Verity: Anne Hathaway and Dakota Johnson thriller gets mixed reviews ahead of box office debut
The Colleen Hoover adaptation Verity is heading into its opening weekend with mixed reviews and a projected US debut of $30–35 million, according to Variety.
Verity, the film adaptation of Colleen Hoover's bestselling thriller, arrives as the first reviews land and its opening weekend approaches. The film stars Anne Hathaway, Dakota Johnson and Josh Hartnett, and critics so far are far from united.
This is not a box office result story yet. The numbers below are projections, and the film's final opening figures were not available in the sources.
What the film is about
Directed by Michael Showalter, Verity centres on Verity Crawford (Hathaway), a hugely successful author who can no longer finish her lucrative book series. A struggling writer, Lowen (Johnson), is brought in to complete the books. She stays at the Crawford family's home in Vermont, where Verity's husband Jeremy (Hartnett) lives.
Lowen then finds a manuscript that hints at a disturbing secret. The screenplay is by Nick Antosca.
Accounts of the setup differ slightly. Variety says Verity was badly injured in a car accident. The Guardian describes her as immobile, in a wheelchair and unable to speak.
What critics are saying
Reviews have been mixed. The Guardian was unconvinced, saying the film "gradually unwinds" after a strong opening. It argued that the third act falls apart into weak plot points and ends on an unresolved note. It praised some nods to Daphne du Maurier and Brian De Palma.
Variety's Guy Lodge called it a "listless" and "unintentionally funny tale".
What is at stake at the box office
Variety projects a US and Canada opening of $30 million to $35 million from 3,510 theatres. That would likely give Hathaway her third No. 1 opening of the year, after The Devil Wears Prada 2 and The Odyssey.
Hoover adaptations are usually made on modest budgets. Verity reportedly cost $40 million.
Variety puts the earlier Hoover films' openings in context:
- It Ends With Us: $50 million opening, about $350 million worldwide
- Reminders of Him: $17 million
- Regretting You: $13.6 million
The film matters to Amazon MGM too. The studio is trying to recover from the summer flop Masters of the Universe, which took $113 million worldwide against a $200 million budget. It had a big hit earlier this year with Project Hail Mary, which made $684 million globally.
Verity opens against Tom Cruise's Digger, which is projected to take $12 million to $15 million.
What happens next
Opening weekend estimates will show whether Verity reaches the projected range despite the lukewarm reviews.
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