The Lobster

The Lobster is a 2015 absurdist black comedy-drama film directed and co-produced by Yorgos Lanthimos, from a screenplay by Lanthimos and Efthimis Filippou. It stars Colin Farrell, Rachel Weisz, Jessica Barden, Olivia Colman, Ashley Jensen, Ariane Labed, Angeliki Papoulia, John C. Reilly, Léa Seydoux, Michael Smiley, and Ben Whishaw. The film follows a newly single bachelor who moves into a hotel with other singles, who are all obliged to find a romantic partner in 45 days, lest they be transformed into animals.

The film was announced in October 2013, with Jason Clarke originally cast in the lead role. After Clarke left production, Farrell replaced him by February 2014, with Weisz also joining the cast after Elizabeth Olsen dropped out. The rest of the cast was rounded out by March as principal photography began, which concluded in May. Filming largely took place in Dublin and County Kerry. The film is a co-production by Ireland, the United Kingdom, Greece, France, and the Netherlands.

The Lobster premiered at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival on 15 May, where it competed for the Palme d'Or and won the Jury Prize. It was theatrically released in the United Kingdom on 16 October 2015, grossing $18 million on a $4 million budget. The film received positive reviews from critics, with praise for its screenplay, humor, originality, and thematic content, and was nominated for Best Original Screenplay at the 89th Academy Awards and for Outstanding British Film at the 69th British Academy Film Awards.