‘Animals’ Heads to Netflix October 9, 2026

 

Ben Affleck’s ‘Animals’ Heads to Netflix in October With Kerry Washington, Steven Yeun and Gillian Anderson

October 9, 2026.

The kidnapping thriller, directed by Affleck, follows a Los Angeles mayoral candidate and his wife as a ransom demand pulls their family into a dangerous web of deception.

Ben Affleck is heading back behind the camera for Animals, a new Netflix thriller arriving in select theaters and on the streaming platform October 9, 2026.

Affleck directs and stars alongside Kerry Washington, Gillian Anderson, Steven Yeun, Adriana Paz, Ray Fisher, Luis Gerardo Méndez, Matt Gerald, Christopher Woodley and Jacob Estrada.

The story centers on a Los Angeles mayoral candidate and his wife whose son is kidnapped. Desperate to secure his release, the couple races to raise the ransom while becoming increasingly entangled in deception and impossible choices that threaten to fracture their lives.

The screenplay is by Connor O. McIntyre, Billy Ray and Affleck.

The film also reunites Affleck with longtime collaborator Matt Damon, who serves as a producer alongside Brad Weston, Collin Creighton, Dani Bernfeld and Luciana Damon. Affleck and Damon previously co-founded Artists Equity, which is represented among the film’s executive producers.

With a cast spanning Washington, Anderson and Yeun — and a premise built around kidnapping, political ambition, money and betrayal — Animals arrives as one of Netflix’s major fall 2026 thrillers.

Animals opens in select theaters and streams on Netflix October 9, 2026.