Ballad of a Small Player: release date, cast, plot and everything we know about the Colin Farrell movie

From the Vatican to the casinos of Macau, Oscar-nominated director Edward Berger teams with Colin Farrell on the Netflix movie Ballad of a Small Player.

Joining the 2025 slate of new Netflix movies that have included the likes of action-comedy Back in Action, Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Destination Wedding and Straw, romance movie The Life List and comedy Happy Gilmore 2, Ballad of a Small Player falls under the streamer’s “prestige” movies category. It certainly has the components to back that up.

Here’s everything you need to know about Ballad of a Small Player.

Ballad of a Small Player release date

Netflix is giving Ballad of a Small Player one of its rare releases in movie theaters (to ensure that the movie qualifies for awards consideration, no doubt). Ballad of a Small Player will premiere exclusively in movie theaters on October 15 in limited US movie theaters and then on October 17 in limited cinemas in the UK.

Two weeks later, Ballad of a Small Player will have its Netflix premiere on October 29, at which point anyone with a Netflix subscription can watch the movie on the platform.

Ballad of a Small Player cast

Colin Farrell headlines the Ballad of a Small Player cast, playing the high-stakes gambler Lord Doyle at the center of the story. Farrell most recently gave an Emmy-nominated performance in the TV show The Penguin, while his last movie role prior to 2025 was his Oscar-nominated performance in The Banshees of Inisherin. Ballad of a Small Player is his second 2025 fall movie, as he also stars in A Big Bold Beautiful Journey.

Starring alongside Farrell in the movie are Fala Chen (Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, Irma Vep), Deanie Ip (A Simple Life), Alex Jennings (The Phoenician Scheme, MobLand) and Oscar-winner Tilda Swinton (Michael Clayton, The Room Next Door).

Ballad of a Small Player plot

Based on the novel by Lawrence Osborne, with an adapted screenplay by Rowan Joffé (28 Weeks Later, The American), the movie centers on high-stakes gambler Lord Doyle, who is lying low in Macau, China. When his past and his debts begin to catch up with him, Doyle encounters a kindred spirit who just might hold the key to his salvation.

Ballad of a Small Player trailer

There is no trailer for Ballad of a Small Player at this time. When one becomes available online, we’ll add it here.

Edward Berger movies

Edward Berger has quickly become one of the most acclaimed directors working today. Though he has credits that date back to the late 90s in Germany and he has directed episodes for a number of acclaimed TV series (The Terror, Your Honor), he became a household name with his brilliant All Quiet on the Western Front (also for Netflix) that won four Oscars, including Best International Feature Film, while also being nominated for Best Picture. He then followed that up with the acclaimed Conclave, which also was a Best Picture nominee and won an award for Best Adapted Screenplay.

Here is a complete look at Berger’s directing credits to date:

• Gomez — Kopf oder Zahl (1998)
• Frau2 sucht HappyEnd (2001)
• Jack (2014)
• All My Loving (2019)
• All Quiet on the Western Front (2022)
• Conclave (2024)

Ballad of a Small Player behind the scenes

Filmed on location in Macau, Ballad of a Small Player was backed by production companies Good Chaos, Nine Hours and Stigma Films. Producers on the movie are Berger, Mike Goodridge and Matthew James Wilkinson.

Berger reunited with a few of his collaborators from All Quiet on the Western Front for Ballad of a Small Player, including cinematographer James Friend, composer Volker Bertelmanm, makeup and hair designer Heike Merker and costume designer Listy Christl. He is also working again with his Conclave editor, Nick Emerson.