Himesh Patel stars as struggling musician Jack Malik, who suddenly finds himself as the only person who remembers the Beatles and becomes famous for performing their songs.

The film also stars Michael Kiwanuka, Lily James, Joel Fry, Ed Sheeran, and Kate McKinnon.

Jack searches for the Beatles on the Internet but finds nothing, then he discovers the band's records missing from his collection, and he realises that he is now living in a world where the group was forgotten.

Following a performance on local television, Jack is invited by pop star Ed Sheeran to play as his opening act in Moscow.

Ellie is a mathematics teacher who has a parent's evening scheduled, and she declines to join him, so Jack's friend Rocky travels with him instead.

In Los Angeles, Sheeran's ruthless manager Debra Hammer signs Jack to her label and engineers his rise to global fame.

Hoping to trigger memories, he goes to the Beatles' hometown of Liverpool, visiting landmarks such as Strawberry Field, Penny Lane, and the grave of Eleanor Rigby.

Ellie joins Jack in Liverpool, and they share a drunken evening and kiss, but she tells him that she is not interested in a one-night stand.

The record label prepares to launch Jack's debut album, but they reject his title ideas—taken from Beatles albums—and names it One Man Only, pushing his talent.

They give him the address of John Lennon, who never became a big star in this reality and has lived a long, happy life with his wife out of the public spotlight.

Jack confesses to the crowd that he plagiarised the music and that he loves Ellie, and he has Rocky upload the songs free on the internet, sabotaging the record release and enraging Debra.

"[4] In March 2018, it was announced that Curtis and director Danny Boyle were working on a musical comedy set in the 1960s or 1970s following "a struggling musician who thinks he's the only person who can remember the Beatles", with Himesh Patel cast in the lead role.

[9] Boyle was convinced Patel was the right choice after listening to him perform the Beatles songs "Yesterday" and "Back in the U.S.S.R." during auditions.

[18] Ana de Armas and Lamorne Morris joined later in April,[19][20] followed by Sophia Di Martino, Joel Fry and Harry Michell in May.

[23] A casting call was issued for extras in overnight scenes shot immediately after Sheeran's four consecutive concerts at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales in May 2018.

"[37] He worked with Patel to cover each song with a "very raw, human performance" style, as Boyle liked it,[37] and refrained from over-produced sounds.

[48] Deadline Hollywood calculated the net profit of the film to be $45 million, when factoring together all expenses and revenues and ignoring the UK tax credits on the production cost.

The website's consensus reads: "Yesterday may fall short of fab, but the end result is still a sweetly charming fantasy with an intriguing—albeit somewhat under-explored—premise.

"[53] Robbie Collin also responded positively in his review for The Daily Telegraph, saying the film "rallies in style for a beautifully judged and surprisingly moving finale, which owes a lot to Patel and James's chemistry.

"[54] Owen Gleiberman of Variety, meanwhile, was less enthusiastic, claiming the film had little soul and calling it a "rom-com wallpapered with the Beatles' greatness.

"[56] Paul McCartney revealed in an interview with Billboard that he and his wife Nancy Shevell went to see the film in a cinema in The Hamptons and "loved it".

[57] Boyle also sent copies of the completed film to Ringo Starr and his wife Barbara, as well as George Harrison's widow Olivia, and received "lovely messages" from both parties.

[59] Motive NYC As remarked upon in the media, a number of other works have had a similar premise or theme[60][61] involving parallel worlds or time travel.