James Gray's Paper Tiger Could Be The Perfect We Own The Night Successor

James Gray's New Crime Thriller Is The Closest Thing We'll Get To A We Own The Night Sequel

Published Nov 13, 2026, 11:46 AM EST

Josh is a film critic and journalist with over nine years of experience in the entertainment industry. Entering the field at just 17 years old, Josh went on to make his own website, The HoloFiles, and social media brand Star Wars Holocron, the most followed Star Wars fan account on Twitter/X.

A member of both the Chicago Indie Critics and the Hollywood Critics Alliance, Josh has covered major industry events including Star Wars Celebration and, most recently, CinemaCon for ScreenRant. His work has appeared in outlets such as Game Rant and Comic Book Resources (CBR), and he has been featured in publications including the BBC and The New York Times.

Director James Gray has quietly released several of the best films released in recent years. The filmmaker first burst onto the scene with Little Odessa in 1994, and later went on to helm projects like We Own the Night, The Lost City of Z, Ad Astra, and Armageddon Time. Now, Gray is back with another highly anticipated film, Paper Tiger, which releases in theaters this weekend.

Paper Tiger tells the story of two brothers, Gary and Irwin Pearl, as they get roped into a world of crime and death. Gary and Irwin set out to start a business together in New York City in the 1980s, but one mistake from the latter changes everything for both brothers, who are quickly thrust into a fight to survive against the Russian mafia, who have a growing presence in the city.

This film sees Gray return to the genre of one of his very best projects, We Own the Night. In fact, We Own the Night and Paper Tiger are very similar films, as both have an emphasis on the world of crime and the effects it can have on ordinary people (and families). That’s certainly seen in Paper Tiger, where Irwin’s wife, played by Scarlett Johansson, has a big role in the film.

Many have long since wondered if there will ever be a sequel to We Own the Night, the film that Gray helmed in the mid 2000s, which starred Joaquin Phoenix and Mark Wahlberg. A sequel has always looked unlikely, but Paper Tiger, with its many similarities to Gray’s previous work, may be the closest that fans get to a sequel to the beloved 2007 crime drama.

Paper Tiger Returns James Gray To The Crime Genre That Made We Own The Night So Compelling

James Gray’s We Own the Night embraced the crime genre, and did so with great success. The film, which premiered at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival in 2007, grossed twice its production budget, taking in $55 million at the worldwide box office. Although reviews were mixed upon release, the film has garnered a cult following in the years since, many of whom will likely be interested in Gray’s return to the crime world with Paper Tiger.

And, just like We Own the Night, Paper Tiger embraces the crime genre greatly. The new film starts off relatively slow, with Gary making a business proposition to Irwin, who’s initially skeptical. However, Irwin eventually comes around to his brother’s idea, and agrees to accompany him for an initial business meeting with a group of Russian immigrants.

Irwin eventually makes a mistake, however, as he returns to the Russians’ place of business and sees something he wasn’t supposed to. As a result, the group begin to lash out at the Pearl family, eager to send a message that Irwin was out of line when he entered their property without permission (and at night, no less). This makes things difficult for Gary, who, as a former New York City police officer, must now protect his relatively naive little brother.

The Film's Family Conflict & Criminal Underworld Makes It A Spiritual Sequel To We Own The Night

Despite the criminal underworld that the film takes place in, the main theme of Paper Tiger is family, which is prevelent from the film's start right up until Paper Tiger's ending. After all, Gary approached Irwin in the first place because he wanted to bond with his brother, and he thought that entering business together would be a good way to do so.

From there, everything that both Gary and Irwin do is to protect their family, and Gary in particular puts everything on the line to make sure that his brother, his sister-in-law, and his nephews all remain safe from the Russian gang's attacks.

The family theme, and family conflict at the heart of the story, are both also present in We Own the Night. The two films may be different, and they might feature original characters in different worlds, but there’s no doubt that they both share strong similarities with one another. As a result, Paper Tiger acts as something of a spiritual sequel to We Own the Night.