Animals (2026): Ben Affleck's Netflix Crime Thriller, Cast, Release Date & Story
What would you do if your child were kidnapped and the only way to get him back was to enter a world you thought you had left behind?
That question drives Animals, Ben Affleck's new crime thriller for Netflix. Affleck directs, co-writes and stars as Los Angeles mayoral candidate Mark Kimball, whose carefully constructed political and family life collapses when his young son is kidnapped.
Kerry Washington co-stars as Mark's wife, Abigail, as the couple races to raise the ransom while confronting secrets that could destroy their marriage. Netflix describes the film as a suspenseful thriller about family, politics, deception and the choices people make when the normal rules no longer seem enough.
Animals follows L.A. mayoral candidate Mark Kimball and his wife Abigail after their son is kidnapped. Their attempt to raise the ransom pulls them into a web of deception and forces them to confront secrets within their own relationship.
What Is Animals About?
Mark Kimball appears to have everything under control. He is a successful Los Angeles mayoral candidate, husband and father with a carefully polished public image.
That image disappears almost instantly when Mark and Abigail receive an ominous call informing them that their son, Denny, has been kidnapped.
The couple now has to find the money demanded for their son's release. But Animals is not simply a conventional ransom thriller. As the pressure increases, the couple is pushed toward decisions that expose secrets and challenge the assumptions holding their marriage together.
Netflix's official synopsis describes Mark and Abigail as being drawn into a web of deception while scrambling to raise the ransom. The consequences could tear their carefully constructed world apart.
The Kidnapping That Changes Everything
The kidnapping is the event that transforms Animals from a political drama into a race against time. Mark's public identity as a politician becomes almost irrelevant once his family is placed in danger.
The trailer makes the emotional stakes clear: Mark and Abigail are not simply trying to find money. They are forced to question how well they actually know each other.
Their desperate situation also raises the film's central moral question: what happens when protecting your family requires you to make choices that conflict with your own principles?
Ben Affleck's Mark Kimball
Affleck plays Mark as a man caught between two identities. Publicly, he is a politician who needs to project confidence and control. Privately, he is a father whose son has suddenly become the center of a terrifying crisis.
Affleck also directs the film, making Animals another entry in his long-running career behind the camera. His directing credits include Gone Baby Gone, The Town, Argo, Live by Night, Air and now Animals.
Netflix describes the movie as Affleck's latest thriller, with the director using the Kimball family's Los Angeles home and surrounding city as a central part of the story's atmosphere.
Kerry Washington as Abigail Kimball
Kerry Washington plays Abigail Kimball, Mark's wife and Denny's mother. Her character is not simply positioned as a supporting presence in Mark's story. Abigail is equally trapped inside the crisis.
The kidnapping forces the couple to work together while simultaneously exposing the secrets and compromises that exist beneath their seemingly perfect marriage.
Affleck has described the movie as being deeply interested in marriage and the bargains people make when they attach themselves to another person. That gives Animals a second layer beneath its crime-thriller surface.
Animals Cast
Mark Kimball
Abigail Kimball
Dayle
Supporting role
Supporting role
Supporting role
Supporting role
Denny Kimball
The ensemble also includes Matt Gerald and Jacob Estrada. Netflix's official cast listings confirm Affleck, Washington, Gillian Anderson, Steven Yeun, Adriana Paz, Luis Gerardo Méndez, Ray Fisher and Christopher Woodley among the principal cast.
Who Is Gillian Anderson Playing?
Gillian Anderson plays Dayle, a mysterious fixer who becomes an important part of the Kimballs' desperate attempt to recover their son.
In the trailer, Dayle delivers one of the film's most revealing warnings: with their son's life at stake, the secrets Mark and Abigail have kept from one another may have to come out.
Her presence adds another layer to the story because the Kimballs cannot simply rely on traditional institutions to solve their problem. Their situation pushes them toward people and methods outside the normal boundaries of their public lives.
Who Wrote and Directed Animals?
Ben Affleck directs and co-writes Animals. The screenplay is credited to Connor McIntyre and Billy Ray.
The movie reunites Affleck with the kind of grounded crime storytelling that has defined several of his directing projects. Rather than building its tension around an elaborate action spectacle, Animals focuses on a family trapped inside an increasingly dangerous situation.
Netflix confirms that Affleck co-wrote and directed the movie, with McIntyre and Ray credited as the screenwriters.
Artists Equity and the Production Team
Animals is produced in partnership with Artists Equity, the artist-led studio founded by Ben Affleck, Matt Damon and Gerry Cardinale of RedBird Capital.
Producers include Affleck, Damon and Dani Bernfeld, alongside Brad Weston and Collin Creighton of Makeready. The project was developed in partnership with Fifth Season.
Where Was Animals Filmed?
Production took place in and around Los Angeles, making the city more than just a backdrop for the story.
The filmmakers used the environment around the Kimball family to create a contrast between the polished world of political ambition and the darker criminal network surrounding the kidnapping.
Netflix says the production deliberately embraced Los Angeles and supported the city's filmmaking community by keeping production work and jobs in the area.
Animals Release Date
Animals premieres on Netflix on Friday, October 9, 2026. The movie is also receiving a select theatrical release on the same date.
Netflix's official fall movie schedule lists Animals as arriving in select theaters and on Netflix October 9.
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Movie | Animals |
| Netflix Release | October 9, 2026 |
| Theatrical Release | Select theaters, October 9, 2026 |
| Director | Ben Affleck |
| Screenplay | Connor McIntyre & Billy Ray |
| Genre | Crime / Thriller / Drama |
| Runtime | 1 hour 48 minutes |
| U.S. Rating | R |
| Streaming Platform | Netflix |
Animals Trailer
The official trailer begins by presenting Mark Kimball as a successful politician and devoted family man. That image is shattered when his son is kidnapped.
From there, the trailer shifts between political appearances, tense conversations inside the Kimball home and increasingly desperate attempts to solve the kidnapping.
The trailer also makes clear that the ransom crisis is only part of the problem. Mark and Abigail are forced to confront secrets in their marriage while trying to determine who they can trust.
Netflix released the official trailer in September 2026, ahead of the October 9 release.
A Crime Thriller About Marriage
The most interesting element of Animals may be the way its kidnapping plot intersects with the Kimballs' marriage.
The couple begins the story as seemingly successful partners with a political future ahead of them. Once their son is taken, however, the film strips away the safety provided by their public identities.
Every secret becomes potentially dangerous. Every decision has a cost. And the people who appear closest to Mark and Abigail may not necessarily be the people they can trust.
Affleck has specifically framed the movie around questions of morality, marriage and the compromises people make when their family is placed under extreme pressure.
Is Animals Based on a True Story?
No. Animals is a fictional crime thriller written for the screen by Connor McIntyre and Billy Ray. The story follows the fictional Kimball family and their son's kidnapping.
Its political setting and focus on family pressure give it a grounded quality, but the movie is not presented by Netflix as a dramatization of a specific real-life kidnapping.
How Long Is Animals?
Netflix lists the movie at approximately 1 hour and 48 minutes. The film carries an R rating in the United States. Netflix categorizes it as a thriller, drama and crime movie, with themes involving politics, secrets and a slow-burn family crisis.
Where to Watch Animals
Animals will stream exclusively on Netflix beginning October 9, 2026. It will also play in select theaters around the same date.
That makes the film one of Netflix's major October 2026 movie releases, arriving alongside other high-profile fall titles. Netflix's October lineup specifically highlights Affleck's Animals as one of the month's major new films.
Animals is a dark crime thriller about a kidnapped child, a political family and the secrets revealed when a marriage is pushed to its breaking point. Ben Affleck directs and stars opposite Kerry Washington, with Gillian Anderson, Steven Yeun, Adriana Paz and Luis Gerardo Méndez among the supporting cast.
Frequently Asked Questions
When does Animals come out on Netflix?
Animals premieres on Netflix on October 9, 2026.
What is Animals about?
The movie follows Los Angeles mayoral candidate Mark Kimball and his wife Abigail after their son is kidnapped. They must raise the ransom while navigating deception and secrets that threaten to destroy their family.
Who stars in Animals?
Ben Affleck and Kerry Washington lead the cast, with Gillian Anderson, Steven Yeun, Adriana Paz, Luis Gerardo Méndez, Ray Fisher and Christopher Woodley also appearing.
Who directed Animals?
Ben Affleck directed Animals and also co-wrote the film.
Is Animals a Netflix movie?
Yes. Animals is a Netflix feature film and is scheduled to stream on Netflix worldwide on October 9, 2026, alongside a select theatrical release.
How long is Animals?
Netflix lists the runtime at approximately 1 hour and 48 minutes.
Is Animals based on a true story?
No. The film is a fictional crime thriller centered on the fictional Kimball family.