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The Fifth Estate is a 2013 American-Belgian-British thriller film about the news-leaking website WikiLeaks. It was directed by Bill Condon with Benedict Cumberbatch as its editor-in-chief and founder Julian Assange, and Daniel Brühl as its former spokesperson Daniel Domscheit-Berg.[5] Anthony Mackie, David Thewlis, Alicia Vikander, Stanley Tucci, and Laura Linney are featured in supporting roles.[6] The film's screenplay was written by Josh Singer based in-part on Domscheit-Berg's book Inside WikiLeaks: My Time with Julian Assange and the World's Most Dangerous Website (2011), as well as WikiLeaks: Inside Julian Assange's War on Secrecy (2011) by British journalists David Leigh and Luke Harding. The film draws its name from the construct used to describe the networked group of people that operate, in the manner of Julian Assange, outside the normal constraints society imposes.[7]

Co-produced by DreamWorks Pictures and Participant Media, The Fifth Estate premiered at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival,[8][9] and was released theatrically in the United States on October 18, 2013 by Disney's Touchstone Pictures label,[10] with international distribution divided among Disney, Reliance Entertainment, and independent arrangements by Mister Smith Entertainment.[11][12]

Critical reviews were mixed, with the film receiving criticism over its screenplay and direction, whereas positive mentions were given on the acting, particularly Cumberbatch's performance.