# Hurry Up Tomorrow (film)
**Hurry Up Tomorrow** is a 2025 American psychological thriller directed by [Trey Edward Shults](https://www.edgepedia.org/trey-edward-shults), starring the musician Abel Tesfaye, known professionally as the Weeknd, in his first leading role in a feature film as a fictionalized version of himself, alongside [Jenna Ortega](https://www.edgepedia.org/jenna-ortega) and [Barry Keoghan](https://www.edgepedia.org/barry-keoghan).[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/hurry_up_tomorrow) • [2](https://apnews.com/article/bf358e4edddfe96ffd04b2e125b3fda0) It is a companion piece to Tesfaye's album of the same name, his sixth, released on January 31, 2025, and the final chapter of the trilogy that began with *After Hours* (2020) and continued with *Dawn FM* (2022).[3](https://www.lemonde.fr/en/culture/article/2025/02/01/the-weeknd-makes-a-winning-comeback-with-hurry-up-tomorrow_6737661_30.html) • [2](https://apnews.com/article/bf358e4edddfe96ffd04b2e125b3fda0) Lionsgate released the film in theaters on May 16, 2025, and it was poorly received by critics.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/hurry_up_tomorrow)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Director and writers | Directed by Trey Edward Shults; written by Shults, Abel Tesfaye, and Reza Fahim[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/hurry_up_tomorrow) |
| Cast | Abel "The Weeknd" Tesfaye as a fictionalized himself; Jenna Ortega as Anima; Barry Keoghan as Lee[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/hurry_up_tomorrow) |
| Release | Lionsgate, wide theatrical release May 16, 2025; streaming June 6, 2025; runtime 1h 45m; rated R for drug use, brief nudity, language throughout, and some bloody violence[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/hurry_up_tomorrow) |
| Production | Producers Kevin Turen, Harrison Kreiss, Tesfaye, and Reza Fahim; production companies Live Nation Productions and Manic Phase[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/hurry_up_tomorrow) |
| Music | Score composed by Tesfaye and Daniel Lopatin; soundtrack draws on tracks from the album and other Weeknd records[4](https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/movies/2025/05/16/weeknd-hurry-up-tomorrow-movie-review/) • [5](https://mulderville.net/en/reviews/6633/hurry-up-tomorrow) |
| Box office | Estimated $3.3 million opening weekend, outside the top five; $5.2 million total gross in the United States[6](https://apnews.com/article/33cc888ccc792fbe280eb865b375b99c) • [1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/hurry_up_tomorrow) |
| Reception | 14% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer from 91 reviews; 60% audience score from more than 500 verified ratings[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/hurry_up_tomorrow) |
## Spoilers
### Premise and origin
The film follows a musician plagued by insomnia who is pulled into an odyssey with a stranger who begins to unravel the very core of his existence.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/hurry_up_tomorrow) Tesfaye plays a fictionalized version of himself, an insomniac musician teetering on mental collapse in the middle of an ongoing tour.[2](https://apnews.com/article/bf358e4edddfe96ffd04b2e125b3fda0) • [7](https://bloody-disgusting.com/reviews/3868604/hurry-up-tomorrow-review-an-exhausting-psychological-exercise-in-vanity/)
The premise draws on a real event. In September 2022, early into a sold-out concert at California's 70,000-seat [SoFi Stadium](https://www.edgepedia.org/sofi-stadium), Tesfaye lost his voice and had to cancel the rest of the show.[8](https://pitchfork.com/thepitch/hurry-up-tomorrow-review-the-weeknd-is-still-high-on-his-own-mythology/) The film redramatizes that night, and in Tesfaye's telling the event sparked a breakdown that became the catalyst for both the film and the album.[8](https://pitchfork.com/thepitch/hurry-up-tomorrow-review-the-weeknd-is-still-high-on-his-own-mythology/) The Washington Post review adds a clinical detail: the film's Abel loses his voice onstage to muscle tension dysphonia, a condition brought on by stress.[4](https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/movies/2025/05/16/weeknd-hurry-up-tomorrow-movie-review/)
**The movie came first.** Tesfaye has said repeatedly that the film was gestating long before the album was in the works, and in interviews he stated the album "didn't exist" before the film.[8](https://pitchfork.com/thepitch/hurry-up-tomorrow-review-the-weeknd-is-still-high-on-his-own-mythology/) • [9](https://ca.billboard.com/music/rb-hip-hop/the-weeknd-hurry-up-tomorrow-film-before-album-1235954794/) The Los Angeles Times reported that the film was shot two years before its release, before all of the album's tracks were recorded.[10](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2025-05-16/hurry-up-tomorrow-review-the-weeknd-movie-jenna-ortega-barry-keoghan) Shults developed the character through long phone calls with Tesfaye about his history and where he was in different phases of his life.[11](https://www.finaldraft.com/blog/write-on-hurry-up-tomorrow-director-co-writer-trey-edward-shults) Tesfaye described the project as closing the chapter of the Weeknd persona, saying he had always known he wanted to end the story told across the trilogy of albums.[12](https://www.gq.com/story/the-weeknd-burns-down-his-whole-persona) In real life he has announced that he is retiring the stage persona after this album, and will release music under his own name.[4](https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/movies/2025/05/16/weeknd-hurry-up-tomorrow-movie-review/) • [3](https://www.lemonde.fr/en/culture/article/2025/02/01/the-weeknd-makes-a-winning-comeback-with-hurry-up-tomorrow_6737661_30.html)
### Characters and structure
Barry Keoghan plays Lee, Abel's manager and best friend, who pumps him up with pep talks, and later plies him with cocaine, before shows.[8](https://pitchfork.com/thepitch/hurry-up-tomorrow-review-the-weeknd-is-still-high-on-his-own-mythology/) • [4](https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/movies/2025/05/16/weeknd-hurry-up-tomorrow-movie-review/) Jenna Ortega plays Anima, a disturbed Weeknd fan who drives cross-country to attend his show after setting fire to her childhood home; after meeting backstage, the two embark on an emotional bender that sets off Abel's psychological spiral.[8](https://pitchfork.com/thepitch/hurry-up-tomorrow-review-the-weeknd-is-still-high-on-his-own-mythology/) • [13](https://www.thefader.com/2025/05/15/hurry-up-tomorrow-movie-review-the-weeknd) Anima's name is Latin for "spirit," and reviewers connected the character to the female aspect of the psyche in Jungian philosophy.[4](https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/movies/2025/05/16/weeknd-hurry-up-tomorrow-movie-review/) • [14](https://exclaim.ca/film/article/hurry-up-tomorrow-film-review)
According to press materials, Anima and Lee are not real people but representations of Tesfaye: she stands for his disconnected, "deeper emotional self," and Lee for his public persona.[2](https://apnews.com/article/bf358e4edddfe96ffd04b2e125b3fda0) The film's climax places the singer with arms outstretched in the attitude of the martyred Jesus as he sings "I want heaven when I die."[4](https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/movies/2025/05/16/weeknd-hurry-up-tomorrow-movie-review/) GQ described the story as unfolding in a parallel universe that probes what might have happened had Tesfaye gone down a darker, dissociation-fueled path after the SoFi incident, which is recreated in the film.[12](https://www.gq.com/story/the-weeknd-burns-down-his-whole-persona)
## Style and music
Shults shot the film with cinematographer Chayse Irvin on a combination of 35mm, 16mm, and [Super 8 film](https://www.edgepedia.org/super-8-film), creating a hazy, dreamlike aesthetic with saturated reds and blues, floating camera movements, and fractured reflections that blur memory, fantasy, and reality.[15](https://www.readthelongtake.com/reviews/hurryuptomorrow) Shults also edited the film himself.[8](https://pitchfork.com/thepitch/hurry-up-tomorrow-review-the-weeknd-is-still-high-on-his-own-mythology/) The score was composed by Tesfaye and Daniel Lopatin, and the soundtrack draws on tracks from *Hurry Up Tomorrow* and other Weeknd albums.[4](https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/movies/2025/05/16/weeknd-hurry-up-tomorrow-movie-review/) • [5](https://mulderville.net/en/reviews/6633/hurry-up-tomorrow) Several reviewers described the result as closer to an extended music video or a "visual album" than a conventional narrative film.[15](https://www.readthelongtake.com/reviews/hurryuptomorrow) • [5](https://mulderville.net/en/reviews/6633/hurry-up-tomorrow) Shults himself called the film a kind of hallucinatory, poetic autobiography, meant to have the "soul and impact of an opera."[4](https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/movies/2025/05/16/weeknd-hurry-up-tomorrow-movie-review/)
## Reception and box office
The film opened on May 16, 2025, against *Final Destination: Bloodlines*, which topped the domestic box office with $51 million in ticket sales; *Hurry Up Tomorrow* opened outside the top five with an estimated $3.3 million.[6](https://apnews.com/article/33cc888ccc792fbe280eb865b375b99c) Its total gross in the United States was $5.2 million.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/hurry_up_tomorrow)
Critics were largely negative. On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds 14% on the Tomatometer from 91 reviews, against a 60% audience score; the site's critics consensus reads, "On second thought, let's fast-forward to the workweek."[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/hurry_up_tomorrow) Common criticisms targeted the writing and narrative structure rather than the visuals: the Associated Press called it an exciting vanity project with surrealist imagination but stiff writing, no stakes, and an unclear narrative,[2](https://apnews.com/article/bf358e4edddfe96ffd04b2e125b3fda0) The Long Take paired a screenplay that "barely qualifies as a story" with genuinely breathtaking visuals,[15](https://www.readthelongtake.com/reviews/hurryuptomorrow) and the Chicago Reader wrote that the script runs in circles to pad its runtime.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/hurry_up_tomorrow) [The FADER](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-fader) offered a more mixed view, calling it "admirably ambitious, decently executed, and visually engaging" by the standards of musician film forays, while noting the thin premise.[13](https://www.thefader.com/2025/05/15/hurry-up-tomorrow-movie-review-the-weeknd) Pitchfork judged that Tesfaye remained "caught in the strangulating grasp of his self-made mythology," and compared the film's DNA to [Stephen King](https://www.edgepedia.org/stephen-king)'s *Misery* in its questions about fame and fandom.[8](https://pitchfork.com/thepitch/hurry-up-tomorrow-review-the-weeknd-is-still-high-on-his-own-mythology/) Frame Rated argued the material could have approached psychological thrillers such as *Persona* (1966) or *Mulholland Drive* (2001) had the execution been stronger.[16](https://www.framerated.co.uk/hurry-up-tomorrow-2025/)
The film followed Tesfaye's earlier acting forays, a cameo in *Uncut Gems* and a starring role in the HBO series *The Idol* (2023), which he co-created with [Sam Levinson](https://www.edgepedia.org/sam-levinson).[2](https://apnews.com/article/bf358e4edddfe96ffd04b2e125b3fda0) Tesfaye said working on the film with Shults "brought the joy back into filmmaking" after *The Idol*.[17](https://epub.stripes.com/docs/GSS_GSS_160525/GSS_GSS_160525.pdf) Producer Kevin Turen died over a year and a half before the film's release.[18](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt26927452/trivia/)
## References
1. [Hurry Up Tomorrow, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/hurry_up_tomorrow)
2. [Movie Review: The Weeknd's 'Hurry Up Tomorrow' is a surrealist vanity project, AP News](https://apnews.com/article/bf358e4edddfe96ffd04b2e125b3fda0)
3. [The Weeknd makes a winning comeback with 'Hurry up Tomorrow', Le Monde](https://www.lemonde.fr/en/culture/article/2025/02/01/the-weeknd-makes-a-winning-comeback-with-hurry-up-tomorrow_6737661_30.html)
4. ['Hurry Up Tomorrow': The Weeknd's love letter to himself, The Washington Post](https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/movies/2025/05/16/weeknd-hurry-up-tomorrow-movie-review/)
5. [Hurry Up Tomorrow (2025), Mulderville](https://mulderville.net/en/reviews/6633/hurry-up-tomorrow)
6. ['Final Destination: Bloodlines' tops box office while The Weeknd's movie falters, AP News](https://apnews.com/article/33cc888ccc792fbe280eb865b375b99c)
7. [Hurry Up Tomorrow Review: The Weeknd's Vanity Project, Bloody Disgusting](https://bloody-disgusting.com/reviews/3868604/hurry-up-tomorrow-review-an-exhausting-psychological-exercise-in-vanity/)
8. [Hurry Up Tomorrow Review: The Weeknd Is Still High on His Own Mythology, Pitchfork](https://pitchfork.com/thepitch/hurry-up-tomorrow-review-the-weeknd-is-still-high-on-his-own-mythology/)
9. [The Weeknd Reveals 'Hurry Up Tomorrow' Album 'Didn't Exist' Before the Film, Billboard Canada](https://ca.billboard.com/music/rb-hip-hop/the-weeknd-hurry-up-tomorrow-film-before-album-1235954794/)
10. ['Hurry Up Tomorrow' review: The Weeknd movie is a waste, Los Angeles Times](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2025-05-16/hurry-up-tomorrow-review-the-weeknd-movie-jenna-ortega-barry-keoghan)
11. [Write On: 'Hurry Up Tomorrow' Director/Co-Writer Trey Edward Shults, Final Draft](https://www.finaldraft.com/blog/write-on-hurry-up-tomorrow-director-co-writer-trey-edward-shults)
12. [Why The Weeknd Burned Down His Whole Persona (and a House or Two) in His Wild, Cathartic New Film, GQ](https://www.gq.com/story/the-weeknd-burns-down-his-whole-persona)
13. [Review: There's good and bad news about The Weeknd's Hurry Up Tomorrow, The FADER](https://www.thefader.com/2025/05/15/hurry-up-tomorrow-movie-review-the-weeknd)
14. ['Hurry Up Tomorrow' the Movie Is Just as Mid as the Album, Exclaim!](https://exclaim.ca/film/article/hurry-up-tomorrow-film-review)
15. [Hurry Up Tomorrow, The Long Take](https://www.readthelongtake.com/reviews/hurryuptomorrow)
16. [Hurry Up Tomorrow (2025), Frame Rated](https://www.framerated.co.uk/hurry-up-tomorrow-2025/)
17. [Stripes, May 16, 2025 edition (AP interview with Tesfaye and Shults)](https://epub.stripes.com/docs/GSS_GSS_160525/GSS_GSS_160525.pdf)
18. [Hurry Up Tomorrow (2025) Trivia, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt26927452/trivia/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Crime, thriller, and mystery films (individual works) › 2025–2026 films › Psychological and erotic thrillers*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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