David Leitch’s new heist film How to Rob a Bank has released two clips ahead of its cinema launch this Friday, and one of them name-checks Grand Theft Auto. In a car chase scene called “This is Real Life”, the film’s crew of bank robbers compare their getaway driving to practice in GTA, and conclude that the real thing is “way cooler in real life”.
The comparison helped push “action thriller” into Google’s trending searches in the UK on Tuesday, according to Google Trends. How to Rob a Bank opens in UK and US cinemas on 13 November, six days before GTA 6 itself launches.
The two clips were released by Amazon MGM Studios, which is distributing the film in North America. In the first, viewers ride along in the escape vehicle as the crew attempts a “reverse punch” manoeuvre to shake off pursuing police, according to the film site MovieWeb, which published both clips. The second, titled “The System is Corrupt”, is a tense argument between two characters about why the crew robs banks at all. Sony Pictures is handling the release outside North America, including in the UK and Ireland.
What How to Rob a Bank is about, and who is in it
The film follows a crew of social media-savvy bank robbers who broadcast their heists online, and whose growing fame puts them in danger. In the studio’s words, that viral success draws the attention of a veteran FBI agent and a software engineer, while the crew pushes ahead with its most ambitious job yet. Nicholas Hoult plays the crew’s leader, Ryan, alongside Pete Davidson as Vince and Zoë Kravitz as Reagan Gardner. John C. Reilly plays Agent West, and the cast also includes Christian Slater, Tati Gabrielle, Anna Sawai and Rhenzy Feliz.
Leitch is best known for his work on John Wick, which he co-directed with Chad Stahelski in 2014, although only Stahelski received the director’s credit. He has since directed Atomic Blonde, Deadpool 2, Bullet Train and The Fall Guy, and produced the film through his company 87North. Mark Bianculli wrote the screenplay, and the cinematographer Jonathan Sela and editor Elísabet Ronaldsdóttir both return from John Wick. The film runs for 122 minutes, carries an R rating in the US and a 15 certificate in the UK, and was originally due on 4 September before moving to November.
Why a heist film keeps comparing itself to GTA
The GTA reference is a natural fit for a film about robbers who treat crime as content. Rockstar’s games have long been built around car chases, police pursuits and heists, and the crew in How to Rob a Bank treat their getaways as something to film and share. Streaming culture is also already wrapped up in GTA, from roleplay servers to the Kai Cenat GTA marathon sets that went viral this month. That makes the “John Wick meets GTA” label used in some coverage of the clips easy to understand.
GTA 6 has leaned into the same idea from its very first trailer. Rockstar’s December 2023 reveal intercut its story with clips from a fictional social media feed, showing Vice City residents filming fights, car chases and crimes on their phones. Its two leads, Jason and Lucia, are a criminal couple in the mould of Bonnie and Clyde, and police chases are a central part of the footage Rockstar has shown. A film about robbers turning heists into viral content lands in a very similar space, only a week before the game.
The timing is just as convenient for the studio. Grand Theft Auto VI launches on 19 November for PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, after years of delays, and is set in a version of Miami called Vice City. Physical copies have already started reaching shops, as we reported when the first PS5 boxes appeared, and digital pre-loading opened on 10 November. Rockstar’s parent company is already being asked about the next game, with Take-Two’s chief executive suggesting that GTA 7 will not take as long.
How to Rob a Bank faces a crowded opening weekend
The film arrives on the same weekend as Paramount’s Ebenezer and Bleecker Street’s Victorian Psycho in the US, so it will need strong word of mouth to stand out. In the UK, cinema advertiser DCM lists it for release on 13 November through Sony Pictures, with screenings across the major chains. Its move from September to November also puts it in front of audiences during the busiest week of the year for GTA fans. Reviews and scores will collect on its Rotten Tomatoes page, and its opening figures on Box Office Mojo, from the weekend of 13 November.
