Ben Affleck and Kerry Washington Face a Family Nightmare in Netflix Thriller ‘Animals’

Netflix has officially set October 9, 2026 as the premiere date for Animals, the upcoming political thriller starring Ben Affleck and Kerry Washington. The movie will arrive on Netflix and in select theaters on the same day. Affleck is also behind the camera as director and serves as a co-writer on the project.

In Animals, Affleck plays Mark Kimball, a candidate running for mayor of Los Angeles, while Washington stars as his wife, Abigail. Their carefully built life is shattered when their son is kidnapped and the couple is forced to scramble for the ransom money. What initially appears to be a desperate rescue effort quickly pulls them deeper into a dangerous web of deception.

Netflix offered a first look at the thriller alongside the release-date announcement, teasing a dark and increasingly unsettling night for the Kimball family. The footage shows Affleck and Washington’s characters confronting the growing pressure surrounding their son’s disappearance as their options begin to disappear. The political backdrop adds another layer to the crisis, with Mark’s public ambitions colliding with an intensely personal emergency.

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According to Netflix’s Tudum, the story unfolds against Los Angeles and places the city at the center of the film’s atmosphere. Production took place in and around Los Angeles, while the plot forces the couple to make increasingly difficult decisions that could destroy the life they have created. Netflix describes the movie as a suspenseful thriller driven by politics, secrecy and the lengths parents will go to protect their family.

Affleck and Washington are joined by an impressive ensemble that includes Gillian Anderson, Steven Yeun, Luis Gerardo Méndez, Adriana Paz and Ray Fisher. Matt Gerald, Mark Kassen and Christopher Woodley are also part of the cast. The combination gives Animals a deep lineup surrounding its central kidnapping story as the mystery expands beyond the family at its center.

The movie also marks Affleck’s return to directing a feature after Air. He co-wrote Animals alongside Connor O. McIntyre and Billy Ray, while the film is produced through Artists Equity, the studio founded by Affleck, Matt Damon and Gerry Cardinale. Affleck, Damon and Dani Bernfeld are among the producers, with Brad Weston and Collin Creighton also producing.

With its kidnapping plot, political pressure and family drama all unfolding against the backdrop of Los Angeles, Animals is shaping up as one of Netflix’s notable thrillers for the fall. Audiences will not have to wait much longer to see how far Mark and Abigail are willing to go to bring their son home. Animals premieres October 9, 2026, in select theaters and on Netflix.