‘Verity’ Opens to $62.1 Million Worldwide

Verity opened with an estimated $62.1 million worldwide, giving a Colleen Hoover adaptation the author’s second-biggest comparable global debut. The psychological thriller, starring Anne Hathaway, Dakota Johnson and Josh Hartnett, also claimed first place in North America.

A strong domestic start anchors the total

The film earned $32.6 million from 3,510 North American locations. That domestic result accounts for slightly more than half of the worldwide opening and puts the release on solid footing against its reported $40 million production budget, although theatrical profitability will depend on marketing costs and how well the film holds in the coming weeks.

Internationally, the adaptation posted notable first-place launches in the United Kingdom, Brazil and Australia. It also ranked first in Germany and several smaller European markets. The combined result trails the $95.6 million comparable worldwide launch of It Ends With Us, but establishes Verity as another commercially significant screen adaptation of Hoover’s work.

The mystery extends beyond the box office

Directed by Michael Showalter, the film follows Lowen Ashleigh, played by Johnson, a struggling writer hired to finish a bestselling series after its author, Verity Crawford, becomes incapacitated. Lowen discovers a manuscript that appears to reveal disturbing details about Verity’s past, leaving both her and the audience to decide which version of events can be trusted. Hathaway plays Verity, while Hartnett portrays her husband, Jeremy.

The story’s competing manuscript and letter have fueled debate among readers and moviegoers. Hathaway has said she favors the letter’s account, while Hoover and Showalter have both described more uncertainty about a definitive interpretation. That ambiguity gives the movie a conversation hook beyond its opening-weekend numbers.

The next test is staying power. A successful second weekend would show whether the adaptation can expand beyond Hoover’s established readership and convert the initial curiosity around its ending into a longer theatrical run.