Ben Affleck has made a career out of playing men whose lives are coming apart, but he’s having one of his biggest headaches to date with his newest thriller. The Oscar-winning actor and filmmaker has already shown his talent with movies like Gone Baby Gone, The Town and Argo, but his latest project takes things in a particularly nasty direction. Throw a kidnapping into the middle of a political campaign, a marriage that’s the very definition of rocky, and suddenly winning an election becomes the least of anybody’s problems.

That movie is Animals, Affleck’s new Netflix thriller, which has become an enormous streaming success, attracting 54.6 million views worldwide in its first two weeks. After debuting at No. 1 on the streamer’s global English-language movie chart with 23.8 million views, the film added another 30.8 million views during the week of October 12–18, proving that audiences are continuing to discover the crime thriller rather than simply turning up for its opening weekend. The movie introduces Affleck’s protagonist, Mark Kimball, as a successful politician, loving father, and doting husband to Abigail. But that glittering facade is cracked when Mark and Abigail’s son Denny is kidnapped. The cast is led by Affleck (Gone Girl) as Mark Kimball, alongside Kerry Washington (Scandal) as Abigail Kimball, Gillian Anderson (The X-Files), Steven Yeun (Beef), Luis Gerardo Méndez (Murder Mystery) and Ray Fisher (Zack Snyder’s Justice League).

What’s ‘Animals’ About?

​​​​​​​ Affleck’s take on the movie is that, while it seems like a typical kidnapping thriller on the surface, this one is actually about the difficult choices people make when everything they care about is threatened. Speaking to Netflix’, Affleck explained:
“In a crisis, we discover who we are, and what’s important to us […] I see now more than ever how true those words are […] Who are we really? Who are we when our masks come off? […] Ultimately, this is a story about whether people have a real moral compass or seek to do what’s in their best interests […] The movie is really about marriage — what it means to attach yourself to someone, the bargains and exchanges.”
With more than 54 million views in just 14 days, Animals has established itself as another major Netflix success for Affleck, proving that audiences are still very much interested in watching the actor navigate increasingly disastrous situations.

Animals is streaming now exclusively on Netflix.

Release Date

October 9, 2026

Runtime

106 minutes