Michael Sarnoski is an American filmmaker. He is best known for writing and directing the films Pig (2021) and A Quiet Place: Day One (2024). Sarnoski grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and graduated from the University School of Milwaukee before attending Yale University. In 2015, Sarnoski executive produced and edited the documentary short film The Testimony directed by Vanessa Block. In 2021, Sarnoski made his directorial debut with the drama film Pig, starring Nicolas Cage, Alex Wolff, and Adam Arkin. The film was released on July 16, 2021, by Neon. In January 2022, it was announced that Sarnoski was hired to write and direct A Quiet Place: Day One, a prequel and spin-off film to the A Quiet Place film series. It stars Lupita Nyong'o, Joseph Quinn, Wolff, Djimon Hounsou and Denis O'Hare. The film is set to be released on June 28, 2024, by Paramount Pictures. Description above from the Wikipedia article Michael Sarnoski, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
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Biography from TMDB.
- Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
- Director, writer and producer
- 3 on MovieCove · 12 credits in all
What are Michael Sarnoski's films like?
Across a limited sample of 3 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Survival and Self.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 0 · Earnest 3
Light 0 · Serious 1 · Dark 2
A split, not a type: Grounded 2 · Stylized 1 · Heightened 0
Gentle 0 · Charged 2 · Intense 1
Steady 2 · Shifting 1 · Whiplash 0
Straight-faced 3 · Some laughs 0 · Funny 0
A split, not a type: Slow burn 2 · Even-paced 0 · Relentless 1
Casual 0 · Engaged 2 · Full focus 1
Easy watch 0 · Affecting 0 · Heavy 3
Resolved 1 · Open-ended 1 · Ambiguous 1
Moods and endings
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Michael Sarnoski's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 2 of their 3 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.
Subscription and free streaming for Michael Sarnoski's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
12 credits, 3 with a MovieCove page.
The Death of Robin Hood(2026)
Midcredits score: 45th percentile of all films
A Quiet Place: Day One(2024)
Midcredits score: 52nd percentile of all films
Pig(2021)
Midcredits score: 80th percentile of all films
The Testimony (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2015)
Coffee Break-Up (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2015)
That (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2012)
Fight Night Legacy (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2011)
The Other Side (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2011)
Rings (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2011)
Love of the Dead (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2011)
Death Stranding (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
The Chain (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Career shape
A full career of 12 titles, 10 of them dated from 2011 to 2026.
Biggest box office
A Quiet Place: Day One (2024)
Highest rated
Pig (2021)
Most popular right now
The Death of Robin Hood (2026)
By role
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it.
Awards
1 major award from 3 major nominations, 2022.
- Directors Guild Award, nominated · Outstanding Directorial Achievement in First-Time Feature Film
- Independent Spirit Award, won · Best First Screenplay
- Independent Spirit Award, nominated
Major bodies only: the Oscars, Primetime Emmys, Golden Globes, BAFTAs and Screen Actors Guild Awards are named; Cannes, Venice, the Berlinale, Sundance, the directors', writers' and producers' guilds, the Grammys, Critics Choice and the Independent Spirit Awards count as other major bodies. Festival and regional prizes are not counted. Source: IMDb.
How do Michael Sarnoski's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 52nd percentile, the median of all 3; across a limited sample of 3 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 58th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up1
- 50th to 74th1
- 25th to 49th1
Shape of the crowd
None of their 3 titles divides audiences: 1 is Crowd Pleaser.
- Crowd Pleaser1
- Broadly Agreed1
- Mixed1
Reviewers score the atmosphere 75/100 and the pacing 37/100 in their films, across 3 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a director.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Is Michael Sarnoski's work okay for kids?
Across a limited sample of up to 3 MovieCove titles with content scores.
Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted.
Who does Michael Sarnoski work with?
People who share at least 2 of Michael Sarnoski's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Pat Scola shares the most, 3.
Actors
- Alex WolffShared titles: A Quiet Place: Day One (2024), Pig (2021)See all 2 shared titles with Alex Wolff
- Elijah UngvaryShared titles: A Quiet Place: Day One (2024), Pig (2021)See all 2 shared titles with Elijah Ungvary
Composers, cinematographers and editors
- Pat ScolaShared titles: The Death of Robin Hood (2026), A Quiet Place: Day One (2024), Pig (2021)See all 3 shared titles with Pat Scola
- Andrew MondsheinShared titles: The Death of Robin Hood (2026), A Quiet Place: Day One (2024)See all 2 shared titles with Andrew Mondshein
- Alexis GrapsasShared titles: A Quiet Place: Day One (2024), Pig (2021)See all 2 shared titles with Alexis Grapsas
