# The Weight (2026 film)
**The Weight** is a 2026 action-adventure crime film directed by Padraic McKinley in his feature debut, starring [Ethan Hawke](https://www.edgepedia.org/ethan-hawke) as a Depression-era convict sent to smuggle stolen gold through the Oregon wilderness in exchange for early release from a prison work camp. It is a United States and Germany co-production that premiered at the 2026 [Sundance Film Festival](https://www.edgepedia.org/sundance-film-festival) and received a wide United States theatrical release from Vertical Entertainment on September 18, 2026.[1](https://www.filmfestival.be/en/film/the-weight) • [2](https://www.augenschein-filmproduktion.de/en/films/detail/the-weight.html) • [3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_weight_2026)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Director | Padraic McKinley, feature debut; he also co-edited[1](https://www.filmfestival.be/en/film/the-weight) |
| Cast | Ethan Hawke, Russell Crowe, Julia Jones, Austin Amelio, Avi Nash[4](https://cineuropa.org/en/film/489100/) |
| Setting | Oregon, 1933, during the Great Depression[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_weight_2026) |
| Festivals | Sundance 2026 world premiere; Berlinale 2026 Europe premiere[2](https://www.augenschein-filmproduktion.de/en/films/detail/the-weight.html) |
| US release | Wide theatrical September 18, 2026 (Vertical); streaming October 20, 2026[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_weight_2026) |
| Box office | $2,301,059 domestic; $2,652,814 worldwide[5](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt10794054/) |
| Reception | 94% Tomatometer and 84% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes; Metascore 70[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_weight_2026) • [6](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-weight/critic-reviews/) |
| Rating | R for language and some violence/bloody images[7](https://apnews.com/article/9911dfcb4c955b5f3a49f1f91ee3ade3) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
The film is set in 1933, four years into the [Great Depression](https://www.edgepedia.org/great-depression). Samuel Murphy (Ethan Hawke) is a single father struggling to support his young daughter Penny (Avy Berry); after they are evicted from their apartment, he is sent to a brutal prison work camp.[7](https://apnews.com/article/9911dfcb4c955b5f3a49f1f91ee3ade3) Warden Clancy ([Russell Crowe](https://www.edgepedia.org/russell-crowe)) offers Murphy a high-stakes deal: smuggle a fortune in stolen gold out of a remote mine across roughly 100 miles of wilderness alongside a crew of fellow convicts, and he earns his freedom and the means to keep his daughter from being adopted.[8](https://www.haifaff.co.il/eng/Films/13516/The_Weight) • [1](https://www.filmfestival.be/en/film/the-weight)
The journey brings dangers of the wilderness and betrayal within Murphy's own ranks.[2](https://www.augenschein-filmproduktion.de/en/films/detail/the-weight.html) A Native American woman, Anna ([Julia Jones](https://www.edgepedia.org/julia-jones)), joins the trek, and the group must cross a broken rope bridge with the heavy gold and ford a river to cover their tracks, while no one is sure they can trust anyone else.[7](https://apnews.com/article/9911dfcb4c955b5f3a49f1f91ee3ade3)
The film draws on a genuine episode: in April 1933, [Franklin D. Roosevelt](https://www.edgepedia.org/franklin-d-roosevelt), as president, issued an executive order forbidding gold hoarding and obliging Americans to turn in their surplus gold at a [Federal Reserve Bank](https://www.edgepedia.org/federal-reserve-bank) before the end of that May. The Associated Press review notes that the policy is not much discussed in the film but sets the stage for the off-the-books smuggling job.[7](https://apnews.com/article/9911dfcb4c955b5f3a49f1f91ee3ade3)
## Production
The screenplay is credited to Matthew Booi, Matthew Chapman, and Shelby Gaines, from a story by Matthew Booi and Leo Sherman.[2](https://www.augenschein-filmproduktion.de/en/films/detail/the-weight.html) According to McKinley, the project grew out of daydreaming about adventure and action films of the 1960s, 1970s, and early 1980s; while Ethan Hawke was making his [Paul Newman](https://www.edgepedia.org/paul-newman) documentary, he described wanting to play a stoic, quiet, pragmatic character. Hawke suggested Shelby Gaines, who had worked on Hawke's series *The Good Lord Bird* and the film *Wildcat*, as writer. McKinley said the film took five years to get going and four and a half months from the start of pre-production to the final edit.[9](https://www.thewrap.com/creative-content/movies/the-weight-ethan-hawke-sundance-interview/)
[Principal photography](https://www.edgepedia.org/principal-photography) ran from July 7 to August 19, 2025, on locations in Munich and around Viechtach in Bavaria, Germany.[10](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10794054/locations/) Variety's review notes that the wooded Bavarian landscape doubles for Oregon.[6](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-weight/critic-reviews/) Matteo Cocco was the director of photography, Cora Pratz the production designer, Esther Walz the costume designer, and Latham Gaines and Shelby Gaines composed the score.[2](https://www.augenschein-filmproduktion.de/en/films/detail/the-weight.html)
The film was produced by Fields Entertainment, Under the Influence, and augenschein Filmproduktion, with Construction Filmproduktion as co-producer; producers are Simon Fields, Nathan Fields, Ryan Hawke, Jonas Katzenstein, and Maximilian Leo. World sales are handled by WME (William Morris Endeavor Entertainment), and the German distributor is Capelight Pictures.[2](https://www.augenschein-filmproduktion.de/en/films/detail/the-weight.html) The Film & Television Fund Bavaria (FFF) supported the production.[2](https://www.augenschein-filmproduktion.de/en/films/detail/the-weight.html)
## Release
[The Weight](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-weight) had its world premiere at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival and its Europe premiere at the 2026 [Berlin International Film Festival](https://www.edgepedia.org/berlin-international-film-festival).[2](https://www.augenschein-filmproduktion.de/en/films/detail/the-weight.html) Vertical Entertainment released it widely in United States theaters on September 18, 2026, with the earliest international releases from September 17, 2026 in territories including the [United Arab Emirates](https://www.edgepedia.org/united-arab-emirates) and New Zealand, and a United Kingdom release on October 2, 2026.[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_weight_2026) • [5](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt10794054/) A digital release followed on October 20, 2026.[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_weight_2026) In Ireland the film was classified 15A and released by Eclipse Pictures on October 2, 2026; the British Board of Film Classification certified it for cinema with advice for strong language and violence.[11](https://www.ifco.ie/en/ifco/pages/6E4F429600529062) • [12](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/the-weight-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0xmtiwodyy)
Reported running times differ slightly by source: 112 minutes (RogerEbert.com, Haifa Film Festival), about 113 minutes (BBFC and the Irish office), and 115 minutes (The Numbers, the Associated Press).[13](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-weight-ethan-hawke-russell-crowe-movie-review-2026) • [12](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/the-weight-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0xmtiwodyy) • [14](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Weight-The-%282026%29)
## Reception
The film earned a 94% Tomatometer from 143 critics and an 84% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, with a critics consensus crediting Ethan Hawke's performance and McKinley's assured direction; Metacritic assigned a Metascore of 70, based on 6 positive and 5 mixed reviews with none negative.[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_weight_2026) • [6](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-weight/critic-reviews/)
Critics repeatedly placed the film in a lineage of lean, character-driven 1970s genre cinema. The [Financial Times](https://www.edgepedia.org/financial-times)' Jonathan Romney compared it to the kind of actioner [Walter Hill](https://www.edgepedia.org/walter-hill) or [Robert Aldrich](https://www.edgepedia.org/robert-aldrich) might have made, and the Los Angeles Times called it Hawke's own *Sorcerer*.[6](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-weight/critic-reviews/) • [15](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2026-09-18/the-weight-review-ethan-hawke-russell-crowe-austin-amelio-padraic-mckinley) Matt Zoller Seitz at RogerEbert.com read it as a prison movie, a wilderness adventure, a psychological thriller, and a political fable about capital and labor, comparing its Depression resonance to John Steinbeck's *The Grapes of Wrath*.[13](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-weight-ethan-hawke-russell-crowe-movie-review-2026) The Guardian's Benjamin Lee called Hawke's performance muscular and entirely persuasive, arguably his most physically gruelling role to date.[6](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-weight/critic-reviews/) The Associated Press gave it three stars out of four and described it as a solid, hearty "dad movie" in the vein of something Clint Eastwood might have made.[7](https://apnews.com/article/9911dfcb4c955b5f3a49f1f91ee3ade3)
Commercially the film was modest: it opened to $2,301,059 domestically and grossed $2,652,814 worldwide, with the United Kingdom, Australia, and Russia/CIS among its international markets.[5](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt10794054/)
## References
1. [Film Fest Gent: The Weight](https://www.filmfestival.be/en/film/the-weight)
2. [augenschein Filmproduktion: The Weight](https://www.augenschein-filmproduktion.de/en/films/detail/the-weight.html)
3. [Rotten Tomatoes: The Weight (2026)](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_weight_2026)
4. [Cineuropa: The Weight](https://cineuropa.org/en/film/489100/)
5. [Box Office Mojo: The Weight (2026)](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt10794054/)
6. [Metacritic: The Weight critic reviews](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-weight/critic-reviews/)
7. [Associated Press: Movie Review: Ethan Hawke leads a tense, Depression-era thriller in 'The Weight'](https://apnews.com/article/9911dfcb4c955b5f3a49f1f91ee3ade3)
8. [Haifa International Film Festival: The Weight](https://www.haifaff.co.il/eng/Films/13516/The_Weight)
9. [TheWrap: Ethan Hawke Recounts the Indie Strain of Making The Weight in 4 Months](https://www.thewrap.com/creative-content/movies/the-weight-ethan-hawke-sundance-interview/)
10. [IMDb: The Weight (2026) Filming & production](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10794054/locations/)
11. [Irish Film Classification Office: The Weight (2026)](https://www.ifco.ie/en/ifco/pages/6E4F429600529062)
12. [BBFC: The Weight](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/the-weight-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0xmtiwodyy)
13. [RogerEbert.com: The Weight review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-weight-ethan-hawke-russell-crowe-movie-review-2026)
14. [The Numbers: The Weight (2026)](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Weight-The-%282026%29)
15. [Los Angeles Times: 'The Weight' review](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2026-09-18/the-weight-review-ethan-hawke-russell-crowe-austin-amelio-padraic-mckinley)
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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 › War and historical films (individual works) › Historical dramas and epics › Titles M to Z › Titles Sc to Z*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; 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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