A24's 'Primetime' scores third-biggest opening in studio history as the real Chris Hansen disputes his portrayal

A24's "Primetime," a fictionalized account of how NBC's "To Catch a Predator" turned a local television journalist into a ratings phenomenon, took in an estimated $19.2 million at the North American box office over its opening weekend, the third-largest domestic debut in the specialty studio's history. The film, starring Robert Pattinson as former Dateline correspondent Chris Hansen, opened in roughly 2,870 theaters on September 25 and finished fourth for the weekend, behind a Marvel re-release and two wide studio openings. Its commercial strength has been matched by an unusual public dispute: Hansen, the real journalist the film is built around, says the movie bears little resemblance to what he lived through two decades ago, and has graded Pattinson's performance a "D."

A breakout weekend for A24

"Primetime" was directed by Lance Oppenheim, previously known for the documentaries "Some Kind of Heaven" and "Spermworld," making his narrative feature debut from a screenplay adapted from Luke Dittrich's 2007 Esquire article on the "To Catch a Predator" sting operations. According to A24's official description of the film, it follows Hansen as he "sets out to make television history" in 2006, dramatizing the stings Hansen ran with the volunteer group Perverted-Justice and the network pressure that turned the segments into their own primetime franchise. The supporting cast includes Merritt Wever, Skyler Gisondo, Phoebe Bridgers and Bokeem Woodbine, and Pattinson also served as a producer.

The film's narrative culminates in a dramatization of the November 2006 case of Louis "Bill" Conradt Jr., a Texas assistant district attorney who fatally shot himself as a police SWAT team, accompanied by a Dateline camera crew, moved to arrest him after an online sting operation. Conradt's sister later sued NBC over his death; the network settled the case in 2008 for an undisclosed sum, a decision that hastened the end of "To Catch a Predator" as a regular series. "Primetime" treats that episode as the moral turning point in its account of Hansen's career.

The film had its world premiere on September 5 in the main competition of the 83rd Venice International Film Festival, one of 21 features selected that year for the festival's top competitive slate, before opening commercially three weeks later. Made on a reported budget of roughly $14.5 million, the film has already recovered a large share of its production costs from its domestic haul alone, though trade estimates put its full break-even point, once marketing and distribution are factored in, closer to $36 million.

Reviewers were largely enthusiastic. The film holds an 87 percent approval rating from 195 reviews tallied on Rotten Tomatoes, against an 80 percent score from audience polling, giving it the site's "Certified Fresh" designation. Critics singled out Pattinson's performance; a review roundup published by The Hollywood Reporter found that critics repeatedly described him as "equal parts cracked and chilling" in the role. Within A24's own 15-year release history, "Primetime" now ranks behind only "Backrooms" ($81.4 million) and "Civil War" ($25.5 million) for an opening weekend, and ahead of "Marty Supreme," which opened to $15.7 million.

Chris Hansen pushes back

The commercial and critical success has unfolded alongside a public dispute with its real-life subject. Hansen, who hosted "To Catch a Predator" from 2004 until leaving NBC in 2016 after 20 years with the network, now hosts "Takedown With Chris Hansen" on TruBlu, a true-crime streaming service he co-founded, alongside his own podcast and YouTube channel. He initially declined to attend an advance screening of "Primetime" in August after A24 asked him to sign a nondisclosure agreement before viewing the film. Hansen told The Hollywood Reporter that he walked away from that screening, saying the studio's lawyers "wanted me to sign away my rights to my name, image and brand essentially, as well as any potential legal rights that would come out of the movie." A person close to the studio told Variety that Hansen had instead been asked to sign the same standard nondisclosure agreement given to every preview audience, intended to guard against spoilers rather than to waive any legal rights.

Hansen eventually watched the finished film after its theatrical release and posted a lengthy reaction on his podcast and YouTube channel, "Have A Seat With Chris Hansen," announcing the video on his own social media account before it aired. He gave Pattinson's performance a letter grade of "D." "What was in it, in my mind, was something that was so overly dramatized, so detached from reality," Hansen said, according to comments from the video reported by MovieWeb, describing the film as "a fever dream" that struck him as so far removed from his own experience that "it wouldn't even bother me."

"What bothered me most was it portrayed me as an aloof, detached father to my sons, which is so far from reality. And for them to do that really is just a cheap shot with no entertainment, literary or benefit to any viewer or society. It's just mean-spirited, untrue, and unworthy of the viewers' time." — Chris Hansen

Hansen said the depiction of his family life, more than the dramatization of the "To Catch a Predator" stings themselves, was his central objection. He acknowledged in the same video that he was "not the most objective reviewer" of a film made, in his telling, "without my consult and consideration" while using his name, image and likeness. A24 has not issued a public response to Hansen's review, and the studio did not dispute his account of refusing to sign the screening agreement, only his characterization of what that agreement required.

Who is affected, and what happens next

For A24, a studio built over 15 years on modestly budgeted horror, prestige dramas and awards contenders, "Primetime" extends a run of theatrical successes that has increasingly put it in direct competition with major studios for opening-weekend attention. The film's audience skewed young: figures cited across trade coverage of the opening found that roughly 69 percent of ticket buyers were under 30, a demographic the studio has cultivated through true-crime and internet-culture-adjacent titles. A strong reception at Venice, followed by a profitable theatrical run, also positions "Primetime" and Pattinson as plausible contenders in the coming awards season, though no nominations have yet been announced.

For Hansen, the dispute has become its own publicity cycle independent of the film itself, amplified by his own podcast audience and picked up by outlets that do not normally cover A24 releases. He has not indicated any plan to pursue legal action over the film's use of his name and likeness, and "Primetime" carries A24's standard disclaimer that the story was "inspired by true events" rather than presented as a biography. Neither Hansen nor A24 has signaled that the dispute is resolved; Hansen has continued discussing the film publicly in the days since its release, while A24 has made no further statement beyond the account relayed to Variety.

In theaters, "Primetime" will next be tested on its holdover strength during a weekend crowded with wide releases still drawing audiences, including a Marvel re-release and a new horror-franchise installment. A24 has not announced international expansion plans or a streaming release date for the film.