# The Roses (film)
**The Roses** is a 2025 black comedy directed by [Jay Roach](https://www.edgepedia.org/jay-roach) and written by Tony McNamara, starring [Olivia Colman](https://www.edgepedia.org/olivia-colman) and [Benedict Cumberbatch](https://www.edgepedia.org/benedict-cumberbatch) as Ivy and Theo Rose, a British couple living in California whose marriage collapses as their career fortunes reverse. It is a reimagining of the 1989 film *The War of the Roses*, itself based on Warren Adler's 1981 novel of the same name.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_roses)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Director / writer | Jay Roach; screenplay by Tony McNamara[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_roses) |
| Stars | Olivia Colman as Ivy Rose, Benedict Cumberbatch as Theo Rose[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_roses) |
| Source | Reimagining of the 1989 film *The War of the Roses*, based on Warren Adler's 1981 novel[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_roses) |
| Release | Wide theatrical release August 29, 2025; streaming October 21, 2025 (Disney+/Hulu)[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_roses) |
| Runtime / rating | 1 hour 45 minutes; rated R for language throughout, sexual content, and drug content[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_roses) |
| Box office | $15.3 million gross in the United States[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_roses) |
| Reception | 64% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer (196 reviews) and 79% audience score; Metascore of 58 on Metacritic (38 reviews)[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_roses) • [2](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-roses/) |
| Distributor | Searchlight Pictures[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_roses) |
## Spoilers
### Plot and characters
[Theo Rose](https://www.edgepedia.org/theo-rose) (Cumberbatch) is an architect and Ivy Rose (Colman) is a chef. The couple meet in a London restaurant kitchen and, ten years later, live with their two children in Mendocino, California.[3](https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/movies/2025/08/28/roses-cumberbatch-colman-remake-review/) An unexpected storm collapses Theo's sleek new maritime museum in spectacular failure on the same night that Ivy's homespun crab shack becomes a surprise culinary success, flipping the couple's career fortunes.[4](https://theweek.com/culture-life/film/the-roses-olivia-colman-and-benedict-cumberbatch-star-in-black-comedy-reboot) • [5](https://assets.adg.org/media/submissions/2025-12-01_10-15-22/The_Roses_ADG_PDF_Presentation.pdf) Theo becomes the househusband while Ivy rises to global fame as a foodie celebrity, and resentment builds until their verbal sparring descends into open combat.[6](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/aug/25/the-roses-review-olivia-colman-and-benedict-cumberbatch-remake) • [4](https://theweek.com/culture-life/film/the-roses-olivia-colman-and-benedict-cumberbatch-star-in-black-comedy-reboot)
The film opens in a marriage therapist's office, where Theo answers the question of what he loves about his wife with "I would rather live with her than a wolf," and Ivy offers that one good thing about her husband is "he has arms."[7](https://apnews.com/article/aa1715a8c357eb209994bebade55c63e) The couple's friends Barry and Amy are played by [Andy Samberg](https://www.edgepedia.org/andy-samberg) and [Kate McKinnon](https://www.edgepedia.org/kate-mckinnon), and [Allison Janney](https://www.edgepedia.org/allison-janney) appears as Ivy's aggressive divorce lawyer; the cast also includes Ncuti Gatwa as a sous chef in Ivy's cafe, Sunita Mani, Zoe Chao, Jamie Demetriou, and Belinda Bromilow as Janice.[6](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/aug/25/the-roses-review-olivia-colman-and-benedict-cumberbatch-remake) • [2](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-roses/)
## Production
The film is a [Searchlight Pictures](https://www.edgepedia.org/searchlight-pictures) production made with SunnyMarch, South of the River Pictures, and Delirious Media.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_roses) Its producers are Roach, Michelle Graham, Ed Sinclair, Tom Carver, Adam Ackland, and Leah Clarke, with Cumberbatch and Colman also serving as executive producers.[8](https://www.whattowatch.com/watching-guides/the-roses-release-date-cast-plot-and-everything-we-know-about-the-benedict-cumberbatch-movie) • [9](https://www.cinecomedies.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/DP-la_guerre_des_Rose_2025.pdf) Roach's directing credits include *Meet the Parents*, *Austin Powers*, and *[Bombshell](https://www.edgepedia.org/bombshell-2019-film)*, and McNamara was the Oscar-nominated writer of *Poor Things* and *The Favourite* and the creator of *The Great*.[8](https://www.whattowatch.com/watching-guides/the-roses-release-date-cast-plot-and-everything-we-know-about-the-benedict-cumberbatch-movie)
The filmmakers described the project as a complete reimagining rather than a remake.[9](https://www.cinecomedies.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/DP-la_guerre_des_Rose_2025.pdf) Where Danny DeVito's 1989 film followed a wealthy American couple fighting over their house during a divorce, the new version reframes the story as a caustic satire about a British couple struggling to stay married, moving the setting to the California coast and focusing on the years before the divorce rather than the war itself.[10](https://www.ottplay.com/features/the-roses-benedict-cumberbatch-olivia-colman-wonderfully-thorny-deceptively-poignant/edbd2fc6f6910) The coastal maritime theme shaped the production design, from the crab shack to the doomed museum.[5](https://assets.adg.org/media/submissions/2025-12-01_10-15-22/The_Roses_ADG_PDF_Presentation.pdf) Mendocino was played by a seaside town in Devon, England, which one critic noted looks more like New England than [Northern California](https://www.edgepedia.org/northern-california).[2](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-roses/)
## Reception
The film received mixed-to-positive reviews. Rotten Tomatoes recorded a 64% Tomatometer from 196 reviews and a 79% audience score from more than 1,000 verified ratings; its critics consensus said the blend of broad comedy and dark satire makes for "an uneasy marriage," while calling the leads' barb-trading "a treat onto itself."[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_roses) Metacritic assigned a Metascore of 58, indicating mixed or average reviews based on 38 critic reviews, alongside a generally favorable user score of 6.5.[2](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-roses/)
Critics divided largely along tonal lines. Positive reviews credited the two leads: the Los Angeles Times called it "a big, smart, splashy, vicious adult comedy,"[11](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2025-08-28/the-roses-review-olivia-colman-benedict-cumberbatch-andy-samberg-kate-mckinnon) and The Telegraph described the stars' verbal jousting as "effervescent bloodsport."[2](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-roses/) Negative and mixed reviews found the film tonally uneven, "too broad," or unwilling to go as dark as its source material; RogerEbert.com argued it "can't accurately be described as a black comedy because it's afraid to get too dark."[2](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-roses/) • [12](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-roses-benedict-cumberbatch-olivia-colman-film-review-2025) The Associated Press reviewer wrote that the film, like the 1989 version, struggles with the tonal leap from domestic sniping to attempted murder while staying a comedy.[7](https://apnews.com/article/aa1715a8c357eb209994bebade55c63e)
At the box office, the film reached fifth place in its second weekend against strong competition and finished with a US gross of $15.3 million.[13](https://www.cinemablend.com/movies/box-office/weapons-back-top-box-office-another-powerful-weekend-close-out-summer-2025) • [1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_roses) In the [British Board of Film Classification](https://www.edgepedia.org/british-board-of-film-classification)'s annual report, *The Roses* topped the list of films that drew the most complaints in 2025.[14](https://www.comedy.co.uk/film/the-roses/press/)
## Comparison with the 1989 film
*The War of the Roses* (1989), directed by [Danny DeVito](https://www.edgepedia.org/danny-devito) and starring [Michael Douglas](https://www.edgepedia.org/michael-douglas) and [Kathleen Turner](https://www.edgepedia.org/kathleen-turner), was a commercial success, grossing $86,888,546 domestically against a $26 million budget reported by Rolling Stone.[15](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0098621/) • [16](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/58347-THE-WAR-OF-THE-ROSES?cxt=filmography) Its Rotten Tomatoes score stands at 84% from 44 reviews.[15](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0098621/) Critics of the 2025 version repeatedly measured it against that film: The Boston Globe found the two adaptations' differences stark, calling the 1989 version "delightfully mean-spirited,"[17](https://www.bostonglobe.com/2025/09/04/arts/the-roses-benedict-cumberbatch-olivia-colman/) while reviewers noted that the remake inverts the original's gender dynamics, with the husband staying home while the wife's career rises, replacing the original's dispute over the marital home.[6](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/aug/25/the-roses-review-olivia-colman-and-benedict-cumberbatch-remake)
The property remains active: the Adler Entertainment Trust is co-producing a live stage version of *The War of the Roses* scheduled to premiere in London's West End in 2027.[18](https://www.warrenadler.com/adlerentertainmenttrust/)
## References
1. [The Roses, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_roses)
2. [The Roses, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-roses/)
3. ["'The Roses' is a mismatch of British wit and American slapstick", The Washington Post](https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/movies/2025/08/28/roses-cumberbatch-colman-remake-review/)
4. ["The Roses: Olivia Colman and Benedict Cumberbatch star in black comedy reboot", The Week](https://theweek.com/culture-life/film/the-roses-olivia-colman-and-benedict-cumberbatch-star-in-black-comedy-reboot)
5. [THE ROSES Art Design Guild presentation PDF](https://assets.adg.org/media/submissions/2025-12-01_10-15-22/The_Roses_ADG_PDF_Presentation.pdf)
6. ["The Roses review – dieback blights Colman and Cumberbatch remake", The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/aug/25/the-roses-review-olivia-colman-and-benedict-cumberbatch-remake)
7. ["Movie Review: In 'The Roses,' Benedict Cumberbatch and Olivia Colman make a love story dark", AP News](https://apnews.com/article/aa1715a8c357eb209994bebade55c63e)
8. ["The Roses: release date, trailer, cast, plot", WhatToWatch](https://www.whattowatch.com/watching-guides/the-roses-release-date-cast-plot-and-everything-we-know-about-the-benedict-cumberbatch-movie)
9. [THE ROSES Production Notes, CineComedies PDF](https://www.cinecomedies.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/DP-la_guerre_des_Rose_2025.pdf)
10. ["The Roses: Wonderfully Thorny, Deceptively Poignant", OttPlay](https://www.ottplay.com/features/the-roses-benedict-cumberbatch-olivia-colman-wonderfully-thorny-deceptively-poignant/edbd2fc6f6910)
11. ["'The Roses' review: Colman vs. Cumberbatch, hilariously head-to-head", Los Angeles Times](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2025-08-28/the-roses-review-olivia-colman-benedict-cumberbatch-andy-samberg-kate-mckinnon)
12. ["The Roses movie review & film summary", RogerEbert.com](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-roses-benedict-cumberbatch-olivia-colman-film-review-2025)
13. ["Weapons Is Back On Top Of The Box Office", CinemaBlend](https://www.cinemablend.com/movies/box-office/weapons-back-top-box-office-another-powerful-weekend-close-out-summer-2025)
14. ["The Roses press clippings", British Comedy Guide](https://www.comedy.co.uk/film/the-roses/press/)
15. [The War of the Roses, Box Office Mojo](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0098621/)
16. [The War of the Roses (1989), AFI Catalog](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/58347-THE-WAR-OF-THE-ROSES?cxt=filmography)
17. [""The Roses" lacks the bite of "The War of the Roses"", The Boston Globe](https://www.bostonglobe.com/2025/09/04/arts/the-roses-benedict-cumberbatch-olivia-colman/)
18. [Adler Entertainment Trust, The Warren Adler Collection](https://www.warrenadler.com/adlerentertainmenttrust/)
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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 1995 to 1999 › Black and satirical comedies*
*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