Primetime (film)

Primetime is a 2026 American psychological thriller film directed by Lance Oppenheim from a screenplay by Ajon Singh. It dramatizes the production of the reality television series To Catch a Predator (2004–2007); Robert Pattinson portrays its host Chris Hansen, an NBC journalist who works with the vigilante group Perverted-Justice to catch child predators in sting operations. Merritt Wever, Skyler Gisondo, and Phoebe Bridgers appear in supporting roles.

Oppenheim, who had previously directed documentaries, conceived Primetime as his first narrative feature film after his wife hired Hansen to record a Cameo video for him in 2024. Singh based the script on Luke Dittrich's 2007 Esquire article "Tonight on Dateline This Man Will Die", which details the botched To Catch a Predator sting operation that culminated in the 2006 suicide of Bill Conradt, and sought to make a stylized retelling rather than a biographical film. Principal photography took place from February to March 2025; the cinematographer David Bolen used 12 camera formats, seeking to replicate To Catch a Predator sting operations and digital recordings.

Primetime premiered at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival on September 5, 2026, and was released theatrically by A24 in the United States on September 25. It has grossed $34.4 million against a $14.5 million budget and received positive reviews. Hansen, who was not consulted during the production, criticized it as "detached from reality".