Whalefall is a 2026 American survival thriller film directed and produced by Brian Duffield, based on the 2023 novel by Daniel Kraus, who co-wrote the script with Duffield. The film follows a scuba diver (Austin Abrams) who, while searching for the remains of his father (Josh Brolin), is swallowed alive by a sperm whale and attempts to escape. Elisabeth Shue, John Ortiz, Jane Levy, and Emily Rudd also star in supporting roles.
Whalefall is scheduled to be released theatrically in the United States by 20th Century Studios on October 16, 2026. The film received positive reviews from critics.
Contents
Premise
A scuba diver searching for his father's remains in the ocean is swallowed by a sperm whale, leaving him an hour to find a way to escape.
Cast
Austin Abrams as Jay Gardiner, Mitt and Zara's youngest child
Josh Brolin as Mitt Gardiner, Jay's father
Elisabeth Shue as Zara Gardiner, Jay's mother
John Ortiz as Hewey, Mitt's friend, a retired dentist
Jane Levy as Eva Gardiner, Mitt and Zara's eldest child
Emily Rudd as Nan Gardiner, Mitt and Zara's middle child
Production
Development
In August 2023, just before the book's publication, Imagine Entertainment announced that it had struck a pre-emptive film rights deal for Whalefall. In March 2024, 20th Century Studios won a bidding war for distribution for Daniel Kraus' novel and set Brian Duffield as director and co-writer. The following year, Austin Abrams was cast as the lead, with Josh Brolin entering negotiations to join. Brolin would be confirmed by June, with Elisabeth Shue, John Ortiz, Jane Levy, and Emily Rudd also added to the cast.
Filming
Production was granted a tax credit to film in California, with principal photography beginning in Los Angeles on June 9, 2025. Filming lasted 62 days, and a practical 12-foot-tall, 18-feet-wide whale was constructed for the shoot. The production received $10.4 million in tax credits off $48.7 million spent on-location. Aaron Morton serves as cinematographer, having previously collaborated with Duffield on No One Will Save You and Spontaneous. Scenes were shot at Monterey Peninsula on June 17. Producers debated shooting in Louisiana, where the tax incentives are slightly higher, but opted to film around Los Angeles to have the cast and crew able to remain close to their homes during filming.
Music
Joseph Trapanese composed the score for the film.
Release
Whalefall premiered in London on October 5, 2026, and is scheduled to be theatrically released in the United States on October 16, by 20th Century Studios.
It was also screened in Sitges Collection on October 14, 2026 at the 59th Sitges Film Festival, and in the Grand public section of the 21st Rome Film Festival in October 2026.
Reception
Box office
In the United States and Canada, Whalefall will be released alongside Street Fighter and Sense and Sensibility, and is projected to gross around $11-12 million in its opening weekend.
Critical response
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 78% of 63 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.8/10. Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 62 out of 100, based on 23 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.
Zachary Lee of RogerEbert.com praised Whalefall for its claustrophobic suspense, imaginative visual spectacle, and exploration of grief and spirituality. Lee highlighted Duffield's ability to combine a high-concept survival thriller with deeper existential themes, describing the film as a "mind-bending joyride" that takes audiences to "uncharted cinematic depths." Nikki Baughan of Screen Daily gave the film a positive review, praising Abrams' lead performance, the intense visuals, and the emotional depth underlying its unusual survival premise. Baughan noted that Abrams carries much of the film through its increasingly outlandish developments, while the story's emotional core elevates it beyond its high-concept premise. Phil de Semlyen of Time Out awarded the film four out of five stars, describing it as a fast-paced and effective underwater thriller. He praised Duffield's direction, the claustrophobic atmosphere, and the film's body-horror sequences, noting that the whale's interior provides a distinctive setting for a tense race against time.
Financial Times praised the film's striking visual effects, imaginative depiction of the whale's interior, and Abrams' performance, but criticized the emotional storyline involving Jay's relationship with his deceased father as overly sentimental.