Skip to content
MovieCove
Life of Pi

Life of Pi

Take the journey of a lifetime.

2012127 minPGMidcredits score: 97th percentile of all films
Director
Ang Lee
Starring
Suraj Sharma, Irrfan Khan, Ayush Tandon, Gautam Belur

The story of an Indian boy named Pi, a zookeeper's son who finds himself in the company of a hyena, zebra, orangutan, and a Bengal tiger after a shipwreck sets them adrift in the Pacific Ocean.

Where to watch

Where can I watch Life of Pi?

As of October 24, 2026, MovieCove lists Life of Pi streaming on Cinemax via Prime Video and HBO Max and to rent or buy on Apple TV and Prime Video.

Subscription

via Prime Video

Your rating, lists and review

Highlights

What stands out about Life of Pi?

Life of Pi earns 13 badges, led by Oscar Winner and Modern classic.

Show 5 more
  • Rank
  • Reception
  • Craft and mood
  • Awards and box office
  • Cast

Reception

Is Life of Pi worth watching?

Life of Pi's Midcredits score is the 97th percentile of all films, from 1.8M ratings across 6 sources. 87% liked it (rated it 7 or higher out of 10).

Midcredits score

How well it was received

97th percentile

Better received than 97% of films

97th percentile among Adventure97th percentile among 2010s
Acclaim (how much people like it)94th
Approval (how many liked it)96th

77 /100

94th percentile of all films

96th percentile among Adventure94th percentile among 2010s

Critics 79 · Audience 77

Critics and audiences broadly agree.

Rating distribution

Most people land high, with a thin tail of low scores from those it didn't reach.

87% liked it

96th percentile of all films

97th percentile among Adventure97th percentile among 2010s
87% rated it 7–1013% rated it 1–6

Critics 86% · Audience 84%

On Rotten Tomatoes, critics and audiences approve at similar rates.

Awards

4 Oscars won · 7 Oscar noms · 35 wins / 61 noms overall

  • WonAcademy Awards· Best Achievement in Cinematography
  • WonAcademy Awards· Best Achievement in Directing

93rd percentile

1.8M ratings across platforms

89th percentile among Adventure93rd percentile among 2010s
TMDB popularity, last 155 days to Oct 26Down 6% in 30 days

Box office

Budget$120M
Opening weekend$22M
Domestic gross$125M
Worldwide gross$609M

Returned 5.1× its budget — 97th percentile earner in its genre.

What reviewers say

Common ground

Both camps acknowledge the film's technical brilliance and its philosophical aspirations, which fans find enriching but detractors find pretentious.

Fans praised

  • visual and 3D spectacle, boundary-pushing effects
  • faithful yet transcendent adaptation of the book
  • emotional and philosophical depth, thought-provoking

Detractors panned

  • dull, boring, warranting theater walkouts
  • heavy-handed allegory, religious themes ham-fisted
  • unsatisfying and overly ambiguous ending

What stands out

Effects and spectacle97

Seamless CGI tiger and 3D

Cinematography95

Breathtaking and visually stunning

Atmosphere90

Immersive and enchanting

Originality85

Unique fable-like narrative and visuals

Emotional impact82

Moving and spiritual

Acting78

Suraj Sharma's engaging lead performance

Plot and storyDivisive66

Faithful adaptation with a controversial ending

EndingDivisive55

Ambiguous, unsatisfying to some

Preferred by

No notable difference between any of the groups: each pair ranks it within 10 percentile points.

  • Women vs men 3 points apart
  • Under-30s vs over-30s 5 points apart
  • Critics vs users 3 points apart
  • US vs non-US 2 points apart

Watch experience

What is Life of Pi like to watch?

Conclusions only — categories and positions, no plot detail.

Food for thought: browse every movie of this kind

Watch this when you are ready for heavy feelings, and you want something to think about afterwards.

It takes its time and leaves you thinking. Skip it when you want an easy night or you want things to move fast.

ToneFeelDemandwhat the answer rests onexact position · filled zone: the category

What it asks of you

Room for heavy feelings, patience and a taste for open questions.

What it feels like

Food for thought.

Moods
ContemplativeTenseBittersweet
Heaviest: middle
Wry humor: Amused and slightly dry about it.
Register
Awestruck · 1% of films: Wonder at something vast or marvelous.Adventurous · 11% of filmsTender · 13% of films
Told as
Frame story · 5% of films: A story told inside another — someone is recounting it.Three-act: Setup, confrontation, resolution — the default Hollywood shape.
ToneAng Lee plays the impossible story completely straight: the boy, the tiger and the miraculous ocean are rendered with earnest wonder and no ironic distance, inviting the audience to believe in the fantastic.
The rideThe film sustains a contemplative, often tense mood throughout the ocean journey, with the heaviest emotional and existential weight concentrated in the middle and later stretches at sea.
StructureThe adult Pi tells his life story to a visiting writer in the present, and the long ordeal at sea is then delivered as one continuous, chronologically ordered flashback.

How it leaves you

what you carry away

Thinking.

The answer rests on this: Thought-provokingWistful · 8% of films
Why it leaves you this wayThe film leaves a gentle, unresolved question about story, faith and truth hanging in the air, wrapped in wonder and a quiet ache for everything the ocean took.
How it ends · evidence
Bittersweet endingTwist

Story archetype

where it sits among all films
Monster — 21% of films. A threat menaces the hero's world and must be defeated.Rags — 3% of films. A rise from lowliness to fortune, status, or recognition.Quest — 10% of films. A journey toward a defined objective, with companions and obstacles.Voyage — 4% of films. Into a strange world and back again, changed.Comedy — 11% of films. Confusion and cross-purposes resolved into harmony.Tragedy — 9% of films. A flaw or fixation drives the protagonist to ruin.Rebirth — 13% of films. A stalled or darkened life reopened and renewed.Mystery — 7% of films. A question drives the story — who did it, what happened, what is real — until it is answered.No archetype — 22% of filmsPredator — 6% of films. A creature or killer hunts the protagonists (Jaws, Alien).Tyrant — 6% of films. A human villain holds power over the hero's world (Die Hard).Invasion — 2% of films. An external force attacks the home or world (Independence Day).Oppressive state — 2% of films. A government, its agencies or a secret faction inside them is the monster (V for Vendetta).Corporate villainy — 1% of films. A company or its bosses are the monster (Erin Brockovich).Institutional injustice — 1% of films. A court, prison, police force, school or church is itself the enemy (Spotlight).Class system — under 1% of films. The gap between rich and poor, or a rigid hierarchy, is the monster (Parasite).Technology turns — under 1% of films. Technology people rely on becomes the threat (The Terminator).Inner demon — 1% of films. The monster is within — addiction, illness, a dark double.Underdog triumph — 2% of films. Rise through competition or contest (Rocky).Social ascent — under 1% of films. A climb in class or status (Pretty Woman).Fame and fortune — under 1% of films. An artistic or showbiz rise (A Star Is Born).Rise and fall — under 1% of films. Wealth or power gained, self lost (Scarface).Hidden worth revealed — under 1% of films. The protagonist's true value finally recognized.Treasure hunt — 1% of films. Retrieve an object of value (Raiders of the Lost Ark).Rescue — 4% of films. Retrieve or save a person (Saving Private Ryan).Mission — 5% of films. Accomplish or destroy a defined objective (Mission: Impossible).Journey home — under 1% of films. The goal is getting back (Finding Nemo).Pilgrimage — 1% of films. The journey itself transforms; the destination is symbolic.Portal fantasy — under 1% of films. Transported into another world (The Wizard of Oz).Fish out of water — 2% of films. Displaced into an unfamiliar social world (Elf).Survival ordeal — 1% of films. Trapped in a hostile environment, fighting back (Cast Away).Time displacement — under 1% of films. Unstuck in time (Back to the Future).Descent — 1% of films. A night-journey into an underworld or subculture (After Hours).Romantic comedy — 4% of films. Lovers kept apart by confusion, united at last.Comedy of errors — 3% of films. Mistaken identity or misunderstanding drives the plot.Farce — 2% of films. Escalating absurd chaos and coincidence (The Hangover).Buddy comedy — 1% of films. A mismatched pair forced together (Rush Hour).Comedy of manners — 1% of films. Social codes and class satirized (Clueless).Hubris — 1% of films. Pride or ambition invites the fall (There Will Be Blood).Obsession — 2% of films. A fixation consumes the protagonist (Black Swan).Corruption arc — 2% of films. Step-by-step moral decay (The Godfather).Doomed love — 2% of films. Love destroyed by circumstance (Brokeback Mountain).Crushed by fate — 3% of films. Destroyed by forces beyond the protagonist's control.Redemption — 3% of films. Moral reawakening of a hardened soul (A Christmas Carol).Healing — 5% of films. Recovery from grief or trauma (Good Will Hunting).Liberation — 2% of films. Breaking free of a confining life (Room).Second chance — 2% of films. A stagnant life re-opened to love or purpose (Groundhog Day).Puzzle — 1% of films. A clue-by-clue puzzle you can try to solve before the reveal (Knives Out, Clue).Investigation — 5% of films. A long pursuit of the truth that may never be fully solved (Zodiac, Memories of Murder).Enigma — 2% of films. The mystery is what is real, or what is actually happening (Mulholland Drive).Voyage
Every story archetype, clockwise from the top
  • Monster 21%: Predator 6% · Tyrant 6% · Invasion 2% · Oppressive state 2% · Corporate villainy 1% · Institutional injustice 1% · Class system under 1% · Technology turns under 1% · Inner demon 1%
  • Rags 3%: Underdog triumph 2% · Social ascent under 1% · Fame and fortune under 1% · Rise and fall under 1% · Hidden worth revealed under 1%
  • Quest 10%: Treasure hunt 1% · Rescue 4% · Mission 5% · Journey home under 1% · Pilgrimage 1%
  • Voyage 4% (this title): Portal fantasy under 1% · Fish out of water 2% · Survival ordeal 1% (this title) · Time displacement under 1% · Descent 1%
  • Comedy 11%: Romantic comedy 4% · Comedy of errors 3% · Farce 2% · Buddy comedy 1% · Comedy of manners 1%
  • Tragedy 9%: Hubris 1% · Obsession 2% · Corruption arc 2% · Doomed love 2% · Crushed by fate 3%
  • Rebirth 13%: Redemption 3% · Healing 5% · Liberation 2% · Second chance 2%
  • Mystery 7%: Puzzle 1% · Investigation 5% · Enigma 2%
  • No archetype 22%

Voyage and return: Into a strange world and back again, changed. · Survival ordeal: Trapped in a hostile environment, fighting back (Cast Away).

4% of films fit this archetype

Why this archetypeThe film's spine is Pi's 227 days adrift on a lifeboat in the Pacific with a Bengal tiger — a survival ordeal against the elements that ends only when he reaches shore.

What it's about

7 groups · 53 themes
Bonds — 27% of filmsSelf — 22% of filmsPower — 7% of filmsMorality — 16% of filmsSurvival — 15% of filmsSociety — 9% of filmsIdeas — 5% of filmsRomantic love — 15% of filmsMarriage — 2% of filmsFamily bonds — 21% of filmsParenthood — 2% of filmsFriendship — 9% of filmsLoyalty — 4% of filmsIdentity — 14% of filmsComing of age — 5% of filmsAging — under 1% of filmsSelf-worth — 7% of filmsAmbition — 7% of filmsPurpose — 9% of filmsMemory — 3% of filmsObsession — 3% of films. A fixation consumes the protagonist (Black Swan).Power — 2% of filmsCorruption — 3% of filmsGreed — 3% of filmsClass — 3% of filmsOppression — 4% of filmsFreedom — 5% of filmsJustice — 13% of filmsDuty — 2% of filmsRevenge — 4% of filmsGuilt — 3% of filmsRedemption — 6% of films. Moral reawakening of a hardened soul (A Christmas Carol).Forgiveness — 1% of filmsSacrifice — 4% of filmsBetrayal — 5% of filmsDeception — 9% of filmsSurvival — 17% of filmsWar — 1% of filmsViolence — 4% of filmsMortality — 2% of filmsGrief — 6% of filmsTrauma — 7% of filmsMental illness — 1% of filmsAddiction — 1% of filmsIllness and disability — under 1% of filmsCommunity — 14% of films. Consequences reach a town, institution or group.Isolation — 5% of filmsPrejudice — 3% of filmsDisplacement — 1% of filmsFaith — 3% of filmsTradition vs change — 2% of filmsFame — 3% of filmsLegacy — 4% of filmsFate — 1% of filmsFree will — under 1% of filmsTruth — 4% of filmsHope — 5% of filmsNature — 2% of filmsArt — 4% of filmsTechnology — 1% of filmsSelfFaithSociety
Every theme, clockwise from the top
  • Bonds 27%: Romantic love 15% · Marriage 2% · Family bonds 21% · Parenthood 2% · Friendship 9% · Loyalty 4%
  • Self 22%: Identity 14% · Coming of age 5% · Aging under 1% · Self-worth 7% · Ambition 7% · Purpose 9% · Memory 3% · Obsession 3%
  • Power 7%: Power 2% · Corruption 3% · Greed 3% · Class 3% · Oppression 4% · Freedom 5%
  • Morality 16%: Justice 13% · Duty 2% · Revenge 4% · Guilt 3% · Redemption 6% · Forgiveness 1% · Sacrifice 4% · Betrayal 5% · Deception 9%
  • Survival 15%: Survival 17% (this title) · War 1% · Violence 4% · Mortality 2% · Grief 6% · Trauma 7% · Mental illness 1% · Addiction 1% · Illness and disability under 1%
  • Society 9% (this title): Community 14% · Isolation 5% · Prejudice 3% · Displacement 1% · Faith 3% (this title) · Tradition vs change 2% · Fame 3% · Legacy 4%
  • Ideas 5%: Fate 1% · Free will under 1% · Truth 4% (this title) · Hope 5% · Nature 2% · Art 4% · Technology 1%

Society

Faith · 3% of filmsSurvivalTruth · 4% of films
Celebrates its theme: Affirms its theme — this is good and worth having.Cosmic stakes: Consequences reach beyond the world.Single lead
How it treats its themeThe film explores faith as a personal, flexible devotion to God, set against the brutal physical reality of survival at sea and the philosophical question of which version of truth one chooses to believe.
StanceThe film celebrates faith as a powerful, personal choice that imbues life with meaning, even in the face of unimaginable suffering and ambiguity.

The world

Late 20th centuryWildernessIn transitMagical realism
Orchestral modernWorldSupportive music · original score · Mychael Danna
SettingA lifeboat adrift on the Pacific Ocean, after a childhood in Pondicherry, India
MusicMychael Danna's score blends Indian classical instrumentation with orchestral textures, enhancing the film's spiritual and epic dimensions.

Content guide

Is Life of Pi okay for kids?

PG

Life of Pi is rated PG: “Rated PG for emotional thematic content throughout, and some scary action sequences and peril” (MPAA). As of August 19, 2026, Midcredits content scores put its violence at moderate (52/100), sexual content at minimal (9/100), language at minimal (11/100), drug and alcohol content at minimal (3/100) and frightening material at moderate (58/100). Overall it is heavier than 74% of PG-rated films.

Ratings in 28 other countries
  • UKPG
  • CanadaPG
  • AustraliaPG
  • Germany12
  • FranceU
  • Ireland12
  • New ZealandPG
  • JapanG
  • South KoreaALL
  • Brazil10
  • Belgium14
  • CzechiaU
  • Denmark11
  • FinlandK-12
  • GreeceΚ
  • Hong KongI
  • Hungary16
  • ItalyT
  • Netherlands12
  • Poland12
  • PortugalM/12
  • RO12
  • Russia6+
  • Spain7
  • Sweden11
  • Switzerland12
  • Taiwan普遍級
  • TH ท ทั่วไป
Overall
Moderate · all five categories
Heavier than 27% of all filmsHeavier than 74% of PG-rated films
Violence & Gore
Moderate
heavy for a PG-rated film
heavier than 82%
Sex & Nudity
None / Minimal
light for a PG-rated film
heavier than 13%
Profanity
None / Minimal
light for a PG-rated film
heavier than 18%
Alcohol & Drugs
None / Minimal
light for a PG-rated film
heavier than 3%
Frightening / Intense
Moderate · audience split: No severity level holds a majority of voters
heavy for a PG-rated film
heavier than 86%

Point along a line to see a well-known title at that level.

Nothing here is extreme. The strongest element is frightening material, heavier than 86% of PG-rated films.

Source: Midcredits content scores, 0 (none) to 100 (severe) per category, with each standing ranked against other films that have them.

What content warnings does Life of Pi have?

MovieCove's classifier found 4 depicted content warnings in Life of Pi: Animal death (severe), Animal cruelty (mild), plus 2 withheld here because they would spoil the plot. Each is backed by a verbatim quote from the parents' guide notes; a missing warning is not a guarantee of absence.

SevereAnimal death
MildAnimal cruelty

Cast and crew

Who is in Life of Pi?

Cast

4 of the 10 billed cast had never appeared on screen.

Suraj Sharma
as Pi Patel
Breakout: Their highest-reaching film role at the time, and they went on to a career at least 3 times their standing then.
Irrfan Khan
as Adult Pi Patel
Ayush Tandon
as Pi Patel (11-12 Years)
Newcomer: A standing when this film came out that sits in the bottom quarter of working actors today.
Gautam Belur
as Pi Patel (5 Years)
Screen debut: No prior film or television role.
Adil Hussain
as Santosh Patel
Breakout: Their highest-reaching film role at the time, and they went on to a career at least 3 times their standing then.
Tabu
as Gita Patel
Ayaan Khan
as Ravi Patel (7 Years)
Screen debut: No prior film or television role.
Mohd. Abbas Khaleeli
as Ravi Patel (13-14 Years)
Screen debut: No prior film or television role.
Vibish Sivakumar
as Ravi Patel (18-19 Years)
Screen debut: No prior film or television role.
Rafe Spall
as Writer

Crew

More like this

What are movies like Life of Pi?

Movies like Life of Pi include Horizon Line (2020), In the Heart of the Sea (2015) and Against the Sun (2014). Of the 4 closest matches, all are films set at sea, and half are stories about unlikely alliances.

Balanced: every group counts the same, and production only breaks ties.

All 4 share its story type: survival ordeal. Those cards say what else they share.

Explore by

What else shares a premise, people or place with Life of Pi?

770 other films share the rarest tag below, premise: castaway. Each tag opens Browse with the films that share it.