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Adil El Arbi

Adil El Arbi

Director, writer and producer · Born June 30, 1988 (38) · Edegem, Antwerp, Belgium

Adil El Arbi (born June 30, 1988) and Bilall Fallah (born January 4, 1986) are Belgian film and television directors of Moroccan descent. The duo, collectively billed as Adil & Bilall, are known for writing and directing the feature films Image (2014), Black (2015), and Gangsta (2018), as well as directing Bad Boys for Life (2020) and the upcoming Bad Boys: Ride or Die (2024), the third and fourth installments of the Bad Boys franchise starring Will Smith and Martin Lawrence.

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
June 30, 1988 (38)
From
Edegem, Antwerp, Belgium
Works as
Director, writer and producer
Titles
8 on MovieCove · 27 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 156 days to Oct 27Up 8% in 30 days

What are Adil El Arbi's films like?

Across their 6 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Society.

Themes

share of theme weight
Bonds
57%
Society
12%
Self
8%
Power
8%
Morality
8%
Survival
8%
Loyalty4 titles, browse their movies with this themeFriendship2 titles, browse their movies with this themeFamily bonds3 titles, browse their movies with this themeJustice2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 5 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Serious: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their serious movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

A split, not a type: Light 2 · Serious 1 · Dark 2

Stylized: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their stylized movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

A split, not a type: Grounded 3 · Stylized 1 · Heightened 1

Intense: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their intense movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

Gentle 0 · Charged 1 · Intense 4

Shifting: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their shifting movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 0 · Shifting 5 · Whiplash 0

Some laughs: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their some laughs movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

A split, not a type: Straight-faced 2 · Some laughs 1 · Funny 2

Relentless: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their relentless movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 0 · Even-paced 2 · Relentless 3

Engaged: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their engaged movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 2 · Engaged 2 · Full focus 1

Affecting: How much it costs you emotionally; whether you need recovery time. Browse their affecting movies.
Demand · Emotional cost
easyheavy

A split, not a type: Easy watch 3 · Affecting 1 · Heavy 1

Resolved: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their resolved movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

A split, not a type: Resolved 2 · Open-ended 3 · Ambiguous 0

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Tense
4
Thrilling
3
Joyful
3
Dread
1
Warm
1
Other
3

How their films linger

Thought-provoking3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFun3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFeel-good2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end · 2 with a twist

  • Happy1
  • Bittersweet3
  • Ambiguous2

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 Adil El Arbi's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 6 of their 8 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Hulu (3).

Subscription and free streaming for Adil El Arbi'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

27 credits, 8 with a MovieCove page; 8 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.

  • 7 Dogs(2026)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 61st percentile of all films

  • The Best Immigrant (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2025)

    Show 1 episode · Executive Producer

  • Gangstas (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2025)

    Director · Script

  • Shab Rwina 2.0 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2024)

    Thanks

  • Bad Boys: Ride or Die(2024)

    Director · Vocals · as Manny's Goon #1 (uncredited)

    Midcredits score: 67th percentile of all films

  • Rebel(2022)

    Director · Additional Editor · Executive Producer · Writer

    Midcredits score: 91st percentile of all films

  • Hazard (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2022)

    as Basketball Player

  • Ms. Marvel(2022)

    Show 6 episodes · Director · Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 15th percentile of all shows

  • Chatroom (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2021)

    Writer

  • Soil(2021)

    Show 8 episodes · Director

    Midcredits score: 61st percentile of all shows

  • Bad Boys for Life(2020)

    Director · as Rideshare Driver

    Midcredits score: 65th percentile of all films

  • Gangsta (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2018)

    Director · Editor · Writer

  • Scalped(2017)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 42nd percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)

  • Snowfall(2017)

    Show 2 episodes · Director

    Midcredits score: 98th percentile of all shows

  • Hashtag (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2017)

    Director

  • The Blind Spot (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2017)

    as Cafébaas Marrokaanse bar

  • Over 5 jaar (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2016)

    Show 1 episode · as Adil El Arbi

  • Black (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2015)

    Director · Editor · Screenplay

  • Het zijn net mensen (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2015)

    Show 1 episode · as Adil El Arbi

  • Image (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2014)

    Director

  • Broeders (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2011)

    Director

  • Tegen de Sterren op (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2010)

    Show 1 episode · Actor

  • Astaghfiro (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2010)

    Director · Editor · Writer

  • Coupe Ghoroto (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2008)

    Director

  • Riders Republic (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Director

  • Smiling Hacker (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Director

  • The Court of the Greats (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Director

Career shape

A full career of 27 titles, 24 of them dated from 2008 to 2026.

Biggest box office

Bad Boys for Life (2020)

$427M worldwide

Highest rated

Rebel (2022)

Midcredits 91st

Most popular right now

Bad Boys for Life (2020)

Film career

  • 2017Screen debut· The Blind Spot

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting7 of 27: 5 only acting, 2 with another roleDirecting19 of 27: 11 only directing, 8 with another role · typical Midcredits score63rdWriting5 of 27: 1 only writing, 4 with another roleProducing3 of 27: 1 only producing, 2 with another roleEditing4 of 27: 0 only editing, 4 with another roleOther crew3 of 27: 1 only other crew, 2 with another role

27 titles, 8 with more than one role — directing and acting overlap on 2 of them.

By decade

2000s1 · crew2010s12 · 4 acting · 8 crew2020s11 · 3 acting · 10 crew

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.

How do Adil El Arbi's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 65th percentile, the median of all 5; across their 5 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 65th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

65thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 5

Approval · how many liked their films

63rdpercentile
Typical film, the median of 5

Reach · how many have seen their films

86thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 5

Midcredits score across 8 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up2
  • 50th to 74th4
  • 25th to 49th1
  • Below 25th1

Shape of the crowd

4 of their 8 titles are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Universally Loved1
  • Loved with Detractors1
  • Divisive1
  • Crowd Pleaser4
  • Mixed1

Most divisive · director

Scalped (2017)

96th percentile spread · 45% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · director

Snowfall (2017)

Midcredits 98th · 94% liked

Reviewers score the atmosphere 59/100 and the pacing 46/100 in their films, across 4 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.

Who does Adil El Arbi work with?

People who share at least 2 of Adil El Arbi's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Bilall Fallah shares the most, 6.

Directors

Writers

Actors

Composers, cinematographers and editors

Producers