‘Verity’ disappoints critics on opening day: 46% on Rotten Tomatoes, but Anne Hathaway wins unanimous praise

The critics’ embargo on “Verity” lifted on October 1, a day before the film’s release in U.S. cinemas, and the result is not what Amazon MGM had hoped for: as Koreaportal reports, summarising American critics, the film debuted at around 43–46% on Rotten Tomatoes and 44–45 on Metacritic, with the numbers still moving.

The critics’ dividing line is clear: Anne Hathaway is praised, the film is not. Variety critic Guy Lodge called it a “flat-footed dud”, saying the A-list stars look embarrassed, confused or indifferent; The Hollywood Reporter’s Richard Lawson noted that Dakota Johnson “looks detached” as the film progresses; and Slashfilm’s Nina Starner gave it just 2 out of 10, even though Hathaway deserves credit as the only reason some parts work.

On the other hand, there are positive voices too: Screen Rant’s Liz Declan gave it 8 out of 10, calling it potentially Hoover’s best adaptation to date, and IndieWire’s David Ehlich rated it “fresh”. Mashable’s Kristy Puchko found it “weird, sexy and funny”, but writes that it is limited by mainstream cinema’s “prudishness”. Several reviews stress that the film is sold as an erotic thriller, but is neither sexy enough nor tense enough.

Michael Showalter’s film, an adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s bestselling novel, follows Verity Crawford (Hathaway), the famous author who after an accident cannot finish her book, and Lowen Ashleigh (Dakota Johnson), the struggling writer hired to write in her name — until she discovers disturbing manuscripts belonging to Verity that call everything into question. Josh Hartnett plays her husband Jeremy.

Despite the reviews, the box office may be another story: Variety forecasts $30–35 million for the opening weekend in 3,510 theatres, which would be Anne Hathaway’s third No. 1 opening in 2026, after “The Devil Wears Prada 2” and “The Odyssey”; Deadline estimates the film could pass $55 million globally over the weekend. It is Hathaway’s fifth film this year — and the only one rated “rotten” on Rotten Tomatoes.