With Good Time and Uncut Gems, Benny and Josh Safdie joined the Coens and Wachowskis among legendary sibling director duos.
The Safdies’ harebrained tone, synth-heavy scores and frequent use of non-professional actors practically made them a genre unto themselves. That is until they split up.
In January 2024, Benny confirmed to Variety he and Josh were going solo. Safdie said the split was amicable despite reports to the contrary.
“It’s a natural progression of what we each want to explore,” Safdie said. “I will direct on my own, and I will explore things that I want to explore. I want that freedom right now in my life.”
Safdies going solo
Benny went on to direct The Smashing Machine, a Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt-led MMA biopic with much more nuance and emotional heft than the average sports film. It was marketed as an awards play for Johnson, whose career-best performance did not result in an Oscar nomination.
Josh, meanwhile, made the ping pong drama/thriller Marty Supreme with Timothée Chalamet. A24 produced and distributed both films, but audiences clearly resonated with Marty Supreme more, as it grossed over $147 million globally compared to The Smashing Machine‘s $21 million.
Marty Supreme‘s total set a new box office record for an A24 film, passing the Best Picture-winning Everything Everywhere All at Once.
Will the Safdies ever reunite?
It’s possible but unlikely. They don’t have any projects lined up together, and in 2024 Benny and Josh created their own production companies, from which they produced The Smashing Machine and Marty Supreme, respectively.
Benny’s next project, a surreal family film called Lizard Music, will reunite him with Johnson but not Josh.
