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Anne Hathaway and Dakota Johnson led an R-rated psychological thriller into theaters on October 2, and by its third weekend, 500 theaters had dropped it. Verity, adapted from Colleen Hoover’s 2018 novel, fell from 3,572 U.S. theaters to 3,072, according to The Numbers. Rotten Tomatoes put the critics’ score at 31%, yet the film was still playing in more than 3,000 theaters.
It Opened Big, Then Fell Fast
Verity opened to $32 million in the U.S., according to The Numbers, then added 62 theaters for a 3,572-theater second weekend that took in $12 million, a 62% drop. Its third weekend brought in about $6 million, down another 50%. ScreenRant called it front-loaded, since readers of the 2018 novel were a built-in audience and many of them rushed out on opening weekend.
Audiences Were Kinder Than Critics
Rotten Tomatoes had Verity at 31% on the Tomatometer and 71% on the Popcornmeter audience score. Pete Hammond, chief film critic at Deadline, wrote that it feels like leftovers after last year’s sleeper hit The Housemaid. Still, he found Hathaway and Johnson both magnetic performers and said they make the film watchable, with Johnson carrying the largest load in the film.
Another Movie Lost 2,700 Theaters
Five hundred theaters sounds like a lot, but Warner Bros.’ Digger lost more than 2,700 in its third week, the third-largest drop of all time. Major releases typically keep their theaters for a two-week window, and Verity’s cut came in week three. Verity debuted in more than 3,500 theaters, and Collider said it held on to its theater count rather impressively by comparison.
It Has Earned More Than Three Times Its Budget
Verity had a reported $40 million budget, and ScreenRant estimated it needed $80 million to $100 million to break even. By October 19, it had pulled in $66.1 million in the U.S. and $145.3 million worldwide, more than 3.6 times the budget. Even at the top of that range, the worldwide total clears break-even by about $45 million, which keeps it comfortably in profit territory despite the lost theaters.
Hathaway Is Having a Big Year
Hathaway has five theatrical releases this year. ScreenRant’s October 19 tally put Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey at nearly $1.8 billion, making it the highest-grossing R-rated movie ever, ahead of Deadpool & Wolverine. The Devil Wears Prada 2 earned $693.5 million worldwide. The End of Oak Street took in $121.6 million on a reported $85 million budget, and Mother Mary totaled $3 million.
Where Verity Ranks Among Hoover Movies
Verity is the fourth Hoover novel to hit theaters since 2024, and the second this year. According to ScreenRant, It Ends with Us earned $351.4 million worldwide, while Regretting You made $90.5 million and Reminders of Him made $89.3 million. Verity’s $145.3 million as of October 19 ranks second of the four, ahead of the other two by more than $50 million.
What Verity Is About
Hathaway plays Verity Crawford, a hugely successful romance author whose career and family life stop after a serious car accident. Johnson plays Lowen Ashleigh, a struggling writer hired by Verity’s publishers to ghostwrite her novels and keep the brand going. Josh Hartnett plays Verity’s husband, Jeremy, and Lowen spends time at the family’s lavish lake home in Vermont. Michael Showalter directed, and Nick Antosca wrote the script.
Hoover Switched Genres for This One
Colleen Hoover wrote 16 romance novels before she tried her hand at a psychological thriller in 2018, self-publishing Verity. She also produced the film adaptation. Both lead characters write the same kind of books Hoover does, so Hammond wondered whether one or both might be her alter ego. He called it a good guessing game, at least.
Judge It for Yourself
Hammond described the first hour and 15 minutes as brooding and the last 40 as familiar thriller territory, with a couple of good jump-scares. Gayle King, Hot Ones host Sean Evans, and Call Her Daddy’s Alex Cooper turn up playing themselves. And if you missed it in theaters? Don’t worry, Collider reports it is slated to hit home video later in October. Either way, you get to settle the score yourself.