The Founder (2016)

The film follows Ray Kroc, played by Michael Keaton, as he turns the McDonald brothers' restaurant concept into a national business. Richard and Maurice McDonald remain central because Kroc's expansion depends on the system they created in the 1950s.

The story focuses on Kroc's dealings with the brothers and the chain's expansion during the 1950s and 1960s. It is about the business takeover and franchise growth, not a present-day portrait of McDonald's.

John Lee Hancock directed the 2016 biographical drama. Michael Keaton plays Ray Kroc.

Kroc wants to take the restaurant model across the United States, while the brothers are protective of the business they built. That clash over control and expansion drives the film's central conflict.