Credits
Distributed by
A24

Production companies
IAC Films
Gozie AGBO
Year of the Rat
Ley Line Entertainment

Directed by
Daniel Kwan
Daniel Scheinert

Written by
Daniel Kwan
Daniel Scheinert

Produced by
Anthony Russo
Joe Russo
Mike Larocca
Daniel Kwan
Daniel Scheinert
Jonathan Wang
Peter Tam Lee

Starring
Michelle Yeoh
Stephanie Hsu
Ke Huy Quan
Jenny Slate
Harry Shum Jr.
James Hong
Jamie Lee Curtis

Cinematography
Larkin Seiple

Edited by
Paul Rogers

Music by
Son Lux

Synopsis
Evelyn Quan Wang is a middle-aged Chinese American immigrant who runs a laundromat with her husband, Waymond. Two decades previously, they eloped to the United States and had a daughter, Joy. The laundromat is being audited by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Waymond is trying to serve Evelyn divorce papers, and Evelyn's demanding father (referred to as Gong Gong, Cantonese for 'grandfather'[14]), is visiting for her Chinese New Year party. Evelyn, reluctant to accept Joy's lesbian relationship with her non-Chinese girlfriend Becky, introduces Becky to Gong Gong as Joy's "very good friend." At a tense meeting with IRS inspector Deirdre Beaubeirdre, Waymond's body is taken over by Alpha-Waymond, a version of Waymond from the "Alphaverse." Alpha-Waymond explains to Evelyn that many parallel universes exist because every life choice creates a new alternative universe. The Alphaverse, led by the late Alpha-Evelyn, developed "verse-jumping" technology, which enables people to access the skills, memories, and bodies of their parallel-universe selves by performing bizarre actions that are statistically unlikely. The multiverse is threatened by Jobu Tupaki, the Alphaverse version of Joy, whose mind was splintered after Alpha-Evelyn pushed her to extensively verse-jump. Jobu experiences all universes at once and can verse-jump and manipulate matter at will. She has created a black hole-like "everything bagel" topped with everything,[15] which appears as a toroid singularity[16] that could destroy the multiverse. Evelyn is given verse-jumping technology to fight Jobu's minions, who converge on the IRS building. She discovers other universes in which she made different choices and flourished, such as becoming a kung fu master and film star. She also learns of Waymond's plans for divorce. Alpha-Waymond believes that Evelyn, as the greatest "failure" of all Evelyns in the multiverse, has the untapped potential to defeat Jobu. Gong Gong is taken over by Alpha-Gong Gong, who instructs Evelyn to kill Joy to stop Jobu from using her to enter Evelyn's universe. Evelyn refuses and decides to face Jobu by gaining powers through repeated verse-jumping. Alpha-Gong Gong, convinced that Evelyn's mind has been compromised like Jobu's, sends soldiers after Evelyn. While they fight, Jobu locates and kills Alpha-Waymond in the Alphaverse. As Jobu confronts Evelyn in her universe, Evelyn's mind splinters, and she collapses. Evelyn's consciousness uncontrollably verse-jumps alongside Jobu's across bizarre and diverse universes. Jobu reveals she does not want to fight, but that instead, she has been searching for an Evelyn who can see, as she does, that nothing matters while killing the Evelyns that do not. She brings Evelyn to the everything bagel, explaining that she wants to use it to allow herself and Evelyn to truly die. Upon looking into the bagel, Evelyn is persuaded and acts cruelly and nihilistically in her other universes, hurting those around her. As Evelyn is about to enter the bagel with Jobu, she pauses to listen to Waymond's pleas in her universe for everybody to stop fighting and to instead be kind even when life does not make sense. Evelyn has an existentialist epiphany and decides to follow Waymond's absurdist[17] and humanist[18] advice, using her multiverse powers to find what hurts those around her and brings them happiness. In doing so, she repairs her damage in the other universes and neutralizes Alpha-Gong Gong and Jobu's fighters. In her home universe, Evelyn reconciles with Waymond, tells Gong Gong of Joy and Becky's relationship, and talks with Deirdre after Waymond convinces Deirdre to let them redo their taxes. Jobu decides to enter the bagel alone while, simultaneously in Evelyn's universe, Joy begs Evelyn to let her go. Evelyn tells Joy that even when nothing makes sense and even though she could be anywhere else in the multiverse, she would always want to be with Joy. Evelyn and the others save Jobu from the bagel, and Evelyn and Joy embrace. Some time later, with the family's relationships improved, they return to the IRS building to refile their taxes. As Deirdre talks, Evelyn's attention is momentarily drawn to her alternative selves and the multiverse before she grounds herself back in her home universe.