This weekend, a sleek crime thriller with a star-studded cast hits the big screen. The film is Crime 101, written and directed by Bart Layton and starring Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Halle Berry, Barry Keoghan, Monica Barbaro, Corey Hawkins, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Nick Nolte. Based on the 2020 novella of the same name by Don Winslow, it’s the kind of film that should be an easy sell for audiences, given the pedigree associated with it, but, alas, times have changed drastically in the moviegoing landscape. Crime thrillers aimed squarely at adults aren’t a sure thing at the box office anymore, and the ones that tend to get made today are likely to premiere exclusively on streaming rather than at your local movie theater. Despite this, Amazon MGM Studios is banking that this pocket of the audience is starved for a movie with these particular sensibilities. They believe that Crime 101 can feel a void that has been missing for quite some time in the theatrical landscape and while Wuthering Heights is garnering most of the attention and will steal the box office crown, that doesn’t mean there isn’t room for Crime 101 to make a case for itself as sign moviegoers have missed adult thrillers that rely on the shared tension of a crowded movie theater.

There is a sophistication associated with Crime 101 that harkens back to films that used to be no-brainers on the big screen. It’s not too highbrow to be pretentious, but it feeds the appetite of audiences craving more than mediocrity. The film follows a jewel thief named Mike Davis (Hemsworth) who has been committing heists along the 101 freeway that have left police dumbfounded. Mike has set his sights on the ultimate score, but to pull it off, he’ll have to align with an insurance broker named Sharon Colvin (Berry), whose dissatisfaction with her job might make Mike’s offer impossible to resist. In the midst of this is Detective Lou Lubesnick (Ruffalo), who believes he has figured out Mike’s pattern and will do whatever it takes to stop him before his next job, despite the lack of support from his department. As this story unfolds, the audience is treated to adrenaline-laced chase and action sequences, moments when the thrill of the heist escalates tension, and, most importantly, tantalizing character development that elevates the material beyond the superficial. This is a movie with layers that doesn’t insult the intelligence of the audience.

Drenched in the atmospheric landscape of Los Angeles as its backdrop, Crime 101 has been compared in many reviews to Heat, a film released during the holiday season of 1995 that garnered solid reviews (84 percent on Rotten Tomatoes) and robust box office ($187.4 million on a $60 million budget). This was a time when studios had no problem green-lighting films like this. Heat is an ensemble crime drama with a cast featuring the likes of Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Val Kilmer, and Tom Sizemore, among others, and helmed by Michael Mann, a director who can make the locations his movies take place in feel like a fellow member of the cast. In Heat, Los Angeles is a living, breathing being that gives the film added gravitas, something Crime 101 immulates with its immersive LA experience. Not only are audiences being engaged by the story and the performances of the cast, but the movie’s surroundings also have their own stories. It’s storytelling that has become non-existent in the streaming era and even more so in the post-pandemic world as studios feel these kinds of movies aren’t big enough to get butts in the seats. The assumption is that audiences prefer to watch movies like this at home. Maybe it’s time to prove to them that they couldn’t be anymore wrong.

It’s not impossible to return to a time when a crime thriller like 2004’s Collateral ($220.2 million global on a $65 million budget) or a neo-noir heist thriller like 2010’s The Town ($154 million worldwide on a $37 million budget) or a tense procedural crime thriller like 2015’s Sicario ($84.9 million worldwide on a $30 million budget) could be successful. There’s an assumption from studios that they know exactly what the people want, but this isn’t entirely true. Sure, they hold their test screenings and do their focus groups before a movie is released, but it doesn’t put the finger on the pulse of what EVERYONE wants. There is a reason that Amazon MGM Studios got behind Crime 101 in the first place. They want to be in the theatrical business and wisely realized that what has been missing from the marketplace are thrillers aimed at adults. This is why, when Crime 101 was brought to them, they threw their weight behind it and committed to a theatrical release. They believed that this audience in particular was starved for a particular kind of film that unfortunately many studios don’t find as viable anymore to take a chance on theactrically.

By today’s standards, Crime 101 was reportedly made for a reasonable $90 million during a time that other studios may have turned this into an $180 million spectacle and would then act shocked and appalled when they didn’t see a return on their investment. By bringing films like this back to the theatrical landscape, studios have to play these things smartly. They need to keep costs low, without making the final result look cheap (Crime 101’s cinematography by Erik Wilson gives the film a big-budget feel that movies with bigger budgets would envy), and they have to assemble a talented cast that appeals not just to the fast eye of a young audience but has also gained the trust of an older audience.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has made Hemsworth and Ruffalo international stars who appeal to all ages, but some of their projects outside of the MCU, such as Rush, Blackhat, Zodiac, Extraction, Spotlight, and Poor Things, to name a few, have given them a pedigree with older audiences that works in favor of a film like Crime 101. Throw in female talent, beauty, and sophistication with Berry as the film’s female lead, with a meaty role that serves her, and the film is given even more gravitas. All of this is evened out with names like Keoghan, Barbaro, and Hawkins to broaden the film’s appeal and possibly ensure it reaches even more people who needed more reasons to be interested. This is then fueled by a smart marketing campaign, and Amazon MGM Studios has leaned into promoting the film in a way that makes it enticing but also gives the indication that this is something you’ve been missing and this is something you NEED to see. It’s free of spectacle and unnecessary hooks. They’re hoping that by keeping focus on the film’s story and sizable ensemble, moviegoers will be intrigued enough to give this one a shot.

Box office tracking has Crime 101 opening between $15-17 million, which would be a win for a movie like this in the current movie-watching landscape. The film will get a bump from the holiday weekend (President’s Day), and for those not wanting the lurid romanticism of Wuthering Heights, it could also be a fun date night option on Valentine’s Day. Wuthering Heights is going to win the weekend by a large margin, but what Crime 101 has going for it is that the former film doesn’t have as many glowing critical notices. Wuthering Heights isn’t being ravaged by critics (currently at 66 percent on Rotten Tomatoes with 144 reviews counted), but its score has seen steady drops since its review embargo was lifted. Crime 101 entered the Rotten Tomatoes gate at 100 percent and has so far settled at 89 percent with 54 reviews counted so far.

Now, why does this matter? While Wuthering Heights will score big on its opening weekend with the target audience, mixed reviews won’t ensure its legs and could indicate bigger drop-offs in the weeks ahead. What some seem to forget about the older adult audience is that the story isn’t always fully told on opening weekend. The hope is that the solid reviews for Crime 101 will give it legs beyond its opening weekend because the adult demographic tends not to rush out right away to see certain films. They like to see what the word is and then head out to their local movie theater. Their time is valuable, and they want to make sure the excursion is worth it. With Crime 101 so far impressing critics, they might just see that this is a film that is worthy of their time and money. Between a solid opening weekend, international appeal, and legs down the road, Crime 101 should be able to turn into a box office hit that signals audiences want more movies like this on the big screen.

This is why Crime 101 needs your support this weekend. It’s a smart crime thriller made for an underserved audience of adults who miss what these kinds of films feel like in a crowded movie theater. From the collective gasps from shocking moments to the tense silence as the action and suspense hit a fever pitch, to the audience exploding in cheers from every new twist and turn, adult thrillers like this feel mandatory for the energy of a dark movie theater. If we want studios to get behind more films like this, they need the support of the audience, and Crime 101 is certainly worthy of that support this weekend.

Crime 101 opens in theaters nationwide this Friday.