Caught Stealing is a thriller directed by Darren Aronofsky, adapted from the novel by Charlie Huston, starring Austin Butler, Zoë Kravitz, Bad Bunny, and Regina King. Released in theaters on August 27, 2025, the film will be available for purchase on VOD on December 25, 2025, and for rental on December 31, 2025, extending its run for fans of urban thrillers.
The story follows Hank Thompson, a former baseball prodigy forced to give up his career after an injury. Now a bartender in a seedy New York bar, he leads a modest existence between his night job, his relationship with his radiant girlfriend, and the unexpected rise of his favorite team in the standings. When his punk neighbor asks him for a seemingly harmless favor—to look after his cat for a few days—Hank is drawn into a spiral of threats and violence, the real stakes of which he is initially unaware.
Very quickly, a gallery of gangsters, cops, and intermediaries with opaque motivations begins to hunt him down. Hank realizes that he finds himself at the center of a criminal conflict for which he has neither the codes nor the weapons. Between escape, improvisation, and survival at all costs, the character evolves in a 1990s New York redesigned as an urban labyrinth. The film plays on the absurdity of the situation, the misunderstandings that escalate, and the impossibility of regaining control, while maintaining a continuous tension.
Discover the first images of Pris au piège - Caught Stealing, a blend of urban tension, mafia violence and psychological suspense.
Rated R, the film delves into the underbelly of New York through the eyes of Hank, an anti-hero who finds himself caught up in events against his will. The screenplay, written by Charlie Huston himself based on his novel, brings the first installment of a trilogy centered on this character to the screen. Darren Aronofsky has been developing this project for many years, seeing in this material an opportunity to reconnect with the New York of his early days, between nervous energy and black humor. The camera, by Matthew Libatique, embraces an immersive mise-en-scène, close to Hank's body and his incessant movements.
Filming took place in several iconic neighborhoods—East Village, Chinatown, Lower East Side, Brooklyn, Queens—chosen for their 1990s atmosphere, with their distinctive facades, night bars, and graffiti-covered streets. The music, entrusted to British band Idles in collaboration with composer Rob Simonsen, reinforces this feeling of urban chaos with a punk and electric-tinged score. The cast brings together a diverse range of actors, from Regina King to Matt Smith, Liev Schreiber, and Vincent D'Onofrio, who play criminal figures rooted in specific communities.
Caught Stealing is aimed at viewers who enjoy American-style noir thrillers, in a vein similar to tense urban stories such as Martin Scorsese's After Hours or the Safdie brothers' Uncut Gems. The film focuses on mounting pressure, escalating absurd situations, and the protagonist's constant confusion, without sacrificing a sometimes ironic dimension. The New York setting, treated as a character in its own right, and the physical violence of certain scenes reinforce the immersion, while VOD allows an informed audience to discover or rediscover the film at home.
Caught Stealing
Film | 2025
Theatrical release: August 27, 2025
Available to purchase on VOD on December 25, 2025
Available to rent on VOD on December 31, 2025
Thriller | Running time: 1 hour 47 minutes
Directed by Darren Aronofsky | Starring Austin Butler, Zoë Kravitz, Regina King, Bad Bunny
Original title: Caught Stealing
Country: United States
Caught Stealing is a tense urban thriller, carried by a demanding cast and nervous direction. Combining literary adaptation, immersion in a reinvented New York, and an atypical musical score, the film continues the approach of a filmmaker accustomed to intense sensory experiences, while adopting a more playful and chaotic tone. Its availability on VOD at the end of the year offers a new window of opportunity to discover this descent into hell, punctuated by misunderstandings and survival.
To go further, check out our selection of new VOD and streaming releases for December, our guide to streaming releases on all platforms, and our selection of the day, What to watch today on streaming.
This page may contain AI-assisted elements, more information here.
