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Booksmart is a 2019 American coming-of-age comedy film directed by Olivia Wilde (in her feature directorial debut) and written by Emily Halpern, Sarah Haskins, Susanna Fogel, and Katie Silberman. It stars Beanie Feldstein and Kaitlyn Dever as two graduating high school girls who set out to finally break the rules and party on their last day of classes. Jessica Williams, Lisa Kudrow, Will Forte, and Jason Sudeikis also star.
The film had its world premiere at South by Southwest on March 10, 2019, and was theatrically released in the United States on May 24, by United Artists Releasing. It received critical acclaim and grossed $25 million against a $6 million budget. For her performance, Feldstein was nominated for Best Actress – Comedy or Musical at the 77th Golden Globe Awards.
Unaware of the party's address, Molly calls Jared, a wealthy classmate who likes her. He instead takes them to his own party aboard a yacht. Only his drug-crazed friend Gigi is there, who feeds the girls strawberries before jumping off the yacht. Amy suggests they go home, but Molly calls a "Malala Yousafzai", their code for unconditionally supporting what the other wants to do.
The girls call a rideshare car and are shocked to be picked up by their principal, Jordan Brown. To prepare Amy for possible sex with Ryan, Molly insists they watch pornography, which accidentally plays through the car speakers. Brown drops them off at what they think is Nick's party, but it is the home of their classmate George, who is hosting a murder mystery party. They again encounter Gigi, who reveals that the strawberries were laced with , whereupon they trip that they are plastic fashion dolls. They leave George's house, but Gigi reveals Molly secretly likes Nick.
Amy insists they press on so that Molly can pursue her crush on Nick. They see pizza boxes in an online video of Nick's party and acquire the address by threatening the pizza delivery man. With only 2% phone battery, Molly calls their favorite teacher, Miss Fine, who gives them a ride to Nick's party.
Once there, they are surprised to find they are warmly welcomed. Molly and Nick flirt over beer pong and Amy spends time with Ryan. Amy finds Ryan making out with Nick. Heartbroken, she finds Molly and calls her own "Malala", which Molly refuses because she still thinks she has a chance with Nick. Amy angrily reveals she is not just spending the summer in Botswana but taking an entire gap year because she resents how Molly always tries to control her life. The two argue in front of the entire party.
Amy runs to the bathroom, finding her classmate Hope. They are initially argumentative until Amy kisses her. They start to have sex, until Amy vomits on Hope. Jared and Molly have a heartfelt conversation about how no-one at school really knows them. Cops arrive at the party and everyone scatters. Unable to find Amy, Molly is driven home by "Triple A", a popular student with a promiscuous reputation. They bond over the stereotyping they have both endured.
Waking up on graduation day, Molly checks her phone and discovers her classmates praising Amy for creating a diversion at the party, allowing everyone to escape the police while getting herself arrested. Molly visits Amy in jail and apologizes for her manipulative actions, and they reconcile. Recognizing that the pizza delivery man is a serial killer from a wanted poster in jail, they trade information to free Amy, and take Jared's car to graduation. Molly kisses Jared onstage and gives an improvised valedictorian speech, receiving a standing ovation.
A few days later, as Molly helps Amy prepare for her trip to Botswana, Hope visits to give Amy her phone number. Molly drives Amy to the airport where they share a tearful goodbye, but then Amy decides she still has time to hang out before her flight, so they ecstatically decide to get pancakes.
Following the revisions, Annapurna Pictures purchased the screenplay and approached Gloria Sanchez Productions to produce it; Gloria Sanchez' Jessica Elbaum pitched the screenplay to Olivia Wilde, who read the screenplay and two days later expressed admiration for it. Megan Ellison, Chelsea Bernard, David Distenfeld, Will Ferrell, Adam McKay, and Elbaum would serve as producers on the film. Screenwriter Katie Silberman was hired for more revisions in spring 2018, and to update the story. Silberman explored a new concept:
According to Silberman, "Olivia's mantra to all of us was that high school is war". Wilde also envisioned "a drug trip where the girls turned into Barbie dolls" and gave Silberman the responsibility of where to incorporate it into the story.
Silvers was initially asked to audition for Ryan, but felt her appearance was not ideal for the character and auditioned for Hope instead. Wilde also urged Feldstein and Dever to live together to develop a rapport. The two actresses were roommates in Los Angeles for ten weeks. Wilde also asked the cast to read the screenplay and signal if they found dialogue that felt "inauthentic ... and rewrite it in your own voice". Silberman continued to write after casting, finding it easy to come up with dialogue to fit Feldstein and Dever. Silberman particularly credited the complementary language the characters use to Feldstein, who frequently posted "I have no breath" to Instagram. Wilde joked that her relationship with Sudeikis was his audition.
The research scene inside the library took place at Woodbury University.
Wilde and production designer Katie Byron decorated the bedrooms seen in the film, including with trophies and depictions of prominent American women Michelle Obama and Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
The animated dolls sequence was created over five months by a team of thirty people. Wilde had voiced a character on the series BoJack Horseman and contacted ShadowMachine, the animation studio behind BoJack, to create the sequence. Due to script rewrites, parts of the animated scene involving a Roomba and a scene showing glitter vomit were cut from the film.
In the United States and Canada, Booksmart was released alongside Aladdin and Brightburn, and was projected to gross around $12 million from 2,505 theaters in its four-day opening weekend. The film made $2.5 million on its first day, including $875,000 from Thursday night previews. It ended up underperforming, debuting to just $6.9 million (a four-day total of $8.7 million), finishing in sixth place. Industry publications insisted that although the targeted young female demographic did turn out to the film, it should have begun with a limited release and expanded, similar to the R-rated, female-led high school comedy Lady Bird in 2017, and that Booksmart failed to stand out in the crowded marketplace. In its second weekend the film made $3.3 million, dropping 52% and finishing in eighth.
The film's largest market outside North America was the United Kingdom, where it grossed around US$1.8 million (£1.5 million) after seven weeks in theaters.
Director J. J. Abrams asked: "When you have a movie that's as entertaining, well-made, and well-received as Booksmart not doing the business it should have the, it really makes you realize that the typical Darwinian fight to survive is completely lopsided now. Everyone's trying to figure out how we protect the smaller films that aren't four-quadrant mega-releases. Can they exist in the cinema?"
Peter Debruge of Variety praised the ensemble cast as well as Wilde's direction, calling the film "the best high school buddy comedy since Superbad". John DeFore of The Hollywood Reporter called the film a "hilarious, blazingly paced teen comedy." Writing for the Chicago Sun-Times, Richard Roeper gave the film three-and-a-half stars out of four, calling it a "refreshingly original take on the raunchy coming-of-age comedy" and praising Feldstein and Dever's chemistry. Alissa Wilkinson of Vox awarded the film a score of four out of five, writing that the "memorably relatable" Booksmart is also a "delightful reminder that growing up is about realizing nobody's a stereotype".
Linda Holmes of NPR gave an especially favorable review, calling the film "a humane and heartfelt film without a mean bone in its figurative body". Vultures Emily Yoshida also favorably wrote that it "manages to be inclusive and progressive, without being precious about anything or sacrificing an ounce of humor". A. O. Scott of The New York Times regarded the film as "sharp but not mean, warm without feeling too soft or timid", and referring to Feldstein and Dever as "a classic comedy duo". Joe Morgenstern of The Wall Street Journal deemed Booksmart a "prodigy", stating that no film that was "funnier, smarter, quicker or more joyous has graced the big screen in a long time."
In 2025, it was one of the films voted for the "Readers' Choice" edition of The New York Times list of "The 100 Best Movies of the 21st Century," finishing at number 309.
| Austin Film Critics Association | January 6, 2020 | Best First Film | Booksmart | ||
| British Academy Film Awards | February 2, 2020 | Best Original Screenplay | Susanna Fogel, Emily Halpern, Sarah Haskins, and Katie Silberman | ||
| BAFTA Rising Star Award | Kaitlyn Dever | ||||
| Chicago Film Critics Association | December 14, 2019 | Milos Stehlik Breakthrough Filmmaker Award | Olivia Wilde | ||
| Critics' Choice Awards | January 12, 2020 | Best Comedy | Booksmart | ||
| Detroit Film Critics Society | December 9, 2019 | Breakthrough | Kaitlyn Dever | ||
| Olivia Wilde | |||||
| Dorian Awards | January 8, 2020 | LGBTQ Film of the Year | Booksmart | ||
| Dublin Film Critics Circle | December 17, 2019 | Best Film | Booksmart | ||
| Best Director | Olivia Wilde | ||||
| Best Screenplay | Emily Halpern, Sarah Haskins, Susanna Fogel, and Katie Silberman | ||||
| GLAAD Media Awards | March 19, 2020 | Outstanding Film – Wide Release | Booksmart | ||
| Golden Globe Awards | January 5, 2020 | Best Actress – Musical or Comedy | Beanie Feldstein | ||
| Gotham Awards | December 2, 2019 | Bingham Ray Breakthrough Director Award | Olivia Wilde | ||
| Audience Award | Booksmart | ||||
| Hollywood Critics Association Awards | January 9, 2020 | Best Picture | Booksmart | ||
| Best Original Screenplay | Emily Halpern, Sarah Haskins, Susanna Fogel, and Katie Silberman | ||||
| Best Female Director | Olivia Wilde | ||||
| Best Performance by an Actor or Actress 23 and Under | Kaitlyn Dever | ||||
| Best First Feature | Booksmart | ||||
| Best Independent Feature | Booksmart | ||||
| Best Comedy/Musical | Booksmart | ||||
| Hollywood Film Awards | November 3, 2019 | Hollywood Breakthrough Director Award | Olivia Wilde | ||
| Independent Spirit Awards | February 8, 2020 | Best First Feature | Booksmart | ||
| IndieWire Critics Polls | December 16, 2019 | Best Picture | Booksmart | ||
| Best Actress | Beanie Feldstein | ||||
| Best First Feature | Booksmart | ||||
| Los Angeles Online Film Critics Society | July 1, 2019 | Best Picture | Booksmart | ||
| Best Actress | Beanie Feldstein | ||||
| Best Supporting Actress | Billie Lourd | ||||
| Best Female Director | Olivia Wilde | ||||
| Best Original Screenplay | Emily Halpern, Sarah Haskins, Susanna Fogel, and Katie Silberman | ||||
| Best Indie Film | Booksmart | ||||
| Online Film Critics Awards | January 6, 2020 | Best Debut Feature | Olivia Wilde | ||
| Palm Springs International Film Festival | November 27, 2018 | Directors to Watch | Olivia Wilde | ||
| The ReFrame Stamp | February 26, 2020 | 2019 Top 100-Grossing Narrative Feature Recipients | Booksmart | ||
| San Francisco International Film Festival | April 24, 2019 | Best Narrative Feature | Booksmart | ||
| St. Louis Film Critics Association | December 15, 2019 | Best Original Screenplay | Booksmart | ||
| Best Comedy | |||||
| Women Film Critics Circle | December 9, 2019 | Best Movie about Women | Booksmart | ||
| Best Movie by a Woman | |||||
| Best Woman Storyteller | Emily Halpern, Sarah Haskins, Susanna Fogel, and Katie Silberman | ||||
| Best Equality of the Sexes | Booksmart | ||||
| Writers Guild of America Awards | February 1, 2020 | Best Original Screenplay | Emily Halpern, Sarah Haskins, Susanna Fogel, and Katie Silberman | ||
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