Nine Queens (Spanish: Nueve reinas) is a 2000 Argentine heist crime drama film written and directed by Fabián Bielinsky.

In the film, con artists Marcos (Darín) and Juan (Pauls) unexpectedly team up to sell counterfeit rare stamps to a wealthy foreign collector.

Although reluctant, Juan agrees because his father, also a con man, is in jail and requires $70,000 to bribe a judge at his hearing.

Later that day, the pair are presented an elaborate and lucrative scheme when Sandler, Marcos' elderly former associate, contacts him to help sell the "Nine Queens", a counterfeit sheet of rare stamps, to Vidal Gandolfo, a wealthy Spanish collector staying at the hotel where Marcos' sister, Valeria, works.

Lacking sufficient time to properly authenticate the stamps, Vidal hires an expert who confirms their validity.

The fake stamps are then stolen out of Juan and Marcos' hands by thieves on a motorcycle who, unaware of their value, toss them into a river.

To salvage the scheme, Marcos and Juan approach Sandler's widowed sister Berta; her deceased husband owned the real stamps.

Upon arrival, they see a crowd outside and learn the bank has failed due to fraud by the management, making the check worthless.

Additionally, Ignasi Abadal plays "Esteban Vidal Gandolfo", a rich, corrupt Spanish stamp collector.

[13] Antonio Ugo, Jorge Noya, Alejandro Awada, Ricardo Díaz Mourelle, and Roberto Rey portray D'Agostino, Aníbal, Washington, Ramiro, and Texan, all local conmen who have worked with Marcos.

[15][16] The project was stalled for almost two years after Bielinsky won the contest, as Patagonik had the film Clams and Mussels (2000) as a priority over Nine Queens.

Sbaraglia had read the script a year and a half before it was produced and was already committed to filming Intacto (2001) by the time Nine Queens was to begin production.

[16] For the role of Vidal Gandolfo, the studio wanted to cast an Argentine actor who spoke a "perfect Spanish accent", but Bielinsky refused as he considered that would take audiences out of the film.

[16] Before filming was scheduled to begin, Bielinsky shot scenes for a week with Pauls, Darín, and a reduced crew as a "warm-up".

[17] Marcelo Salvioli, the film's art director, initially expressed concern for the hotel scenes included in the script, as it would be difficult to find a location that would fit the requirements and that would allow them to use it.

It was distributed in North America by Sony Pictures Classics and Lions Gate Films for the remaining territories.

[42] In October, FilmSharks acquired the worldwide distribution and remake rights: it announced partnerships with several distributors, including Eurozoom for France, A Contracorriente for Spain, Warner Bros.

Discovery for Eastern Europe, and Curzon for the United Kingdom and Ireland, with release dates yet to be announced; Sony Pictures Classics renewed its license to distribute the film in North America.

[34] FilmSharks also struck a deal with Star Distribution (formerly Buena Vista) and theatrically re-released the film in South America on February 22, 2024,[43] where it was later made available on Disney+.

"[8] Michael Wilmington of the Chicago Tribune awarded the film three-and-a-half out of four stars, and called it "One of the most clever, most enjoyable thrillers in years.

"[57] Edward Guthmann of the San Francisco Chronicle also gave the film a positive review, writing: "Fast-paced and unerringly surprising, Nine Queens is nicely performed by a large cast [...] David Mamet plowed this con-the-con turf in Heist, House of Games and The Spanish Prisoner, but Bielinsky, in his directing debut, makes it seem sassy and reinvented.

"[58] Geoff Pevere of The Toronto Star wrote in his review of the film: "If Nine Queens draws you on a journey that eventually leads up a garden path toward your own suckerhood, it's all the more pleasurable for having done so with such slick expertise.

"[59] After Nine Queens was released in the United States, several American studios started talks with Bielinsky to produce a remake.

[69] In 2003, Warner Bros. bought the film rights for the production company Section Eight founded by George Clooney and Steven Soderbergh for a reported figure around US$1.5 million.