“Whalefall” opens in theaters October 16 after blue-carpet premiere

20th Century Studios’ survival thriller “Whalefall” opens in theaters Oct. 16, days after the studio promoted its blue-carpet premiere. The film follows Jay Gardiner, played by Austin Abrams, as he dives off California’s central coast searching for his late father’s remains and is swallowed by a sperm whale with one hour of oxygen left, according to the studio’s official synopsis.

A survival story built inside a whale

Brian Duffield directed the film and co-wrote the screenplay with Daniel Kraus, whose 2023 novel it adapts. Josh Brolin plays Jay’s father, with Elisabeth Shue, John Ortiz, Jane Levy and Emily Rudd rounding out the principal cast.

The production built large-scale whale interiors and exteriors, using computer-generated imagery to enhance the environments, Reuters reported. Duffield described the movie as “the opposite of ‘Jaws,’” framing the whale as a heroic figure rather than a monster. Brolin said the story’s grief and difficult father-son relationship helped draw him to the project.