Rights holder / Distributor: Artists Equity / Fifth Season / Makeready / Netflix
Animals (Animals) is a 2026 American crime thriller film directed by Ben Affleck, who is also one of the screenwriters along with Connor O. McIntyre и Billy Ray. The film will have a limited theatrical release and will be released on the Netflix movie platform on October 9, 2026, with a running time of 1 hour and 48 minutes. The story places a family crisis at the center of a tense crime plot and examines what happens when a person's public image begins to crumble under the pressure of circumstances.
The main character, Mark Kimball, is a candidate for mayor of Los Angeles, whose orderly life is suddenly turned upside down when his son is kidnapped. To secure the necessary ransom, Mark and his wife, Abigail, are forced to take extreme measures and reveal secrets they would rather remain hidden. Thus, the family drama gradually becomes a story of moral compromise, power and the difference between the public image and the true nature of a person.
Plot
The kidnapping puts Mark and Abigail in a situation where time is against them and the usual rules no longer seem to apply. The family must find a way to raise the huge ransom, while trying to figure out who is behind the crime and why they were chosen. As the crisis deepens, the secrets they have been keeping from each other become more important.
Here, the criminal intrigue is closely related to the relationship between the spouses. Ben Affleck defines the story as a story about marriage – about the compromises people make and how an extreme situation can change their perception of each other. The pre-release information suggests that „Animals“" will present the characters with moral choices where survival may come at a very high price.
Directing
Ben Affleck returns to the crime genre, in which he already has considerable experience as a director. After "„A sacrifice of salvation“, „The city“" and the Oscar winner "„Argo“" he once again places ordinary people in a situation where their personal decisions collide with crime and power. In "„Animals“", however, he combines the crime thriller with a more intimate story about family relationships and public image.
Of particular interest is the setting of the story itself – a candidate for mayor of Los Angeles who must defend his political career at a time when his personal life is falling apart. The city is not just a backdrop, but part of the public world that Mark is trying to control. This creates an opportunity for the film to contrast the political image of the character with the actions he is willing to take in private.
Acting
Ben Affleck plays the lead role of Mark Kimball, and Kerry Washington plays his wife Abigail. An important figure in the story is also the heroine of Gillian Anderson, while the rest of the lineup stands out Stephen Yean, Adriana Paz, Ray Fisher, Luis Gerardo Mendez и Matt Gerald. The combination of actors with different types of screen presence is particularly suitable for a story in which the relationships between the characters gradually change under the pressure of the crisis.
For fans of famous movies and the series cast offers several curious connections. Kerry Washington is well known for her role as Olivia Pope in "„Scandal“", while Gillian Anderson remains iconic with "„The X-Files“" and later participated in "„The Crown“. Stephen Yean received widespread recognition for "„Minari“" and the series "„Beef“", which makes his presence in the new thriller especially interesting.
Conclusion
„Animals“" seems like a film that uses kidnapping not only to create tension, but also as a means to test a seemingly stable relationship. Combining criminal intrigue, family drama, and moral dilemmas, the production moves between the private and public lives of the main characters. This allows the Ben Affleck simultaneously returning to the genre with which a significant part of his directing career has been associated, and placing a more intimate emphasis on the characters.
The premiere of "„Animals“" is scheduled for October 9, 2026 in select theaters and on Netflix, so the film's final assessment will depend on how the script and actors develop the promised moral and psychological side of the story. For now, the combination of Ben Affleck, Kerry Washington, Gillian Anderson и Stephen Yean, as well as the crime premise, make it one of the more notable upcoming Netflix titles this fall.
