BlackBerry (2023)
12-month trend
12-month trend
Monthly article views
2025-09 to 2026-08
The film dramatizes the meteoric rise and eventual fall of the BlackBerry mobile phone.
The story
In 1996, in Waterloo, Ontario, co-founders Mike Lazaridis and Douglas Fregin attempt to pitch their 'PocketLink' cellular device to investor Jim Balsillie. While their initial pitch fails, Balsillie's aggressive ambition leads him to offer a significant investment and a leadership role in the company. Following a series of high-stakes business maneuvers and a rebranding effort, the device becomes the 'BlackBerry' and achieves massive success. However, the company soon faces internal conflicts over management styles and the looming threat of new technology, forcing the founders to navigate a rapidly changing mobile landscape while trying to maintain their market dominance.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
In 1996, Mike Lazaridis and Douglas Fregin found Research in Motion (RIM) and develop the 'PocketLink.' After a failed initial pitch, they take on aggressive investor Jim Balsillie as co-CEO. The device is rebranded as 'BlackBerry' and becomes a massive success. By 2003, Balsillie hires a strict COO to manage a surge of engineers to fix network issues caused by over-selling. In 2007, the rise of the iPhone and a failed attempt by Balsillie to buy the Pittsburgh Penguins lead to internal fractures; Fregin leaves the company after a heated argument. Following a series of legal troubles involving backdated stock options and a failed partnership with AT&T, Lazaridis is left as the sole CEO. The film concludes with the release of the buggy 'Storm' device, which leads to a lawsuit from Verizon. The final notes reveal that while the company's market share eventually hit 0%, Fregin became one of the world's richest men, and Balsillie avoided jail.
- First release year
- 2023
- Runtime (minutes)
- 121
- Production countries
- Canada
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Matt Johnson
- Writers
- Matt Johnson · screenplay; Matthew Miller · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Jay Baruchel · Mike Lazaridis; Matt Johnson · Douglas Fregin; Glenn Howerton · Jim Balsillie; Rich Sommer; Michael Ironside; Martin Donovan; Michelle Giroux; SungWon Cho; Mark Critch; Saul Rubinek; Cary Elwes
- Genres
- biographical; comedy-drama
- Themes
- ambition; corporate rivalry; technological evolution
- Tone and mood
- dramatic; comedic
- Premise and plot tags
- biographical; business; technology
- Source material / true-story basis
- Losing the Signal: The Untold Story Behind the Extraordinary Rise and Spectacular Fall of BlackBerry by Jacquie McNish and Sean Silcoff
- Reception
- The film received positive reviews and was recognized as one of the best Canadian comedy films. While some former executives criticized the amount of fiction in the portrayal of the company's history, the lead actor's performance was highly praised.
- Reported review scores
- Metacritic · score: 78 · scale: 100 · review count: 46
- Awards and nominations
- Best Motion Picture · Canadian Screen Award · Win
- Production trivia
- The film was released as a three-part miniseries in late 2023.; The film was selected for the Toronto International Film Festival's Canada's Top Ten list.; The film was ranked as the fourth-best film of 2023 by Cory Woodroof for USA Today's For the Win.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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