Josh Brolin’s New Thriller Is Already Sinking at the Box Office

Josh Brolin might be one of the most unfortunate actors in the world when it comes to finding himself in situations that nobody else would want to be in. Ending up with his head removed in Avengers: Endgame, to almost being frozen alive in Everest, to melting from the heat of the Arrakis desert in the Dune franchise. But his newest film involves one of the weirdest scenarios you'll ever encounter, and it's the sort of premise that should be impossible for audiences to resist. It's just that, well, they are resisting it.

Whalefall has opened to approximately $8 million at the domestic box office, a disappointing result for the survival thriller starring Austin Abrams and Brolin. Directed by Brian Duffield, the movie arrived in theaters on October 16 and faced considerable competition from several major releases, including Street Fighter and the unexpectedly successful documentary You Can See Everything. Against the reported $60 million production budget, the opening represents a difficult start for the film.

Following the death of his father (Josh Brolin), Jay Gardiner (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. The screenplay is by Duffield and author Daniel Kraus, who also authored the book upon which the movie is based.

Is 'Whalefall' Any Good?

Collider's Charlie Ridgely gave the film a rave review, awarding it a score of 9/10, hailing the father and son dynamic, the lead performance of Abrams, and the simple storytelling in such an unusual location, adding:

"Kraus' novel is famously accurate to the real biology of whales, and scientifically sound in its exploration of exactly what it might take for a human to survive being trapped inside one. But more than that, Whalefall is the story of a father and son, and the sometimes inescapable burden that each side of that relationship can bear if you're not careful. The story of Jay's journey inside the whale is exhilarating, but it's his journey with grief and the memory of his father that ultimately feels the most engaging."