“The End of Oak Street” has finally reached the release date fans have been waiting more than two years for. Warner Bros.’ mysterious sci-fi thriller from “It Follows” director David Robert Mitchell opens in theaters, IMAX and premium large-format screens nationwide on August 14, closing out a bumpy road to release that included two prior delays, according to Deadline, which posted its review of the finished film Tuesday.
The movie was initially scheduled to arrive in theaters in May 2025 under the working title Flowervale Street, before Warner Bros. later changed its release plans. pushed it to March 2026 and then again to this August, according to Wikipedia. Along the way, the studio also changed the title, dropped Oscar Isaac from the lead role in favor of Ewan McGregor, and kept plot details largely under wraps until a teaser finally confirmed the new name back in March, per Rotten Tomatoes’ editorial team.
That secrecy masked what turns out to be a fairly wild premise. Set in 1980s suburbia, the story follows the Platt family — played by Anne Hathaway and McGregor as parents Denise and Greg, with Maisy Stella and Christian Convery as their kids — after a mysterious cosmic event rips their street away from its neighborhood and drops it somewhere populated by dinosaurs. Survival, and staying together, becomes the family’s only option, according to The Hollywood Reporter, which has covered the project since its earliest casting stages.
Warner Bros. is backing the release with an IMAX rollout and additional 4DX screenings for select audiences, Variety reports. Despite that push, the film’s marketing has drawn some criticism heading into release. World of Reel reports that “Oak Street” is tracking toward a modest $15 million opening weekend, a number the outlet attributes to a quiet promotional campaign rather than the quality of the film itself. Early reactions from premiere attendees, the outlet notes, have actually run stronger than the tracking numbers would suggest.
The film’s stars walked the carpet at its recent premiere at Warner Bros. The project marks McGregor’s first theatrical release since Mother, Couch in 2024. It carries a PG-13 rating for intense violence, bloody imagery, strong language, and suggestive content, with a runtime of 1 hour and 39 minutes. according to Movie Insider.
Michael Giacchino composed the score, with Michael Gioulakis behind the camera as cinematographer. J.J. Abrams produced through Bad Robot alongside Hannah Minghella, Matt Jackson, Jon Cohen and Tommy Harper, on a reported $85 million budget.
“The End of Oak Street” opens domestically August 14, part of a crowded mid-August slate that also includes wide releases like “The Brink of War” and “The Rivals of Amziah King.”
