-missing-clint-eastwood-film) Commentary in outlets including the Guardian and [El País](https://www.edgepedia.org/el-pais) described the distribution as puzzling and undernourished given the film's critical reception.[11](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2024/nov/01/juror-2-the-curious-case-of-the-missing-clint-eastwood-film) • [13](https://elpais.com/icon/2024-12-12/hollywood-no-es-pais-para-eastwood.html)
**Critical response.** The film holds 93% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer from 184 reviews, where the critics consensus calls it "a legal thriller with a heavy conscience" and "another terrific reminder of his knack for plain-spoken drama," with 90% on the audience Popcornmeter.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/juror_2) On Metacritic it has a Metascore of 72, generally favorable, from 28 positive, 7 mixed, and 2 negative reviews.[5](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/juror-2/critic-reviews/) Reviewers frequently read it as a throwback to the adult legal thrillers of the 1990s and to *12 Angry Men*, with Sight and Sound calling it a stern parable of morality and conscience and Time describing it as prestige fare major studios rarely make anymore.[6](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/juror-2-eastwoods-courtroom-thriller-throwback-era-straightforwardly-grown-studio-entertainment) • [14](https://www.timeout.com/movies/juror-2-2024) • [7](https://time.com/7106837/juror-no-2-clint-eastwood-ending-explained/) The Guardian's review was more critical, calling the premise far-fetched and noting plot implausibilities such as the unexamined cause of death.[15](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2024/nov/03/juror-2-review-clint-eastwood-nicholas-hoult-12-angry-men-remake)
## Place in Eastwood's career
Eastwood, 94 at the time of release, repeatedly declined to describe the film as his last, saying during the production hiatus that he was looking for new material.[2](https://apnews.com/article/e481412b89da33949ef4317d645edc9e) Later reporting identifies *Juror #2* as the last film Eastwood directed.[16](https://www.cinemablend.com/movies/clint-eastwood-95-why-plans-keep-directing-movies) Critics grouped it with his late-career dramas about individual responsibility, with one Spanish-language account reading the film as his treatment of individual responsibility as a final gesture of resistance in defense of justice.[13](https://elpais.com/icon/2024-12-12/hollywood-no-es-pais-para-eastwood.html) Time noted that, although Kemp initially gets away with his unintentional crime, prosecutor Killebrew knocks on his door in the final scene, leaving the resolution with a degree of open-endedness.[7](https://time.com/7106837/juror-no-2-clint-eastwood-ending-explained/)
## References
1. [Juror #2, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/juror_2)
2. [The 'Juror #2' cast still can't believe they got to work with Clint Eastwood, Associated Press](https://apnews.com/article/e481412b89da33949ef4317d645edc9e)
3. [Juror #2 (2024), Kiefer Sutherland Official Site](https://kiefersutherland.com/juror-2/)
4. [Juror #2 streaming: where to watch movie online, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/juror-2)
5. [Juror #2 critic reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/juror-2/critic-reviews/)
6. [Juror #2 review, Sight and Sound, BFI](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/juror-2-eastwoods-courtroom-thriller-throwback-era-straightforwardly-grown-studio-entertainment)
7. [Juror #2 Reflects the Major Themes of Clint Eastwood's Career, TIME](https://time.com/7106837/juror-no-2-clint-eastwood-ending-explained/)
8. [Clint Eastwood vuelve al cine con 'Juror No. 2', AS](https://as.com/meristation/cine/clint-eastwood-vuelve-al-cine-con-juror-no-2-un-thriller-judicial-sobre-un-jurado-atrapado-en-su-propio-crimen-n/)
9. [World Premiere of Clint Eastwood's Juror #2 to Close AFI FEST, American Film Institute](https://www.afi.com/press/world-premiere-of-clint-eastwoods-juror-2-to-close-afi-fest-presented-by-canva/)
10. [Juror #2 (2024): Plot, Cast & Where to Watch, Pulse of Cinema](https://pulseofcinema.com/en/film/juror-2/)
11. [Juror #2: the curious case of the missing Clint Eastwood film, The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2024/nov/01/juror-2-the-curious-case-of-the-missing-clint-eastwood-film)
12. ['Venom 3' tops box office again, Associated Press](https://apnews.com/article/acf6fdf99e1a6647ba1f6609bdebc662)
13. [Hollywood no es país para Eastwood, El País](https://elpais.com/icon/2024-12-12/hollywood-no-es-pais-para-eastwood.html)
14. [Juror #2 review, Time Out](https://www.timeout.com/movies/juror-2-2024)
15. [Juror #2 review, The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2024/nov/03/juror-2-review-clint-eastwood-nicholas-hoult-12-angry-men-remake)
16. [Clint Eastwood, Who Is 95, Explained Why He Plans To Keep Directing Movies, CinemaBlend](https://www.cinemablend.com/movies/clint-eastwood-95-why-plans-keep-directing-movies)
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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 › Crime, thriller, and mystery films (individual works) › 2023–2024 films*
*Initially written Oct 3, 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