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The Phoenician Scheme is an espionage black comedy film released in theaters on May 30, 2025, in the United States. Wes Anderson directed the film and co-wrote it alongside Roman Coppola. Focus Features acquired the distribution rights for the film.
In The Phoenician Scheme, Benicio Del Toro portrayed the role of the lead character, Anatole "Zsa-Zsa" Korda. Anatole is a shrewd businessman and arms dealer, often referred to as "Mr. Five Percent" for his ability to intercede in any large business deal. Benicio has also appeared in Wes Anderson's 2021 comedy-drama film The French Dispatch.
The story, set in 1950, follows one of the richest men in Europe, a character who is partly based on the Armenian oil magnate Calouste Gulbenkian. After narrowly avoiding the latest assassination attempt, Anatole decides to let his only daughter, Sister Liesl, run his business while he gets his affairs in order.
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Disclaimer: Reader's discretion advised. Spoilers ahead.
Benicio Del Toro's role in The Phoenician Scheme
In the film The Phoenician Scheme, Benicio portrays the role of international businessman Anatole "Zsa-Zsa" Korda. After narrowly surviving another assassination attempt and briefly watching his virtue being weighed in the afterlife, he decides it's time for a change.
At the same time, a shady business consortium is united to fix the prices of core materials in a bid to stop Korda's work of overhauling Phoenicia's infrastructure. He hands over his business to his daughter, Sister Liesl, and sets off to meet his underground investors to complete the funding deficit.
The film revolves around his attempt to gather the funds for his dream project to overhaul Phoenicia's infrastructure while also avoiding the assassination attempts on his life. His adventure draws him closer to his estranged daughter, with whom he eventually decides to open a bistro after giving away his fortune for the benefit of Phoenicia.
Benicio Del Toro's career before The Phoenician Scheme
The Puerto Rican actor Benicio Del Toro began his career on television playing minor parts such as thugs or drug dealers in Miami Vice and Drug Wars: The Camarena Story. He received critical acclaim after his breakout performance for the role of Fred Fenster in the 1995 film The Usual Suspects.
Since then, Benicio has appeared in several projects like Snatch, Sin City, Avengers: Infinity War, Sicario, and Reptile. He is also set to feature alongside Leonardo DiCaprio and Sean Penn in Paul Anderson's upcoming crime thriller film One Battle After Another.
Benicio Del Toro has also won several awards, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Golden Globe Award, and two Screen Actors Guild Awards.
Where to watch The Phoenician Scheme?
The espionage black comedy film was released in limited theaters initially before going nationwide on June 6, 2025, in the United States. As of now, the movie is available exclusively in theaters. An official announcement regarding its streaming and digital release is expected, though there is no verifiable information, as of the writing of this article.
According to Rotten Tomatoes, The Phoenician Scheme has received a fresh score of 78% based on 153 reviews from critics so far.
Stay tuned with us for further updates.
