The King of Staten Island is a 2020 American comedy-drama film directed by Judd Apatow, from a screenplay by Apatow, Pete Davidson, and Dave Sirus. It stars Davidson, Marisa Tomei, Bill Burr, Bel Powley, Maude Apatow, and Steve Buscemi, and follows a young man who must get his life together after his mother starts dating a new man who, like his deceased father, is a firefighter.

The film was announced as Apatow s next project in early 2019, with the cast joining that April. Filming took place around New York City in June and July. The film has been called a semi-biographical take on the life of Davidson, whose father was a New York City firefighter who died in service during the September 11 attacks and who has had his own battles with mental illness.

Originally intended to be theatrically released in the United States, the film was released digitally via Premium VOD on June 12, 2020, by Universal Pictures. It received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised Davidson s performance and Apatow s handling of the mature subject matter, but criticized its length.

Plot

Scott Carlin is a 24-year-old high school dropout, living with his mother Margie and his sister Claire on Staten Island. His firefighter father Stan died fighting a fire when he was seven, a loss that continues to affect him; he also deals with numerous medical problems, including Crohn s disease and ADD, and smokes marijuana constantly. Unemployed, he spends his days hanging out with his friends, including Kelsey, whom he is sleeping with. She wants the relationship to be more serious, but Scott fears commitment and that he is not good enough for her. Claire, who is leaving for college, is concerned his neuroses may grow out of control with her gone.

Scott dreams of being a tattoo artist and practices regularly on his friends, although his work is extremely inconsistent. One day, while hanging out with them on the beach, he is approached by 9-year-old Harold. He asks Scott to give him a tattoo, but runs off after getting a single line. Later, the boy s father Ray shows up at his house.

Initially furious, as Ray is attracted to Margie he eventually asks her on a date. She has not dated since Stan s death, so agrees. As things get more serious, Margie reveals their relationship to Scott, who is disturbed that he, like Stan, is a firefighter. Ray takes Scott to a Staten Island Yankees game with his co-workers but finds it difficult to talk to Scott, who argues that firefighters should not have families because of the pain that is caused by their deaths.

Margie and Ray give Scott an ultimatum to move out, which upsets him. While visiting Claire, Scott tells her he plans to break up his mom and Ray, as the relationship is unhealthy . He gets a job as a busboy, begins walking Harold and his sister Kelly to school each day, growing close with them. Meanwhile, Scott s friends plan to rob a pharmacy for oxycodone pills to sell. He s uncomfortable with the plan but agrees to be the lookout. The robbery goes awry when the pharmacist and his wife confront them. Oscar is shot and they are both arrested, but Scott flees.

Scott talks with Ray s ex-wife Gina, who tells him several negative things about Ray, painting him as a homeless gambling addict. He relays this to Margie, only to end up in a physical confrontation with Ray when he hears what Scott told her. A furious Margie kicks both men out.

With his friends in jail, Scott struggles to find a place to stay. He hopes that Kelsey will let him stay with her after they sleep together, but she is indignant when she recognizes his ulterior motives and refuses. Desperate, Scott goes to Ray s firehouse, and may stay in return for doing odd jobs. He gradually bonds with Ray and the other firefighters, who tell him stories about his father, humanizing him and helping Scott accept his death. Ray learns from Harold that Scott is a talented artist, and agrees to let him tattoo his back as practice, but within certain limits.

One day, a man shows up at the firehouse with an abdominal wound while Scott is there alone. He takes him to the hospital, where Ray arrives, using his firefighter connections to get the man the help he needs. Margie, who works as an emergency room nurse, sees Scott and Ray and reconciles with them both. Ray shows Margie his tattoos; a number of them are offensive or violate Ray s criteria, but the most prominent is one of Margie, Ray, Scott, and Claire together. Scott surprises Kelsey at the Staten Island Ferry, where she is heading into Manhattan to take a civil service exam. He rides on the ferry with her, where he confesses his love for her, and they kiss. Kelsey heads into the exam, asking him to wait for her.

Cast

• Pete Davidson as Scott Carlin, an aspiring tattoo artist
• Marisa Tomei as Margie Carlin, an ER nurse and Scott s mother
• Bill Burr as Ray Bishop, a firefighter
• Bel Powley as Kelsey, Scott s on and off girlfriend
• Maude Apatow as Claire Carlin, a college student and Scott s sister
• Steve Buscemi as Papa, a firefighter
• Ricky Velez as Oscar, friend of Scott
• Pamela Adlon as Gina, Ray s ex-wife
• Jimmy Tatro as Firefighter Savage
• Kevin Corrigan as Joe, Scott s boss at the restaurant
• Domenick Lombardozzi as Firefighter Lockwood
• Mike Vecchione as Firefighter Thompson
• Moisés Arias as Igor, friend of Scott
• Carly Aquilino as Tara
• Lou Wilson as Richie, friend of Scott
• Derek Gaines as Zoots
• Pauline Chalamet as Joanne, Claire s best friend
• Colson Baker as Tattoo Shop Owner
• Mario Polit as Rivera
• Luke David Blumm as Harold Bishop, Ray s son
• Colton Morrow-Merrill as Scooter
• Robert Smigel as Alan Moskowitz
• Action Bronson as Shot or Stabbed Victim
• Keith Robinson as Security Guard
• Rich Vos as Restaurant Husband
• Anthony Lee Medina as Kelsey s Tinder Date
• Bonnie McFarlane as Restaurant Wife

Production

On January 29, 2019, it was announced that Universal Pictures was producing a new film directed by Judd Apatow and starring Pete Davidson. The film was set to be written by Apatow, Davidson, and Dave Sirus with Apatow and Sirus also producing the film. Davidson first came to Apatow s attention while working on Trainwreck after he was recommended by Amy Schumer, and he was cast in a cameo role in that film. The story is based in part on Davidson s life, depicting what it might have been like if he had not become a comedian.

In April 2019, Bel Powley, Bill Burr and Marisa Tomei were added to the cast. Maude Apatow and Pamela Adlon joined in May. In June 2019, Colson Baker, Jimmy Tatro, Ricky Velez, Steve Buscemi, Kevin Corrigan, Domenick Lombardozzi, Mike Vecchione, Moisés Arias, Lou Wilson and Derek Gaines joined the cast of the film.

Principal photography began June 3, 2019, in Staten Island and continued during June and July.

Release

The King of Staten Island was set to have its world premiere at South by Southwest on March 13, 2020, but the festival was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was rescheduled to premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 20, 2020, which was also cancelled due to the pandemic. Originally scheduled for a theatrical release on June 19, 2020, the film was instead released digitally in the United States and Canada through Premium VOD on June 12, 2020 due to movie theaters closures that started in mid-March because of the pandemic restrictions. It was initially set to play in about 100 theaters, mostly drive-ins, beginning the same day as its VOD release, but Universal Pictures changed course after consulting the film s producers.

The film was released in cinemas in the Netherlands on June 25, 2020, France on July 22, Germany on July 30, and Spain on October 9. The film made $253,000 from 160 theaters in its Australian debut and $59,000 in New Zealand.

The film as of March 27th 2022 has sold an estimated $4.5 million in Theatrical and Home Markets, as well as an estimated $40 million in video-on-demand sales across various platforms.

Reception

VOD sales

In its debut weekend, The King of Staten Island was the most rented film on FandangoNow, Amazon Prime, the iTunes Store, Comcast Xfinity, Apple TV, Vudu, Google Play, YouTube, Spectrum, and DirecTV. It remained the top rented film across all platforms in second weekend, then on all but FandangoNow in its third. After a month of release, the film remained the number-one rented title on Prime, and in the top-five on all other platforms. In late-August, the price was lowered to $5.99 and it returned to the second-most rented movie on Fandango and third on Apple TV. In October 2020, The Hollywood Reporter said the film had generated $40 million in revenue for Universal up to that point. They also reported the film was the seventh-most popular PVOD title amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Critical response

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 75% based on 287 reviews, with an average rating of 6.9/10. The site s critics consensus reads: The King of Staten Island s uncertain tone and indulgent length blunt this coming-of-age dramedy s ability to find itself, but Pete Davidson s soulful performance holds it together. On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 67 out of 100, based on 50 critics, indicating generally favorable reviews .

Writing for the Chicago Sun-Times, Richard Roeper called the film sharp and funny and gave it three-and-a-half stars out of four, saying that Davidson delivers a fully realized, nuanced performance, tackling dark comedy and raw drama with equal aplomb. David Ehrlich of IndieWire gave the film a B+ and called it a sweet and tender dramedy , writing: Teetering between self-parody and something truly beautiful, Apatow s latest offers yet another shaggy portrait of permanent adolescence but this one — his best film since 2009 s Funny People — helps make sense of why he always keeps going back to the same archetype.

Year	2020
ReleaseDate	2020-06-12
RuntimeMins	136
RuntimeStr	2h 16min
Plot	Scott has been a case of arrested development since his firefighter dad died. He spends his days smoking weed and dreaming of being a tattoo artist until events force him to grapple with his grief and take his first steps forward in life.
Awards	Awards, 3 wins & 24 nominations
Directors	Judd Apatow
Writers	Judd Apatow, Pete Davidson, Dave Sirus
Stars	Pete Davidson, Bel Powley, Ricky Velez
Produced by	Judd Apatow,Michael Bederman,Pete Davidson,Scott Gallopo,Amanda Glaze,Michael Lewen,Barry Mendel,Judah Miller,Leigh Pruden,Dave Sirus,Ricky Velez
Music by	Michael Andrews
Cinematography by	Robert Elswit
Film Editing by	Jay Cassidy,William Kerr,Brian Scott Olds
Casting By	Gayle Keller,David Rubin
Production Design by	Kevin Thompson
Art Direction by	Nick Francone
Set Decoration by	David Schlesinger
Costume Design by	Sarah Mae Burton
Makeup Department	Michael J. Braun,Adam Cummins,Louise McCarthy,Jill Mckay,Dennis Polanco,Vincent Schicchi,Jeremy Selenfriend,Kerrie Smith,Mia Thoen,Cassandra Keating
Production Management	Michael Bederman,Gus Gustafson,Lisa Rodgers
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director	H.H. Cooper,Stephanie Fox,Eddie Griffith,George Lambert,DeShaun Wright
Art Department	Michael Acevedo Jr.,Joseph A. Alfieri Jr.,Douglas Anderson,Mary Attaway,Angelica Borrero,Abariss Culjak,Stephen Davan,Jen Price Fick,Seth Finkin,Kimberly A. Fleming,Alex Gorodetsky,Eugene Kagansky,Daniel Kolpin,Martin Lasowitz,Brian Lynch,Roman Lystvak,Truman Clark McCasland,Tansy Michaud,Shawn Mulligan,Sarah Murphy,Quang Nguyen,G. Clark Parkhurst,Emily Pober Higgins,Romano C. Pugliese,Malicky Reilly,Gwen Roach,Christopher Santilli,Michael Sheridan Smith,Mike Thompson,Mark Tierney,Anna Weber,Ryan Brinkley,Patrick Campbell,Gilbert Gertsen Jr.,Harvey Goldberg,Angelica Bianca Jimenez,Jonathan Kohrman,Jeffrey Langelli,Dave Marken,Pete Nastasi,Karl Shefelman
Sound Department	Tom Burns,Jerry Cox,Joel Dougherty,Sean Garnhart,Christopher Giordano,Vincent Guisetti,Aaron Hasson,Justin Herman,Charles Hunt,Thomas W. Jordan,Bobby Mackston,Norm MacLeod,Erin Oakley,Aran Tanchum,Robert Troy,Jon Wakeham,Matt Bryant,Phil Castellano Jr.,Richard Hart,Frank Intorcia,Paul Stula,David Tirolo
Special Effects by	Pat A. Badia,Caleb P. Johnson,John Stifanich,Benjy Harris
Visual Effects by	Christopher Bloomer,Jose Alejandro Enriquez,Lou Gatti,Farhad Hosseinpouri,Mihajlo Kocevski,Sujung Kwon,Bahador Mehrpouya,Farzin Mottaghi,Jason Pereira,Sai Smaran Polavarapu,Richard Saulnier II,Joel Skeete,Rick Smth,Doug Spilatro,Mike Stadnyckyj,Michael Tanton,Philip Trieu,Kristina Zakhozhai,Madison Zhang,Celine Zoleta,Bojan Zoric,Lucas Baker,Julie Bec,Jack Chadwick,Rob Del Ciancio,Matthew Dochstader,Remi Dupont,Kosovsky Matej,Kiruba Nanthan,Linda Vo,Gwen Zhang,Pedram Ziaei,Michael Zisk
Stunts	Scottio Arnold,Ricky Barksdale,Charley Brucato,Mike Burke,Chris Colombo,Stracy Diaz,James S. Gonzalez,Leo Gutman,Owen Holland,Gina Limbrick,Roberto Lopez,Michael Matera,John McEnerney,Paul Nandzik,Josiah Nolan,Mark Pettograsso,Steve Rizzo,Bob Roseman,Elliot Santiago,David Shumbris,Manny Siverio,Stephanie Vovou,Peter Wallack,Ben Rezendes
Camera and Electrical Department	Bill Almeida,Kent Arneson,Andre Azevedo,John Billeci,Sarah Elspeth Black,Bob Burgos,Graham Burt,Chris Cochran,Stephen Consentino,Angele Cooper,Shakai Coumarbatch,Carlos Cruz,Mary Cybulski,Joseph Fleming,Sarah Guenther,Gio Guzman,Nick Haines-Stiles,Rory Hanrahan,Matthew Hemmer,Holly Hosman,Nils Johnson,Keith Kastner,John Krause,Eric Kutner,Robert Lau,Michael A. Leo,Clay Liversidge,Brooks Lockwood,Charlie Marroquin,Kelly Marroquin,Anthony Mida,Jimmy Miller,Mike Oates,Samantha Panger,Michael Papadopoulos,Jesse Pelikan,Eric Robertson,Peter A. Russell,Gerard Sava,Andrew Sweeney,Christopher Vaccaro,Craig Vaccaro,Ethan Weinstock,Carrie Wills,Joe Del Balzo,Nicholas DiBlasio,Jeremy Emerman,Omkar Gauchan,Hector Herrera,Mabel Santos Haugen,John Schwartz,Ethan Wilhelm
Casting Department	Melissa Braun,Ranjani Brow,Briana Dunlay,Allison Kirschner,Ashley Lambert,Terry L. Lamfers,Matt Lander,Tom Martorano,Brittany N. Williams
Costume and Wardrobe Department	Domitille Angoulvant,Nicole Capogna,Allison Cirbus,Robin Fitzgerald,Jessica Harmston,Yafi Hoch,Amanda Kai Newman,Willa Piro,Thomas J. Reiter,Stephanie Seibel,Kelly Smith,Cristina Spiridakis,Steffi West Harshberger,Anne Brenneke,Rachel Eisemann,Bailey Gardner,Jennifer Harrington,Dena Lancry,Sara Lott,Abby E. Oliver,Kevin Ritter,Heather Ryan Thomson,Catherine Vidos
Editorial Department	Aaron Bennett,Tim Hedden,Craig Herring,Parker Jarvie,Matthew W. Johnson,Cory Levy,Michael Maida,Kenneth Marsten,Aniela Perry,Erik Rogers,Yoni Rusnak,Richard Saulnier II,Stefan Sonnenfeld,John Tripp,Megan Kaiser,Thomas Kuo,Ryan Shovey
Location Management	Christopher Britton,James Kenny,Graham Marvin,Jason Planitzer,Dillon Rand,Ryan Smith,Matthew H. Wiesner,Emily Wirth,Nicholas Carpenter,Kelly Remenik,Austin Siegert
Music Department	Michael Andrews,Todd Burke,Tom Calderaro,Ryan Castle,Emile Haynie,Jen Malone,Jasper Randall,Nicki Richards,Nosaj Thing,Alrxander Thompson,Fam Udeorji,Gina Zimmitti,Jon Brion,T Bone Burnett,Matt Chamberlain,David Connor,Jakob Dylan,Rami Jaffee,Keyboards,James McAlister,Gabe Noel,Greg Richling,Fred Tackett
Script and Continuity Department	Jaynaea Dillard-Strothers,Pablo Goldstein,Thomas Johnston,Nicole Kristal,Natalie Stone,Yoni Weinberg,Sean Pollock
Transportation Department	Kevin Flynn,Peter Kreinbihl,Paul J. Mauro,Gabe Turiello
Additional Crew	Joan Altman,Simona Aranda,Suzette Baker,Stan aka Fuzi Baritaux,Avery Bederman,Carlos Betanzo,Jacob Borja,Sarah Boyle,Cleo Bratberg,Peter Callahan,Peter Chen,Nina Cochran,Alejandro Cordero Jr.,Hunter Crenian,Helen Cummings-Quintana,Eric De Valle,John DeSimone,David Dorsky,Jackson Ervin,Brittni Garcia,Anjel GoldMine,Alexandre Haddouche,Joyce Hsieh,Ann Imai,Rex Jensen,Galen Leach,Amy Leigh Johnson,Adam Levy,George Lois,Eric Luciano,Ke Ke Lui,Hunter Mayo,Ryan Mullins,Mackenzie Murray,Alex Panagos,David Pignatello,Terrence Quinn,Daniel Raiffe,London Reese,Caroline Richard,Kerry Roberts,Deena Rosenblatt,Lauren Rossi,Sophia Schoenfeld,Dave Sirus,John Sorrentino,John Sowulski,Noah Stanislaw,Susan Strine,Ashleigh Tucker,John Neal Tucker,Tiffany Webb,Nicholas Whitehouse,LaTanya Williams,Michael Yao,Djochoua Belovarski,Patrick Bishop,Ali Claire,Jason Cox,Kent Eastman,Joyce Goldenbaum,Adam Gonzalez,David Midgen,Gabriella Russo,Jon Shaw,Jessi Sheldon,Mike Sheldon,Aidan Gavril Wallace
Thanks	Scott Matthew Davidson
Genres	Comedy, Drama
Companies	Universal Pictures, Perfect World Pictures, Apatow Productions
Countries	USA, China
Languages	English
ContentRating	R
ImDbRating	7.1
ImDbRatingVotes	67077
MetacriticRating	67
Keywords	arrested development,adult son lives with his mother,son dislikes mother's boyfriend,slacker,fear of commitment