movie.gurua place for film friends
Poster © 20th Century Studios. Shown at reduced size for review and commentary.
|
GenreAdventure, Drama & Thriller
RatedPG-13
Runtime1 hr 46 mins
ReleasedOctober 16, 2026
StreamingIn theaters now
DirectorBrian Duffield
StarringAustin Abrams, Josh Brolin, Elisabeth Shue
|
Whalefall (2026)
Contacting Whalefall
| ▶Stream It | ★The Numbers |
| 🎫Get Tickets | ✎Edit History |
| iIMDb Profile | %Rotten Tomatoes |
| WWikipedia | LLetterboxd |
| TTMDB | +Add to Top 8 |
movie.guru URL: https://movie.guru/whalefall-movie-review
| Whalefall's Details | |
| Genre | Adventure, Drama & Thriller |
| Rated | PG-13 |
| Released | 10/05/2026 (London); 10/16/2026 (United States) |
| Streaming | In theaters now. |
| Running Time | 1 hr 46 mins |
| Budget | $60M (reported) |
| Box Office | Updated daily from Box Office Mojo. See the numbers below. |
| Based On | Whalefall by Daniel Kraus |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Whalefall's Interests | |
| General | Scuba gear, air gauges, whale anatomy. |
| Music | Whale song, unfortunately. |
| Movies | Pinocchio, 127 Hours. |
| Television | Blue Planet, with your eyes closed. |
| Heroes | Anyone who checks their oxygen twice. |
| Whalefall's Crew | |
| Director | Brian Duffield |
| Writers | Brian Duffield, Daniel Kraus |
| Producers | Brian Grazer, Brian Duffield, Jeb Brody, Allan Mandelbaum |
| Cinematography | Aaron Morton |
| Music | Joseph Trapanese |
| Edited By | Pietro Scalia |
| Production | 20th Century Studios, Imagine Entertainment, Jurassic Party Productions |
| Distributed By | 20th Century Studios |
Whalefall's Trailer
Official Trailer • 20th Century Studios
Whalefall's Blurbs
About me:
Jay (Austin Abrams) dives into the ocean looking for his father's remains and gets swallowed whole by a sperm whale. He has about an hour of air and no good options. Josh Brolin and Elisabeth Shue play his parents. Brian Duffield directs, based on Daniel Kraus's novel. One hundred and six minutes inside a whale. That's the pitch. That's the whole pitch.
Who I'd like to meet:
Anyone who read Jonah and thought, I'd handle it better.
How Whalefall Performed
Guru TLDRSpoiler Blocker: Off
movie guru's TLDR
Can a guy stuck inside a whale keep you stressed for a whole movie? Whalefall’s answer is about half the movie. When it sticks with Jay in the dark, it’s legit gnarly: stomach acid, a tank running low, and a teenager trying to think straight inside a living submarine. Austin Abrams sells the panic with almost nobody to act against. The trouble is that every time the tension peaks, the movie swims off to a flashback. Josh Brolin plays Jay’s dad as a hard, difficult man, and he’s great, but those memories keep letting the air out of the main event. You end up stuck between a gross-out survival thriller and a family drama, and neither gets enough room. Critics landed at 71% on Rotten Tomatoes and opening crowds gave it a B CinemaScore, which feels about right. A 6.1 because the core idea is wild and the inside of that whale looks convincing, but the cutaways keep pulling the plug. $346 says you see a whale watching ad next summer and politely decline.
What works: Austin Abrams carries long stretches alone, and the scenes inside the whale are claustrophobic, gross and genuinely tense.
What doesn’t: The flashbacks keep cutting in right when the tension peaks, so the survival story and the family drama both feel shortchanged.
Who it’s for: Survival thriller fans who like a ridiculous premise played straight, and anyone with complicated feelings about their dad.
Spoilers
Orcas attack the whale and leave it dying as it rises toward the surface. Jay uses survival tricks his father taught him to rig a blast from his own gear and break out, and a research boat pulls him from the water before he reunites with his family.
Guru’s Take
6.1/10
Solid
Whalefall's Friend Space
Whalefall's Top 8
Whalefall's Cast (in credits order)
| Austin Abrams | Jay Gardiner |
| Josh Brolin | Mitt Gardiner |
| Elisabeth Shue | Zara Gardiner |
| John Ortiz | Hewey |
| Jane Levy | Eva Gardiner |
| Emily Rudd | Nan Gardiner |
Full cast and crew on IMDb.
Whalefall's Edit History
Every change to this page, newest first. Movie data updates are logged like any other edit.
- (cur | prev) 14:30, 6 November 2026 DataBot +200 Numbers refreshed: Worldwide box office $37.3M → $37.5M; Domestic box office $16.9M → $17.1M; box office chart updated; Rotten Tomatoes critics 74% (189 reviews) → 74% (191 reviews); IMDb users 6.6 / 10 (10,196 votes) → 6.6 / 10 (10,273 votes).
- (cur | prev) 14:30, 5 November 2026 DataBot +200 Numbers refreshed: Worldwide box office $37M → $37.3M; Domestic box office $16.7M → $16.9M; Profit / loss (est.) -$71.5M → -$71.3M; box office chart updated; IMDb users 6.6 / 10 (10,068 votes) → 6.6 / 10 (10,196 votes).
- (cur | prev) 14:30, 4 November 2026 DataBot +200 Numbers refreshed: Worldwide box office $36.9M → $37M; Domestic box office $16.5M → $16.7M; Profit / loss (est.) -$71.6M → -$71.5M; box office chart updated; IMDb users 6.6 / 10 (9,966 votes) → 6.6 / 10 (10,068 votes).
- (cur | prev) 14:30, 3 November 2026 DataBot +200 Numbers refreshed: Worldwide box office $36.6M → $36.9M; Domestic box office $16.4M → $16.5M; Profit / loss (est.) -$71.7M → -$71.6M; box office chart updated; IMDb users 6.6 / 10 (9,820 votes) → 6.6 / 10 (9,966 votes).
- (cur | prev) 14:30, 2 November 2026 DataBot +160 Numbers refreshed: Rotten Tomatoes 73% → 74%; Rotten Tomatoes critics 73% (187 reviews) → 74% (189 reviews); Rotten Tomatoes audience 81% (1,000+ verified ratings) → 80% (1,000+ verified ratings); IMDb users 6.6 / 10 (9,602 votes) → 6.6 / 10 (9,820 votes).
- (cur | prev) 14:30, 1 November 2026 DataBot +200 Numbers refreshed: Worldwide box office $32.6M → $36.6M; Domestic box office $15.3M → $16.4M; Profit / loss (est.) -$73.7M → -$71.7M; box office chart updated; IMDb users 6.6 / 10 (9,493 votes) → 6.6 / 10 (9,602 votes).
- (cur | prev) 14:30, 31 October 2026 DataBot +240 Numbers refreshed: Worldwide box office $32.4M → $32.6M; Domestic box office $15.1M → $15.3M; Profit / loss (est.) -$73.8M → -$73.7M; box office chart updated; Rotten Tomatoes critics 73% (186 reviews) → 73% (187 reviews); IMDb users 6.6 / 10 (9,292 votes) → 6.6 / 10 (9,493 votes).
- (cur | prev) 14:30, 30 October 2026 DataBot +80 Numbers refreshed: Rotten Tomatoes critics 73% (185 reviews) → 73% (186 reviews); IMDb users 6.6 / 10 (9,013 votes) → 6.6 / 10 (9,292 votes).
- (cur | prev) 14:30, 29 October 2026 DataBot +160 Numbers refreshed: Worldwide box office $32M → $32.4M; Domestic box office $14.8M → $15.1M; Profit / loss (est.) -$74M → -$73.8M; box office chart updated.
- (cur | prev) 14:30, 28 October 2026 DataBot +200 Numbers refreshed: Worldwide box office $31.2M → $31.5M; Domestic box office $14M → $14.3M; Profit / loss (est.) -$74.4M → -$74.2M; box office chart updated; IMDb users 6.6 / 10 (8,442 votes) → 6.6 / 10 (8,732 votes).
- (cur | prev) 14:30, 27 October 2026 DataBot +240 Numbers refreshed: Worldwide box office $31.3M → $31.2M; Domestic box office $14.1M → $14M; box office chart updated; Rotten Tomatoes audience 81% (500+ verified ratings) → 81% (1,000+ verified ratings); IMDb users 6.7 / 10 (8,064 votes) → 6.6 / 10 (8,442 votes); movie.guru score 5.6 → 5.5.
- (cur | prev) 14:30, 26 October 2026 DataBot +240 Numbers refreshed: Worldwide box office $21.4M → $31.3M; Domestic box office $11.7M → $14.1M; Profit / loss (est.) -$79.3M → -$74.4M; box office chart updated; Rotten Tomatoes audience 82% (500+ verified ratings) → 81% (500+ verified ratings); IMDb users 6.7 / 10 (7,489 votes) → 6.7 / 10 (8,064 votes).
- (cur | prev) 14:30, 25 October 2026 DataBot +320 Numbers refreshed: Worldwide box office $20.5M → $21.4M; Domestic box office $10.9M → $11.7M; Profit / loss (est.) -$79.8M → -$79.3M; Rotten Tomatoes 72% → 73%; box office chart updated; Rotten Tomatoes critics 72% (172 reviews) → 73% (175 reviews); Rotten Tomatoes audience 81% (500+ verified ratings) → 82% (500+ verified ratings); IMDb users 6.7 / 10 (7,182 votes) → 6.7 / 10 (7,489 votes).
- (cur | prev) 14:30, 24 October 2026 DataBot +200 Numbers refreshed: Worldwide box office $20M → $20.5M; Domestic box office $10.4M → $10.9M; Profit / loss (est.) -$80M → -$79.8M; box office chart updated; IMDb users 6.7 / 10 (6,716 votes) → 6.7 / 10 (7,182 votes).
- (cur | prev) 14:30, 23 October 2026 DataBot +240 Numbers refreshed: Worldwide box office $19.3M → $20M; Domestic box office $9.7M → $10.4M; Profit / loss (est.) -$80.3M → -$80M; box office chart updated; Rotten Tomatoes critics 72% (171 reviews) → 72% (172 reviews); IMDb users 6.7 / 10 (6,041 votes) → 6.7 / 10 (6,716 votes).
- (cur | prev) 14:30, 22 October 2026 DataBot +280 Numbers refreshed: Worldwide box office $18.2M → $19.3M; Domestic box office $8.6M → $9.7M; Profit / loss (est.) -$80.9M → -$80.3M; box office chart updated; Rotten Tomatoes critics 72% (168 reviews) → 72% (171 reviews); IMDb users 6.7 / 10 (5,239 votes) → 6.7 / 10 (6,041 votes); movie.guru score 5.5 → 5.6.
- (cur | prev) 14:30, 21 October 2026 DataBot +320 Numbers refreshed: Worldwide box office $17.5M → $18.2M; Domestic box office $7.8M → $8.6M; Profit / loss (est.) -$81.3M → -$80.9M; box office chart updated; Rotten Tomatoes critics 72% (166 reviews) → 72% (168 reviews); Rotten Tomatoes audience 82% (500+ verified ratings) → 81% (500+ verified ratings); IMDb users 6.8 / 10 (4,450 votes) → 6.7 / 10 (5,239 votes); movie.guru score 5.6 → 5.5.
- (cur | prev) 14:30, 20 October 2026 DataBot +360 Numbers refreshed: Domestic box office $8M → $7.8M; Opening weekend $8M → $7.8M; Profit / loss (est.) -$81.2M → -$81.3M; Rotten Tomatoes 71% → 72%; box office chart updated; Rotten Tomatoes critics 71% (157 reviews) → 72% (166 reviews); Rotten Tomatoes audience 81% (500+ verified ratings) → 82% (500+ verified ratings); IMDb users 6.8 / 10 (3,560 votes) → 6.8 / 10 (4,450 votes); movie.guru score 5.5 → 5.6.
- (cur | prev) 14:30, 19 October 2026 DataBot +320 Numbers refreshed: Worldwide box office $3M → $17.5M; Domestic box office $3M → $8M; Opening weekend $8M; Profit / loss (est.) -$88.5M → -$81.2M; box office chart updated; Rotten Tomatoes critics 71% (148 reviews) → 71% (157 reviews); Rotten Tomatoes audience 81% (250+ verified ratings) → 81% (500+ verified ratings); IMDb users 6.8 / 10 (2,382 votes) → 6.8 / 10 (3,560 votes).
- (cur | prev) 14:30, 18 October 2026 DataBot +280 Numbers refreshed: Worldwide box office $3M; Domestic box office $3M; Profit / loss (est.) -$88.5M; box office chart updated; Rotten Tomatoes critics 71% (143 reviews) → 71% (148 reviews); IMDb users 6.8 / 10 (1,267 votes) → 6.8 / 10 (2,382 votes); movie.guru score 5.0 → 5.1.
- (cur | prev) 14:30, 17 October 2026 DataBot +120 Numbers refreshed: CinemaScore B; CinemaScore B; movie.guru score 5.8 → 5.0.
- (cur | prev) 14:30, 16 October 2026 DataBot +40 Numbers refreshed: score credits updated.
- (cur | prev) 14:30, 15 October 2026 DataBot +80 Numbers refreshed: Rotten Tomatoes 70%; RT 70% (102 reviews).
- (cur | prev) 12:00, 15 October 2026 DataBot +2,000 Profile created from Wikipedia and Box Office Mojo: cast, crew, release dates, budget, official trailer.