The Weight is a 2026 historical drama film directed by Padraic McKinley. It stars Ethan Hawke, Russell Crowe, Julia Jones, Austin Amelio, Avi Nash, Lucas Lynggaad Tonnesen, George Burgess, Cameron Brady, Avy Berry, Alec Newman, and Sam Hazeldine.
The film had its world premiere at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival on January 26 and had its international premiere out of the competition of the 76th Berlin International Film Festival on February 17. The film is scheduled for a theatrical release in the United States on September 18, 2026, by Vertical.
Contents
Premise
In Oregon in 1933, Samuel Murphy is torn from his daughter and sent to a brutal work camp. Warden Clancy tempts him with early release if he smuggles gold through deadly wilderness, but betrayal festers within the crew, and Murphy questions how far he’ll go to see his child again.
Cast
Ethan Hawke as Samuel Murphy, a recently incarcerated man
Russell Crowe as Warden Clancy
Julia Jones as Anna, an Indigenous runaway who accompanies Samuel and the other prisoners
Austin Amelio as Rankin, a prisoner
Avi Nash as Singh, an immigrant prisoner
Lucas Lynggaad Tonnesen as Olson, a young Scandinavian prisoner
George Burgess as Letender
Cameron Brady as The Man
Avy Berry as Penny Murphy, Samuel's daughter
Alec Newman as Taggert
Sam Hazeldine as Amis, Clancy's lackey
Jeffrey Lee Hallman as Big
Dylan Page as Mrs. Akers
Peter Lewys Preston as Ed Akers
Caspar Steinbeck as Joe Akers
Production
The film is from an original screenplay by Shelby Gaines, Matthew Chapman, and Matthew Booi, based on an original story by Booi and Leo Scherman. Padraic McKinley is the director and it is produced by Fields Entertainment, Under The Influence, and augenschein Filmproduktion, in collaboration with Construction Film. Simon Fields and Nathan Fields are producing for Fields Entertainment with Ryan Hawke for Under The Influence, and Jonas Katzenstein and Maximilian Leo of augenschein.
The cast is led by Ethan Hawke, Russell Crowe and Julia Jones.
Principal photography took place in and around Viechtach, Germany in July 2025.
Release
The Weight premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 26, 2026. In March 2026, Vertical acquired North American distribution rights to the film, scheduling it for a theatrical release in the United States on September 18.
Reception
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 93% of 94 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.3/10. The site's critics consensus reads: "The Weight turns a stripped-down tale of desperation into a gripping, hard-hitting thriller, elevated by Ethan Hawke's magnetic performance and Padraic McKinley's assured direction." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 70 out of 100, based on 24 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.
