Overview

• The world premiere at the Venice Film Festival drew a 13–15 minute standing ovation that left Guillermo del Toro and stars Jacob Elordi and Oscar Isaac visibly emotional.
• Early notices range from raves to pans, with scores around 77–78% on Rotten Tomatoes and roughly 73 on Metacritic, and many critics highlighting Elordi’s performance as the Creature.
• Netflix has set a limited theatrical rollout for October 17 ahead of a worldwide debut on the platform on November 7.
• Del Toro emphasized that his take centers on questions of humanity rather than technology and joked he fears “natural stupidity” more than artificial intelligence.
• The character-driven epic runs 149 minutes on a reported $120 million budget, showcasing lavish production design and extensive prosthetic work.