Overview
- The feature, written, directed by and starring Mark Fischbach, opened Jan. 30 after exhibitors broadened bookings to more than 3,000 screens on heavy advance demand.
- Variety reports the film finished the weekend as the No. 2 movie in the U.S., with earlier estimates citing about $8.9 million on Friday and a projected domestic weekend around $17 million.
- Made for roughly $3 million without a traditional studio marketing campaign, the release serves as a high-profile test of influencer-driven distribution.
- Critical response is mixed at 50% on Rotten Tomatoes from a small critic sample, while audience indicators are stronger, including a 90% Popcornmeter and a 6.8/10 IMDb user score, with MrBeast noting the limited critic count.
- Reviewers and viewers highlighted faithful adherence to the game’s claustrophobic submarine viewpoint alongside recurring complaints about pacing, audio mixing, dialogue clarity and dark, hard-to-discern visuals.