Dust Bunny

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Dust Bunny
Dust Bunny film poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Bryan Fuller
Written byBryan Fuller
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyNicole Hirsch Whitaker [1]
Edited by Lisa Lassek [2]
Music by Isabella Summers [2]
Production
companies
Distributed by
Release dates
  • September 9, 2025 (2025-09-09)(TIFF)
  • December 12, 2025 (2025-12-12)(United States)
Running time
106 minutes [3]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$1 million [4]

Dust Bunny is a 2025 American fantasy action film written, produced and directed by Bryan Fuller in his feature film directorial debut. It stars Mads Mikkelsen, Sophie Sloan, Sheila Atim, David Dastmalchian, and Sigourney Weaver. It follows a hit man who is approached by an eight-year-old girl to kill the "monster" under her bed that she claims "ate" her family, suspecting they were actually killed by dangerous assassins who are after him.

Contents

The film premiered at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival on September 9, 2025, followed by a theatrical release in the United States on December 12.

Plot

Eight-year-old Aurora lives in New York City with her parents. While lying on the fire escape at night, a firefly draws her attention to her neighbour in unit 5B. Intrigued, she follows him to Chinatown one night and witnesses him kill a dragon – actually an armed gang in a dragon dance puppet.

Aurora warns her parents to avoid stepping on her bedroom floor, as she says this will trigger the appearance of a monster under her bed. They attempt to soothe her while setting aside her concerns, but she remains convinced and says "Goodbye" to them. That night, hiding under her blanket, she hears them being attacked and wakes up alone, finding her parents' bedroom is torn apart.

Aurora tries to hire Resident 5B to kill the monster. He finds it more likely that her parents were mistakenly killed by assassins who were looking for him, and informs his handler Laverne. That evening, two hitmen arrive in Aurora's apartment. 5B kills one following a hand-to-hand battle; the other disappears after shooting at Aurora's unoccupied bed. In the aftermath, Aurora and 5B narrowly avoid questioning from Brenda, the child protection agent assigned to Aurora; she reveals enough for 5B to understand that Aurora's birth parents and three sets of foster parents have all disappeared.

Aurora becomes more deeply immersed in 5B's world. They bring the dismembered body of the assassin he killed to Laverne, who reveals that she hired the two assassins to remove Aurora as a loose end, being a witness to 5B's activity. They also encounter an assassin who has a contract on 5B.

The assassin and his team follow them home and converge on Aurora's apartment. Brenda returns as well, revealing that she is an FBI agent (as 5B suspected). 5B, the hitmen, and the FBI engage in a fierce firefight that ends when the monster – a giant, vicious bunny that emerges from the floor – consumes everyone except Aurora.

In the morning, 5B emerges from the floor, presumably spat out by the monster due to having applied a thumb-sucking deterrent. Laverne arrives and 5B pleads with her to not kill Aurora and to get off the floor, revealing that she is his mother. The monster re-emerges and Laverne stands her ground shooting at it before it consumes her. The monster then moves at 5B but Aurora stands between them and tells the monster, "No."

5B understands that the monster is hers and tells Aurora that she can control it. Together, they leave the city to start a new life together. As they drive between fields of sunflowers, their car's shadow on the road has the form of the monster running with them. A mid-credits scene reveals that Brenda survived by hiding in the ironing cabinet.

Cast

Production

In November 2022, it was reported that Bryan Fuller would produce and direct the "family horror film" Dust Bunny, from a script he wrote. Mads Mikkelsen signed on in a lead role. [5] In June 2023, Sigourney Weaver was reported to be in the cast. She told the New York Social Diary that she plays "another person who's not so nice, opposite Mikkelsen". [7] In December 2023, it was announced that David Dastmalchian was in the film's cast. [8]

Principal photography began in Budapest in June 2023. [9] Since the production is not part of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, it was granted an interim agreement to continue filming during the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike. [10]

Release

Dust Bunny premiered at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival in its Midnight Madness program on September 9, 2025 [11] [12] and had its U.S. premiere at American Cinematheque's Beyond Fest on September 30, 2025. [13] It was released theatrically in the United States on December 12, 2025. [14]

Box office

As of January 4, 2026, it grossed a total of $581,964 in the United States, and $322,477 in other territories, for a worldwide total of $904,441. [4]

Reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes , 85% of 105 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.0/10.The website's consensus reads: "Elevated by Mads Mikkelsen and Sophie Sloan's magnetic chemistry, Dust Bunny is a dazzingly imaginative and stylish feature debut from director Bryan Fuller." [15] Metacritic , which uses a weighted average , assigned the film a score of 73 out of 100, based on 15 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews. [16]

At the 41st Independent Spirit Awards, the film received nominations for Best First Feature and Best Cinematography. [17]

References

  1. "Nicole Hirsch Whitaker Resume" (PDF). World Production Agency. August 2023. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 10, 2023. Retrieved August 8, 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Dust Bunny". Toronto International Film Festival . Retrieved August 4, 2025.
  3. "Dust Bunny (12A)". British Board of Film Classification . October 14, 2025. Retrieved October 14, 2025.
  4. 1 2 "Dust Bunny (2025)". Box Office Mojo . Retrieved January 23, 2026.
  5. 1 2 Ritman, Alex (November 1, 2022). "AFM: Mads Mikkelsen to Star in Bryan Fuller's Family Horror Dust Bunny, Sierra/Affinity Selling". The Hollywood Reporter . Archived from the original on December 9, 2022. Retrieved July 19, 2023.
  6. "BRYAN FULLER WROTE DUST BUNNY ROLE SPECIFICALLY FOR MADS MIKKELSEN". Nerdist. September 9, 2025. Retrieved September 11, 2025.
  7. 1 2 Fryd, Lee (June 9, 2023). "Social Swans and Black Birds soar at the The[sic] New York Botanical Garden Conservatory Ball". New York Social Diary . Archived from the original on July 19, 2023. Retrieved July 19, 2023.
  8. 1 2 Nemiroff, Perri (December 1, 2023). "David Dastmalchian Joins Dust Bunny with Mads Mikkelsen & Sigourney Weaver". Collider . Valnet Inc. Archived from the original on December 1, 2023. Retrieved December 1, 2023.
  9. Hamman, Cody (June 22, 2023). "Dust Bunny: Mads Mikkelsen and Hannibal creator Bryan Fuller are in production on horror film". JoBlo . Archived from the original on July 20, 2023. Retrieved July 19, 2023.
  10. Kroll, Justin (July 18, 2023). "A24's Mother Mary & Faith-Based Series The Chosen Among Indie Projects Given SAG-AFTRA Waiver That Allows Them To Shoot During Strike". Deadline Hollywood . Archived from the original on July 19, 2023. Retrieved July 19, 2023.
  11. "Roadside Attractions | TIFF Midnight Madness 2025 Includes Bryan Fuller's Feature Directorial Debut 'Dust Bunny'" . Retrieved October 6, 2025.
  12. Rebecca Rubin, "TIFF Unveils Midnight Madness Slate, Including Bob Odenkirk's 'Normal' and 'F— My Son!'". Variety , July 24, 2025.
  13. "DUST BUNNY". American Cinematheque. Retrieved October 6, 2025.
  14. "Beyond Fest 2025 Review: 'Dust Bunny' Mostly Shines As A Family Friendly Hitman Horror Flick". We Live Entertainment. October 1, 2025. Retrieved October 6, 2025.
  15. "Dust Bunny". Rotten Tomatoes . Fandango Media . Retrieved December 20, 2025.
  16. "Dust Bunny". Metacritic . Fandom, Inc. Retrieved December 12, 2025.
  17. Lattanzio, Ryan (December 3, 2025). "Spirit Award Nominees include 'Sorry, Baby', 'Peter Hujar's Day', 'Train Dreams', 'Twinless', and 'The Plague'". IndieWire . Retrieved December 3, 2025.