| Director | Wes Anderson |
|---|---|
| Genre | comedy drama, comedy film, drama film, romance film, science fiction film |
| Runtime | 105 min |
| Country | United States |
| Budget | $25 million |
| Box office | $54 million |
Throughout the film, the action is split between showing a television special documenting the behind-the-scenes creation of a new play and a presentation of the play itself. The play's events are depicted in widescreen and stylized color, while the television special is seen in black-and-white Academy ratio.
Set in a retro-futuristic version of September, 1955, the play follows an annual Junior Stargazer astronomy convention being held in the fictional, titular desert town somewhere in the American Southwest. The town's claim to fame is the impact crater and remnants of a meteorite left behind from contact with a meteor in 3007 B.C. Nuclear atom bomb tests also occur regularly nearby.
War photojournalist Augie Steenbeck arrives to Asteroid City with Woodrow, his intellectual teenage son, and his three younger daughters, in their car which has broken down. After a mechanic informs them that there's no hope for their car due to an unexplained piece of machinery gone rogue, Augie phones his father-in-law, Stanley, asking for his help. Stanley, who dislikes his son-in-law, persuades him to tell the children about their mother's recent death, which Augie had concealed. When he informs his children of her passing, the girls decide that they want to bury her ashes in Asteroid City, much against Stanley's wishes. Augie and Woodrow meet Midge Campbell, a famous but world-weary film actress, and her daughter Dinah, who, like Woodrow, will be honored at the convention. The other convention participants arrive: Five-star General, Grif Gibson; his aide-de-camp; astronomer, Dr. Hickenlooper; three additional teenaged honorees - Clifford, Shelly, and Ricky; their parents - J.J., Sandy, and Roger; A busload of elementary-school children chaperoned by young teacher, June Douglas; A band of cowboys led by singer, Montana, who get stuck at the convention after missing their bus. A local motel provides everyone's accommodations.
Gibson welcomes the attendees at the Arid Plains Crater where the teenagers are to receive awards for various inventions. Afterwards, the characters all get to know each other better, namely Augie and Midge who are cabin neighbors and begin a romantic relationship as they interact through their windows. Later that night, while the convention guests are observing an astronomical ellipsis, a UFO suddenly appears above the crater; an alien emerges and steals the remnant of the meteorite that created the crater. Augie manages to photograph the creature before it leaves immediately after.
Gibson, with instructions from the President, has placed the town under a strict military quarantine, and everyone is subjected to medical and psychiatric examinations. The President has also instructed that no word of the events should get out to the public and to convince the witnesses that what they saw was not real. Meanwhile, a romance blossoms between Montana and June, who assure the students that the alien is likely peaceful. Dinah and Woodrow also develop romantic feelings after bonding over their shared quirks. Meanwhile, J.J. asks Clifford, his son, why he feels the need to always be dared to do something, which Clifford has a habit of doing. He replies that perhaps it is because he is "afraid, otherwise nobody will notice [his] existence in the universe." Woodrow protests to Augie and Stanley that they should not be so calm about what has happened and questions what the meaning of life is, if there even is one. Meanwhile, Stanley tells Augie that he and his kids are welcome to stay with him for as long as necessary, for his love for his daughter and grandchildren outweigh his dislike of Augie. The Stargazer honorees use Dr. Hickenlooper's equipment to attempt to contact the alien. Tricking the guard watching the pay phone, Ricky calls his school newspaper to relay the quarantine details and cover-up to the outside world.
(As Earp explains it, in the third act, "our cast of characters' already tenuous grasp of reality has further slipped in quarantine, and the group begins to occupy a space of the most peculiar emotional dimensions. Meanwhile, the information blockade spearheaded by General Griff Gibson has been, it appears, incomplete.")
The extraterrestrial events have become national news and Asteroid City has transformed into a tourist attraction. A furious Gibson threatens Ricky with arrest due to treason. June, once again, attempts to hold a normal class with her students, though it is derailed by her student Dwight, who performs an ode to the alien with the help of Montana and his band. Augie and Midge rehearse a scene from her upcoming film and when she asks him to employ his grief, he becomes overwrought with emotion and burns his hand on his quickie-griddle, causing Mercedes (as Midge) to momentarily break character. Dr. Hickenlooper follows up with the Stargazers about their attempts to interact with the alien and, privately, tells Woodrow that he should always continue to follow his curiosity and asks him to be her protégé. General Gibson assembles an emergency assembly with the town residents and informs them that the quarantine has been lifted when suddenly, the UFO reappears, dropping the meteorite back into its former position; the General sees new markings on it and deduces that it has been "inventoried." Gibson then reinstates the quarantine; the children, scientists, and parents revolt, using the honorees' inventions to overpower the military, and chaos ensues.
Augie wakes up the next morning to find everyone gone from Asteroid City, and he is informed by the motel manager that the quarantine was lifted after all. Stanley accepts his granddaughters' wishes to leave their mother's remains in Asteroid City. As the family is leaving town, Woodrow reveals he has won the fellowship funding and intends to use the funds on Dinah. Augie also learns that Midge has left him her mailing address.