Whalefall

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Whalefall

PG-13

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1h 45m

Mystery & Thriller

Adventure

Drama

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Popcornmeter

72%

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173 Reviews

81%

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500+ Verified Ratings

Following the death of his father (Josh Brolin), Jay Gardiner (Austin Abrams) goes diving off the central Coast of California in search of his remains, but is swallowed by a massive sperm whale. While trapped inside its belly with only one hour of oxygen left, Jay comes to realize that the hard-earned lessons his father imparted may be the key to his escape.

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Critics Consensus

Unforgettably visceral whenever it isn't getting mired in flashbacks, Whalefall's freaky concept requires suspension of disbelief that is rewarded with some of the most unusual set pieces the survival thriller genre has to offer.

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Sara Michelle Fetters

MovieFreak.com

3 days ago

3/4

The visual effects are beyond reproach, and Duffield stages a set piece — in which Jay accidentally (stupidly?) gets involved with the whale as it hunts its morning breakfast — with cruel, horrifying tenacity.

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Wenlei Ma

The Nightly (AU)

4 days ago

3/5

Austin Abrams ably carries the movie but unless this is your very specific thing, Whalefall is more like a "nice to see" than "must see".

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Peter Travers

The Travers Take

Oct 16, 2026

2.5/4

The kid from Resident Evil gets swallowed by a whale and it’s slimy-scary good times in the belly of the beast until a soap opera plot drowns everything in tearjerking. Gross!

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André Didyme-Dôme

Rolling Stone en Español

2 hrs ago

Whalefall is an original, distinctive, and thrilling film that recaptures the essence of adventure cinema by pushing a character to seemingly impossible limits and making every decision a matter of life or death.[Full review in Spanish]

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Linda Cook

OurQuadCities / WHBF-TV (Illinois)

18 hrs ago

3 stars

A man-versus-nature survival tale blended with father-issues drama, 'Whalefall' is a big crowd-pleaser.

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Matt Lynch

In Review Online

1 day ago

The thing that ultimately scuttles Whalefall is that it takes itself slightly too seriously, preferring a solemn story of sons grappling with fathers and a heaping dose of trauma metaphor.

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Mr Fawn

5 hrs ago

This was one of the most genuinely unnerving movies ive seen in a long time.

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Juandi

15 hrs ago

This was entertaining beginning to end. Well acted, good effects & good storyline. I was curious to see how they could pull off an entire movie in one setting & I was pleasantly surprised with the result. It’s a good balance of action & dialogue.

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James S

17 hrs ago

Very thrilling

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Irene Cueva

19 hrs ago

How do I describe it?...This movie was very well made and gave you the sense that it could be something that would really happen. You go with your mind set on the take of Gipetto living in a Whale waiting to be rescued but you leave this movie wondering, "how the heck did Gipetto live in the Whale without oxegen?" It was a really great feeling and the ideology of it all...leaving with a warm feeling and tears running down your cheeks because he came to terms with his Father and realized how much he truly loved him🥲 Very well made. Cinematography was amazing!

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Cecilia G

19 hrs ago

Totally different from any movie I’ve seen before 👍🏼

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Heather K

20 hrs ago

My granddaughter and I enjoyed the movie

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Brian Duffield

Director

Austin Abrams

Jay Gardiner

Josh Brolin

Mitt Gardiner

Elisabeth Shue

Zara Gardiner

John Ortiz

Hewey

Jane Levy

Eva Gardiner

Whalefall: Movie Clip - Swallowed by the Whale

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Whalefall: Movie Clip - Fighting the Squid

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Whalefall: Exclusive Movie Clip - Babies Crying

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Whalefall: Featurette - Father and Son Story

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Whalefall: Featurette - First Look

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Whalefall: Trailer 2

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Whalefall: Trailer 1

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Whalefall: Teaser Trailer

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Synopsis

Following the death of his father (Josh Brolin), Jay Gardiner (Austin Abrams) goes diving off the central Coast of California in search of his remains, but is swallowed by a massive sperm whale. While trapped inside its belly with only one hour of oxygen left, Jay comes to realize that the hard-earned lessons his father imparted may be the key to his escape.

Director: Brian Duffield
Producer: Brian Grazer, Brian Duffield, Jeb Brody, Allan Mandelbaum
Screenwriter: Brian Duffield, Daniel Kraus
Distributor: 20th Century Studios
Production Co: Imagine Entertainment, 3 Arts Entertainment
Rating: PG-13 (Some Strong Language|Peril|Bloody Images|Thematic Content|Violent Content)
Genre: Mystery & Thriller, Adventure, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 16, 2026, Wide
Box Office (Gross USA): $7.8M
Runtime: 1h 45m
Sound Mix: Dolby Atmos
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

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