“Bad Apples” hits cinemas today: Saoirse Ronan as the teacher who kidnaps her unruly pupil

The dark comedy “Bad Apples,” starring Saoirse Ronan, opens today, September 18, 2026, in cinemas across the United Kingdom and the United States. The film is distributed by Republic Pictures in the US and Paramount Pictures in the UK, and its official trailer was released alongside the theatrical opening. “Bad Apples” had its world premiere a year earlier, on September 7, 2025, at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).

Ronan plays Maria Spencer, a dedicated but increasingly exhausted primary-school teacher in Somerset, England, whose class of ten-year-olds is thrown into chaos by the disruptive behavior of a single pupil, Danny. With her career on the line and the child’s behavior out of control, Maria makes a string of bad decisions that lead her to kidnap the boy and lock him inside her home. When the class — without him — begins to flourish and staff and parents welcome the improvement, Maria’s mistake becomes an absurd moral trap: nobody seems to want the “bad apple” back.

The film marks the English-language debut of Swedish director Jonatan Etzler, previously known for Netflix’s comedy “One More Time.” The screenplay was written by Jess O’Kane, from a story by Etzler and O’Kane, based on Rasmus Lindgren’s debut Swedish novel “De Oönskade” (“The Unwanted”). Alongside Ronan star Eddie Waller as Danny, Nia Brown, Jacob Anderson (as Sam, Maria’s colleague and ex-boyfriend), Rakie Ayola, Robert Emms, Sean Gilder and Kerry Howard. The producer is Oskar Pimlott.

“Bad Apples” was well received by critics after its Toronto premiere and also screened at AFI Fest. On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds around 83 percent positive reviews from critics. ScreenRant critic Mae Abdulbaki called it “the craziest dark comedy you’ll see this year,” giving it 8 out of 10 stars and praising Ronan’s comic turn after a string of largely dramatic roles.

For Ronan, a four-time Oscar nominee for her roles in “Atonement,” “Brooklyn,” “Lady Bird” and “Little Women,” “Bad Apples” is another turn toward comedy. She will next be seen as Linda McCartney in Sam Mendes’ four Beatles films, released in cinemas on April 7, 2028.

Source: Movie Vine