Which 2016 biographical film about Ray Kroc stars Michael Keaton?

The 2016 biographical film about Ray Kroc starring Michael Keaton is The Founder.

Directed by John Lee Hancock and written by Robert Siegel, The Founder dramatizes how Ray Kroc, a struggling Illinois milkshake-mixer salesman, encountered the McDonald brothers’ highly efficient restaurant in San Bernardino, California. Impressed by their speed and consistency, Kroc became their franchising partner and helped transform the operation into a national chain.

The film’s central tension comes from the difference between invention and expansion. Richard and Maurice McDonald developed the original “Speedee Service System,” while Kroc recognized the commercial potential of standardised franchising and aggressive growth. The brothers created the restaurant model, but Kroc ultimately gained control of the company and built the brand into a global business.

The movie takes dramatic liberties and presents events largely through Kroc’s perspective, so it should not be treated as a complete corporate history. The Big Short concerns the 2007–08 financial crisis, Joy follows an entrepreneur and inventor, and The Social Network centres on Facebook. The Founder received a limited release in December 2016 before expanding widely in January 2017.