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Matthew Michael Carnahan

Matthew Michael Carnahan

Writer, director and producer

Matthew Michael Carnahan (sometimes credited as Matt Carnahan) is an American scriptwriter. Among his numerous works are screenplays for The Kingdom (2007); the film adaptation of the hit BBC television drama serial State of Play; and Lions for Lambs for United Artists. He also worked on the zombie film World War Z (2013). He wrote the screenplay for the feature film Dark Waters (2019), based on a 2016 feature article about industrial pollution in The New York Times magazine.  Description above from the Wikipedia article Matthew Michael Carnahan, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

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Biography from TMDB.

Works as
Writer, director and producer
Titles
8 on MovieCove · 10 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 155 days to Oct 26Down 8% in 30 days

What are Matthew Michael Carnahan's films like?

Across their 8 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Morality and Survival.

Genres

Action5 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 78th percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Action movies
Crime2 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 62nd percentile
: browse their Crime movies

Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.

Themes

share of theme weight
Morality
41%
Survival
25%
Bonds
13%
Ideas
9%
Power
6%
Society
6%
Justice5 titles, browse their movies with this themeSurvival3 titles, browse their movies with this themeLoyalty3 titles, browse their movies with this themeTruth2 titles, browse their movies with this themeBetrayal2 titles, browse their movies with this themeDuty2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 8 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Dark: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their dark movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

Light 0 · Serious 0 · Dark 8

Grounded: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their grounded movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 5 · Stylized 3 · Heightened 0

Intense: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their intense movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

Gentle 0 · Charged 0 · Intense 8

Shifting: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their shifting movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 1 · Shifting 6 · Whiplash 1

Straight-faced: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their straight-faced movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 8 · Some laughs 0 · Funny 0

Even-paced: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their even-paced movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 0 · Even-paced 4 · Relentless 4

Full focus: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their full focus movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 0 · Engaged 4 · Full focus 4

Heavy: How much it costs you emotionally; whether you need recovery time. Browse their heavy movies.
Demand · Emotional cost
easyheavy

Easy watch 0 · Affecting 3 · Heavy 5

Resolved: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their resolved movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 6 · Open-ended 1 · Ambiguous 1

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Tense
8
Thrilling
5
Contemplative
3
Dread
3
Melancholic
2
Other
3

How their films linger

Thought-provoking6 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHaunting2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteDevastating2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteBittersweet2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end · 3 with a twist

  • Bittersweet7
  • Ambiguous1

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Matthew Michael Carnahan's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 5 of their 8 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.

Subscription and free streaming for Matthew Michael Carnahan's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

10 credits, 8 with a MovieCove page.

  • Dark Waters(2019)

    Writer

    Midcredits score: 96th percentile of all films

  • 21 Bridges(2019)

    Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 66th percentile of all films

  • Mosul(2019)

    Director · Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 86th percentile of all films

  • Deepwater Horizon(2016)

    Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 86th percentile of all films

  • World War Z(2013)

    Screenplay · Screenstory

    Midcredits score: 78th percentile of all films

  • State of Play(2009)

    Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 83rd percentile of all films

  • Lions for Lambs(2007)

    Producer · Writer

    Midcredits score: 41st percentile of all films

  • The Kingdom(2007)

    Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 78th percentile of all films

  • The Gatekeeper (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Director

  • Violent Talent (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Director · Screenplay

Career shape

A full career of 10 titles, 8 of them dated from 2007 to 2019.

Biggest box office

World War Z (2013)

$540M worldwide

Highest rated

Dark Waters (2019)

Midcredits 96th

Most popular right now

World War Z (2013)

By role

only this rolewith another role
Directing3 of 10: 1 only directing, 2 with another roleWriting9 of 10: 6 only writing, 3 with another role · typical Midcredits score81stProducing1 of 10: 0 only producing, 1 with another role

10 titles, 3 with more than one role — writing and directing overlap on 2 of them.

By decade

2000s3 · crew2010s5 · crew

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.

How do Matthew Michael Carnahan's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 81st percentile, the median of all 8; across their 8 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 75th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

75thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 8

Approval · how many liked their films

86thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 8

Reach · how many have seen their films

97thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 8

Midcredits score across 8 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up6
  • 50th to 74th1
  • 25th to 49th1

Shape of the crowd

None of their 8 titles divides audiences: 5 are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Universally Loved2
  • Crowd Pleaser5
  • Mixed1

Most loved · writer

Dark Waters (2019)

Midcredits 96th · 89% liked

Reviewers score the dialogue 54/100 and the plot and story 53/100 in their films, across 8 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a writer.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Is Matthew Michael Carnahan's work okay for kids?

Across up to 8 MovieCove titles with content scores, violence & gore, profanity and frightening / intense run heavier than most films and sex & nudity lighter.

Their medianMedian of all filmsMiddle 80% of their titles
Violence & Gore8 titles48–89 · median 74 · intenseheavier than most filmsMedian of all films: 44
Sex & Nudity8 titles6–24 · median 11 · minimallighter than most filmsMedian of all films: 32
Profanity8 titles44–79 · median 61 · intenseheavier than most filmsMedian of all films: 36
Alcohol & Drugs8 titles11–42 · median 28 · mildnear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 33
Frightening / Intense8 titles41–81 · median 63 · intenseheavier than most filmsMedian of all films: 39

Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.

Who does Matthew Michael Carnahan work with?

People who share at least 2 of Matthew Michael Carnahan's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Peter Berg shares the most, 3.

Directors

Actors

Composers, cinematographers and editors

Producers