Chris Evans is best known for his role as Steve Rogers in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but his highest rated movie on Rotten Tomatoes has nothing to do with the franchise. Director Rian Johnson’s Knives Out earned near-universal acclaim when it premiered in 2019, posting a stellar 97% score on the aggregator. Some of Evans’ Marvel outings did very well with critics — including Avengers: Endgame (94%) and Captain America: The Winter Soldier (90%) — but Knives Out stands above the other entries in the actor’s filmography.
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It is worth mentioning that Superpower Dogs, a documentary Evans narrates, scored a 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, but with only seven reviews counted. In contrast, Knives Out has 471 reviews submitted on the site, making its high rating even more impressive. The acclaimed whodunnit even fared better with critics than Bong Joon-ho’s Snowpiercer (94%).
Daniel Craig stars in Knives Out as Benoit Blanc, a renowned detective who investigates the mysterious death of famous crime author Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer). Since Harlan passed during a birthday party attended by several of his family members, Blanc considers various relatives to be suspects, especially as he learns more about Harlan’s complicated history with them. As part of an A-list ensemble, Evans plays Ransom Drysdale, Harlan’s arrogant, entitled grandson. The role marked a drastic change of pace for Evans, who had spent years portraying the altruistic Captain America in Marvel movies. Audiences loved the actor’s heel turn — even latching onto the now-famous sweater Ransom wears in the film.
[Related: Daniel Craig Still Doesn’t Understand the Love for Chris Evans’ Knives Out Sweater]
In addition to the positive reviews, Knives Out was a massive hit at the box office, grossing $312.8 million worldwide against a $40 million production budget. The film also earned numerous accolades on the awards circuit; Johnson earned a Best Original Screenplay nomination, and the American Film Institute named Knives Out one of the best films of 2019. At the Golden Globes, it was nominated for Best Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy, and Craig and Ana de Armas earned nominations for their performances. That success led to Knives Out spawning a franchise, with Netflix winning a bidding war for two sequels. The first of those, Glass Onion, released in 2022 and was similarly acclaimed. Evans did not reprise his role, as the film focuses on Blanc solving a new case involving a different cast of characters.
Evans seems to have enjoyed his experience making Knives Out. In the past, he’s talked about how co-star Michael Shannon nearly made him laugh while filming their scenes together, and he’s even pitched an idea for a spinoff movie about Ransom. Whether Evans ever returns to the franchise remains to be seen. He isn’t in the cast for the third installment, 2025’s Wake Up Dead Man, and it’s unknown if there will be more Knives Out movies after that. Since Johnson seems to be sticking to the anthology format with a different supporting cast around Craig, Evans’ Ransom could just be one-and-done.
Audiences can next see Evans alongside Dwayne Johnson in Red One, an action comedy about a mission to rescue a kidnapped Santa Claus (J.K. Simmons). As for the Knives Out franchise, Wake Up Dead Man does not have a release date as of this writing, though Craig is hoping it gets an extended run in theaters before hitting Netflix.
