Overview
- The film opened on October 16, 2026, and follows Austin Abrams as a diver swallowed by a sperm whale who must escape with limited oxygen while confronting grief for his father.
- Critics and early audiences have lauded the movie’s large‑scale practical work, including a to‑scale, water‑filled stomach set mounted on a gimbal that created claustrophobic, in‑camera shots.
- Director Brian Duffield and crew tied the creature to Josh Brolin’s character by recording Brolin’s heartbeat for the whale and echoing the actor’s facial scarring in the whale’s design to reinforce the father‑son theme.
- Reviewers singled out Austin Abrams’s physically demanding lead turn and Josh Brolin’s emotional support work while noting the film leans toward overt melodrama and uneven pacing in places.
- The adaptation was co‑written with author Daniel Kraus and filmed largely in California using the state’s tax credit, and its longer success now hinges on box office returns and audience word‑of‑mouth.