Ready Player One

Ready Player One is a 2018 American science fiction adventure film based on Ernest Cline's novel of the same name. Directed by Steven Spielberg, from a screenplay by Zak Penn and Cline, it stars Tye Sheridan, Olivia Cooke, Ben Mendelsohn, Lena Waithe, T.J. Miller, Simon Pegg, and Mark Rylance. Set in 2045, much of humanity uses the OASIS, a virtual reality simulation, to escape the real world. The orphaned Wade Watts finds clues to a contest that promises the ownership of the OASIS to the winner, and he and his allies try to complete it before an evil corporation can do so.

Development first began in 2010 when Warner Bros. acquired the rights to the book. In July 2015, Spielberg signed on to direct and produce the film, with casting for the film beginning in September 2015. Filming began in England in July 2016 and was completed in September 2016. The visual effects were handled by Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), Digital Domain, and Territory Studio, with some pre-visualization done by The Third Floor. As with the novel, many popular culture references appear throughout the film, including references to The Shining, the Back to the Future franchise, and The Iron Giant.

Ready Player One premiered at South by Southwest in Austin, Texas on March 11, 2018, and was theatrically released by Warner Bros. Pictures in the United States on March 29, 2018. The film received mostly positive reviews from critics, who praised Spielberg's direction, the visual effects, brisk pacing, and the performances of both Sheridan and Rylance. It grossed around $582.9 million worldwide, and earned a nomination for Best Visual Effects at the 91st Academy Awards, 24th Critics' Choice Awards, and 72nd British Academy Film Awards. Ready Player One was awarded the title of Best Science Fiction Film at the 45th Saturn Awards, and a further two Outstanding Achievement Awards from the Visual Effects Society. A sequel is in development.