August: Osage County

On the surface a sharp witted, corrosive matriarch commands a strained family reunion that pulls her three grown daughters back to their childhood home in the heartland. The Weston women have carved their own paths - Barbara, Ivy, Karen - yet the pull of home and the weight of a long buried family history tug them together when a crisis strikes Violet Weston, the formidable mother who raised them. Over the course of a blistering long weekend, old resentments flare, loyalties are tested, and the house becomes a pressure cooker where humor and pain collide. What began as a portrait of ambition and fracture deepens into a meditation on how memory shapes present choices. The film lingers on history and forgiveness.

Released in 2013, John Wells directs this screen adaptation of Tracy Letts's stage play August: Osage County, bringing a fierce ensemble cast to the screen with material rooted in Letts's theatrical origin. It preserves the play's sharp vocal energy today.

Its worldwide gross reached 74,188,937 on a 25,000,000 budget, signaling solid performance for a drama anchored by star power rather than high concept spectacle. Audiences connected with the fierce family dynamics, driving sustained theatrical and home viewing across markets worldwide.

Many viewers remember the film for its explosive performances and stinging humor, with Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts delivering scenes that became talking points about power within families and the toll of long held grievances. The film also helped renew interest in stage to screen adaptations in mainstream cinema today.

Critics praised its sharp dialogue and unflinching look at ambition, debt, addiction, and the ways loyalty frays under strain, while the loud humor and intimate confrontations keep the drama accessible even as the tension rarely loosens. The ensemble performance elevates the material beyond a mere family drama for household audiences.