‘By Any Means’ Earns a Solid CinemaScore as Mark Wahlberg’s Crime Thriller Hits Theaters

True crime stories set against the backdrop of the civil rights era have become something of a reliable draw for Hollywood, blending historical weight with the kind of tension that keeps audiences engaged from the opening scene. Paramount’s latest addition to that genre pairs an unlikely duo against a particularly dark chapter of American history.

That film centers on a young Black FBI agent forced to team up with a mafia hitman to investigate a string of brutal killings targeting civil rights leaders in 1960s Mississippi. It’s a premise built on real events, giving the film’s central alliance an added layer of moral complexity that critics have spent the past week picking apart.

That film, ‘By Any Means,‘ has now received its opening night verdict from audiences. CinemaScore has awarded the film a B+ grade, based on exit polling gathered from its theatrical release.

Directed by Elegance Bratton and written by Sascha Penn, ‘By Any Means’ stars Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as the FBI agent and Mark Wahlberg as Gregory Scarpa, a mafia hitman turned FBI informant, with the pair forced into an uneasy alliance as their investigation pulls them deeper into a hunt where justice and vengeance begin to blur. The film opened in theaters nationwide on September 4 through Paramount Pictures, running 107 minutes.

The film draws its premise from real historical events, opening with a black-and-white montage of actual news footage covering the disappearance of three civil rights activists in Mississippi back in 1964. That grounding in reality has become a central talking point in early reviews, with critics divided on how effectively the film balances its historical weight against its crime thriller conventions.

The Hollywood Reporter’s review described the pairing as an odd combination that doesn’t always make for a successful one, while also noting Wahlberg’s performance felt somewhat miscast against the Brooklyn gangster archetype he’s portraying. Other reviews have similarly flagged tension between the film’s attempt to interrogate state-sanctioned violence and its tendency to lean into revenge as a form of justice, suggesting the film’s ambitions occasionally outpace its execution.

Beyond its two leads, ‘By Any Means’ features a substantial supporting cast that includes Nicole Beharie, Josh Lucas, LisaGay Hamilton, LaChanze, Ethan Embry, David Strathairn and Giancarlo Esposito. Terence Blanchard provides the film’s score, while Ante Cheng serves as cinematographer.

The film’s road to release wasn’t entirely smooth either. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II joined the cast in a replacement capacity, stepping into the lead role after Sterling K. Brown, who had originally been attached alongside Wahlberg, departed the project due to scheduling conflicts.

Principal photography ultimately began in April 2025 in Atlanta, Georgia, with the rest of the supporting cast joining shortly after production got underway. Filming wrapped roughly two months later, setting the stage for the film’s eventual release more than a year later.

Despite the mixed critical reception, the B+ CinemaScore suggests opening night audiences responded more favorably to the film than critics have so far. That gap between audience and critical reception isn’t uncommon for crime thrillers built around morally complicated real-life partnerships, where viewers often respond more to the tension and performances than to broader thematic execution.

‘By Any Means’ arrives as one of the more historically grounded entries in this fall’s theatrical lineup, joining a string of true crime and historical thrillers hitting theaters this season. Whether its box office performance matches its solid audience grade over the coming weeks remains to be seen, particularly given the more tempered critical response it’s received so far.

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