Hurry Up Tomorrow (film)

Last updated

Hurry Up Tomorrow
Hurry Up Tomorrow - Official Film Poster.jpeg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Trey Edward Shults
Written by
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyChayse Irvin
Edited byTrey Edward Shults
Music by
Production
companies
Distributed by Lionsgate Films
Release date
  • May 16, 2025 (2025-05-16)
Running time
105 minutes [1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$15 million
Box office$7.8 million [2] [3]

Hurry Up Tomorrow is a 2025 American psychological thriller film directed by Trey Edward Shults and written by Shults, Abel "The Weeknd" Tesfaye, and Reza Fahim. It serves as a companion piece to Tesfaye's 2025 album of the same name and stars Tesfaye as a fictionalized version of himself, alongside Jenna Ortega and Barry Keoghan. In the film, Tesfaye, struggling with depression and insomnia, gets pulled into an existential odyssey by a mysterious fan.

Contents

Development on Hurry Up Tomorrow began in September 2022 after psychological stress resulted in Tesfaye losing his voice during a concert. Co-writers Tesfaye and Fahim served as the film's producers, alongside Kevin Turen and Harrison Kreiss: Hurry Up Tomorrow was one of the final films produced by Turen and is dedicated to him. The film was the source of a dispute between Turen and Tesfaye's previous collaborator, Sam Levinson. It also reportedly failed to initially attract distributors. Principal photography began by February 2023 and concluded by that July.

Hurry Up Tomorrow was theatrically released by Lionsgate in the United States on May 16, 2025. It received negative reviews and grossed $7.8 million worldwide.

Plot

Music superstar Abel Tesfaye warms up and performs at a headlining concert. Afterwards, he parties and does drugs with his manager, Lee. Despite encouragement from Lee, Abel does not want to perform due to growing depression after a recent break-up leaves him emotionally unstable. Meanwhile, Anima, a fan of Tesfaye's music, sets a house on fire before driving to Los Angeles to Abel's next concert, ignoring phone calls from her mother.

Before the concert, Abel is diagnosed with muscle tension dysphonia and considers cancelling, but is convinced to perform by Lee. Before embarking onstage, Abel leaves an emotional, foul-mouthed voicemail to his ex-girlfriend, blaming her for his depression. Anima attends the concert, where Abel loses his voice and abruptly walks offstage. Anima sneaks backstage and meets Abel. Intrigued, Abel waves away security and spends the night with Anima in Pacific Park and later, at a hotel. Anima cries after Abel plays a portion of the unfinished song "Hurry Up Tomorrow", relating to its themes of loneliness and abandonment.

The following day, as Abel prepares to return to his tour, Anima answers a phone call from her distraught mother, who demands that Anima explain herself. Anima tearfully apologizes, tells her mother that she loves her, and ends the call. As Abel prepares to leave, Anima accuses him of abandoning her and pleads with him to open up emotionally to her, but he refuses. Anima knocks him unconscious with a champagne bottle. Abel has a vivid nightmare in which he wanders from the hotel room onto the empty streets, then unwillingly rides the hotel elevator to an underground tunnel, where he flees from a shrieking young woman, and finally encounters his child self singing a portion of "Hurry Up Tomorrow" in Amharic beside a fire in a snowy field.

Abel wakes up tied to the hotel bed. Anima dances and sings along to his songs "Blinding Lights" and "Gasoline" and suggests that they were inspired by Abel's toxic relationships, drug addiction, and depression. Abel refuses to discuss the songs with her. Lee arrives to find Abel, having tracked his phone to the hotel. Anima tries to get Lee to leave, but he breaks down the door. After a violent struggle, Anima fatally stabs Lee in the neck. Anima douses Abel with gasoline, threatening to burn him if he will not be honest with her. Abel finally pacifies Anima by singing "Hurry Up Tomorrow". She releases him from the bed and sets the room on fire before she leaves. Abel exits the hotel room and walks down the hallway, which leads him directly backstage before a concert. He stares at his reflection in a mirror.

Cast

The Weeknd stars as himself in the film. The Weeknd Cannes 2023.png
The Weeknd stars as himself in the film.

Production

Development

Trey Edward Shults directed and edited Hurry Up Tomorrow. He wrote the script with Abel "the Weeknd" Tesfaye and Reza Fahim, with its story based on the Weeknd's sixth studio album. Tesfaye and Fahim also produced the film through Manic Phase with Kevin Turen and Harrison Kreiss. [4] Shults, Jenna Ortega, Michael Rapino, Ryan Kroft, Wassim "Sal" Slaiby and Harrison Huffman served as its executive producers. [5] Chayse Irvin handled the cinematography, while Daniel Lopatin composed the score with Tesfaye. [6] It was one of the last projects Turen worked on before his death in November 2023. [7] [8]

Tesfaye, Ortega, and Barry Keoghan signed on to star in Hurry Up Tomorrow. It marked Tesfaye's first film leading role, having previously made a cameo appearance as himself in Uncut Gems (2019) and starred in the HBO television series The Idol (2023); which he also co-created. [9] Although Ortega and Keoghan were weighing several offers following their respective breakthrough years, production was greenlit after they pledged their commitments. [6] Live Nation Entertainment financed the film on a budget of $15 million. [10]

The film and the album was inspired by a real-life incident at the After Hours til Dawn Tour show in September 2022 at SoFi Stadium, in which Tesfaye lost his voice while performing and was forced to stop the show, caused not by physical injury but from psychological stress. [11] The album track "I Can't Fucking Sing" also references this event with dialogue from the film. [12]

Filming

When Deadline Hollywood announced Hurry Up Tomorrow on February 28, 2023, principal photography had already begun. [6] It was shot by Canadian cinematographer Chayse Irvin on 35 mm, 16 mm, and Super 8 film, marking his first collaboration with Shults. [13]

Post-production

It's been reported that Turen's longtime relationship with filmmaker Sam Levinson, who also worked on The Idol, deteriorated after Levinson felt "betrayed" that Turen was attached to the project without him knowing. [10] Turen contended that he had told Levinson's wife, Ashley Levinson, about Hurry Up Tomorrow, but she expressed no interest and never mentioned it to her husband. Several of Masters' sources say Ashley denied knowing anything about the film. [10]

In April 2025, Tesfaye clarified that the film was conceived and developed before the album, which was produced and completed during the film's post-production scoring process. [14]

Music

Hurry Up Tomorrow (Original Motion Picture Score)
Soundtrack album by
ReleasedJuly 11, 2025
Length84:45
Label
Producer
the Weeknd chronology
Hurry Up Tomorrow
(2025)
Hurry Up Tomorrow (Original Motion Picture Score)
(2025)
Oneohtrix Point Never chronology
Again
(2023)
Hurry Up Tomorrow (Original Motion Picture Score)
(2025)

The film's soundtrack, Hurry Up Tomorrow (Original Motion Picture Score), was released on July 11, 2025. Although it was initially slated for both digital and physical release, it ultimately became available only in physical format. The soundtrack is a collaborative effort between The Weeknd and Oneohtrix Point Never, featuring 16 original instrumental tracks composed by the duo, alongside ten songs from The Weeknd's own Hurry Up Tomorrow (2025) album. [15]

Tracks 1–16 all written and produced by the Weeknd and Oneohtrix Point Never. Tracks 17–26 can be found on Hurry Up Tomorrow (2025) as tracks 2, 4, 7, 13, 15, 17 and 19–22, respectively.

Side one
No.TitleLength
1."Please Leave a Message"2:16
2."Anima Pt. 1"3:54
3."Gas Station"1:03
4."Dance Until We're Skin and Bones"1:57
5."It's Mostly Psychological"0:45
6."Sky Is Falling"1:59
7."Heartbeat Slower"2:20
8."We'll Take It Backstage"4:23
9."Muted"1:40
Side two
No.TitleLength
10."Close Encounter"2:18
11."I Feel Like I Know You"2:51
12."Champagne Solves Everything"1:40
13."In Too Deep"5:50
14."Can You Hear Me Knocking?"0:41
15."Anima Pt. 2"4:16
16."Tomorrow's Coming"3:45
Side three
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
17."Cry for Me"
3:44
18."São Paulo" (with Anitta)
  • The Weeknd
  • Dean
  • Solymar [c]
5:02
19."Open Hearts"
  • Martin
  • Holter
3:54
20."Timeless" (with Playboi Carti)
4:16
21."Take Me Back to LA"
4:14
Side four
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
22."Give Me Mercy"
  • Tesfaye
  • Martin
  • Holter
  • Daniel Lopatin
3:36
23."The Abyss" (with Lana Del Rey)
  • The Weeknd
  • Dean
  • Greenaway [c]
  • OPN [a]
  • Skolfield [v]
4:42
24."Red Terror"
  • Tesfaye
  • Lopatin
  • The Weeknd
  • OPN
  • Dean
  • Cirkut
  • Salon [a]
  • Skolfield [v]
3:51
25."Without a Warning"
  • Tesfaye
  • Thabo Publicover
  • Tewodros Fantu
  • Lopatin
  • Holter
  • Darryl Howard
  • Isaac Brown
  • Giorgio Moroder
  • The Weeknd
  • Thabo
  • Teddy Fantum
  • OPN [c]
  • Holter [c]
  • Dean [c]
  • Skolfield [v]
4:57
26."Hurry Up Tomorrow"Tesfaye
  • Dean
  • OPN
  • DaHeala
  • Salon [c]
  • Skolfield [v]
4:51
Total length:84:45

Notes

Sample credits

Release

In November 2024, Lionsgate Films announced their acquisition of worldwide distribution rights to Hurry Up Tomorrow. [18] The film was released theatrically in the United States on May 16, 2025. [19]

It was subsequently released on premium video on demand services on June 6, 2025. [20]

Reception

Box office

As of July 11, 2025, Hurry Up Tomorrow has grossed $5.2 million in the United States and Canada and $2.5 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $7.8 million. [2] [3]

In the United States and Canada, Hurry Up Tomorrow was released alongside Final Destination Bloodlines , and was projected to gross $5–9 million from 2,020 theatres in its opening weekend. [21] It made $1.65 million from preview screenings: $1.3 million on Wednesday and $350,000 on Thursday. [22] The film went on to flop at the box office, placing sixth with an opening of $3.2 million. [22] Deadline Hollywood noted that Lionsgate "really tried" to sell Hurry Up Tomorrow to exhibitors with an extensive marketing campaign, which included a strong presence at CinemaCon, but its box office performance was a "complete rejection" from moviegoers. [22]

Critical response

Critics dismissed the film as an "egomaniacal" and "navel-gazing" vanity project for Tesfaye, [a] and saw it as an extended music video created simply to promote its companion album. [27] [28] On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes , 14% of 90 critics' reviews are positive.The website's consensus reads: "On second thought, let's fast-forward to the workweek." [29] Metacritic , which uses a weighted average , assigned the film a score of 29 out of 100, based on 25 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable" reviews. [30] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "C-" on an A+ to F scale, while those surveyed by PostTrak gave the film an average rating of 12 out of 5 stars, with 34% saying they would definitely recommend it. [31] [22]

Frank Scheck for The Hollywood Reporter found Hurry Up Tomorrow to be "unbearably pretentious" with a screenplay "so devoid of humor and self-awareness that it makes such similarly misbegotten musician star vehicles [such as] Renaldo and Clara (1978), Under the Cherry Moon (1986) and Give My Regards to Broad Street (1984) seem like masterpieces". [32] The Daily Beast 's Nick Schager echoed his sentiments, writing that the "feature-length ego stroke of monumental hubris" instantly assumed "pole position in the race for the year's worst movie". [33] Jordan Hoffman of Entertainment Weekly described the film as "nearly plot-free, self-indulgent, overly serious, and, worst of all, just dull". [34] The Toronto Star 's Alexander Mooney said the film was "remarkable in its ceaseless and shameless capacity for failure, constantly finding new and innovative ways to fall flat on its face". [35] In the headline for his CBC News review, Jackson Weaver wrote: "[Tesfaye] could've gone to therapy. Instead, he made Hurry Up Tomorrow". [36]

Scheck commended Ortega's and Barry Keoghan's "hard-working efforts" in investing their "thinly written" characters with "intense" energy. [32] Todd Gilchrist of Variety thought that although the film "bears all the signs of pop star hubris masquerading as artistic candor," Keoghan and Ortega delivered "game performances to prop up the budding thespian." [37] The A.V. Club's Jesse Hassenger found Ortega to be "the only person in the movie anyone would ever want to spend any time with." He complimented her erratic behavior and "wonderfully expressive" face, which he described as a "bold-lined comic-book drawing come to life; compared to the rest of Hurry Up Tomorrow, regarding images of Ortega shot on film is a splendid use of time." [38] IndieWire 's Charles Bramesco, in a more critical analysis, wrote that Tesfaye and Ortega modeled two opposing modes of an "imitative, hollow performance" with "varying notions of good acting": Ortega "doesn’t understand how or why" to demonstrate stoicism and inexpressiveness while Tesfaye channeled Robert De Niro in Raging Bull (1980) "just without the Method behind his mannerisms." [24]

More positively, G. Allen Johnson of the San Francisco Chronicle described Hurry Up Tomorrow as "a risk-taking experience, a David Lynchian fever dream of a movie that's as visually marvelous as it is head-scratching". He considered the film to be a " Purple Rain for the Euphoria generation," acknowledging that the film is imperfect, but applauded the manner in which it "questions, probes and challenges" viewers. [39] Madison Bloom of Pitchfork , on the other hand, believed that Tesfaye was still "caught in the strangulating grasp of his self-made mythology." She compared Hurry Up Tomorrow to Misery (1990), "a film that raises complex questions about fame, pop culture, and the extremes of fandom. Unfortunately, these ideas are just kind of slapped on the surface of Hurry Up Tomorrow, which fails to penetrate deeper into the lives and motivations of its characters." [40]

Accolades

AwardDate of ceremonyCategoryNominee(s)ResultRef.
MTV Video Music Awards September 7, 2025 Best Long Form Video Hurry Up TomorrowPending [41]
Best Visual Effects Zeke FaustPending

Notes

  1. Attributed to multiple references: [23] [24] [25] [26]

References

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  2. 1 2 "Hurry Up Tomorrow (2025)". The Numbers.com. Retrieved July 12, 2025.
  3. 1 2 "Hurry Up Tomorrow (2025)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved July 12, 2025.
  4. Chapman, Wilson (February 28, 2023). "The Weeknd, Waves Director Trey Edward Shults to Co-Write New Film". IndieWire . Retrieved March 1, 2023.
  5. Stephan, Katcy (November 4, 2024). "The Weeknd's Hurry Up Tomorrow Film With Jenna Ortega and Barry Keoghan Lands at Lionsgate". Variety . Retrieved November 4, 2024.
  6. 1 2 3 Kroll, Justin (February 28, 2023). "The Weeknd, Jenna Ortega And Barry Keoghan To Star In New Film Based On Original Idea From The Weeknd With Trey Edward Shults Directing". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved March 1, 2023.
  7. Rahman, Abid (November 12, 2023). "Kevin Turen, Producer on Euphoria and The Idol, Dies at 44". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved July 24, 2024.
  8. Kainz, Natalie; Dasrath, Diana (November 13, 2023). "Euphoria producer Kevin Turen dies at 44". NBC News . Retrieved July 24, 2024.
  9. Barfield, Charles (February 28, 2023). "Jenna Ortega, Barry Keoghan & The Weeknd To Star In New Film From Director Trey Edward Shults". The Playlist. Retrieved March 1, 2023.
  10. 1 2 3 Masters, Kim (July 23, 2024). "What's Ailing Euphoria? Tragedy and Trauma Inside TV's Buzziest Show". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 24, 2024.
  11. Aswad, Jem (January 10, 2025). "The Weeknd on the 'Breakdown' That Inspired His 'Hurry Up Tomorrow' Album and Film, and Why He Might Retire the Weeknd: 'It Never Ends Until You End It'". Variety. Retrieved January 10, 2025.
  12. Mamo, Heran (May 7, 2025). "The Weeknd Unveils New 'Hurry Up Tomorrow' Scene in Which He Loses His Voice". Billboard . Retrieved May 12, 2025.
  13. Desowitz, Bill (March 12, 2025). "20 Movies Shot on Film in 2025: Separate Safdie Brothers, Paul Thomas Anderson, and More". IndieWire. Retrieved March 13, 2025.
  14. Saponara, Michael (April 24, 2025). "The Weeknd Reveals 'Hurry Up Tomorrow' Album 'Didn't Exist' Before the Film". Billboard . Retrieved April 27, 2025.
  15. "'Hurry Up Tomorrow' Score Album to Be Released | Film Music Reporter" . Retrieved August 5, 2025.
  16. 1 2 "Hurry Up Tomorrow Vinyl Sequence and Credits". The Weeknd. Retrieved February 12, 2025.
  17. Fleming, Mike Jr. (November 4, 2024). "Lionsgate Makes Worldwide Deal For Hurry Up Tomorrow; Thriller Marks Film-Starring Debut Of The Weeknd". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved November 4, 2024.
  18. D'Alessandro, Anthony (December 20, 2024). "The Weeknd, Jenna Ortega, Barry Keoghan Thriller 'Hurry Up Tomorrow' Jumps On Early Summer 2025 Calendar". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved December 20, 2024.
  19. Melendez, Marcos (June 4, 2025). "Jenna Ortega & The Weeknd's 'Hurry Up Tomorrow' Gets Digital Release Date". MovieWeb. Retrieved June 8, 2025.
  20. D'Alessandro, Anthony (May 14, 2025). "Final Destination: Bloodlines Making Beeline To Record $35M-$40M Franchise Opening – Box Office Preview". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved May 14, 2025.
  21. 1 2 3 4 D'Alessandro, Anthony (May 18, 2025). "Final Destination Bloodlines Coursing To Franchise-Best $51M Bow; Nobody Is Rushing To Hurry Up Tomorrow – Sunday AM Box Office Update". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 20, 2025.
  22. Sherman, Maria (May 15, 2025). "Movie Review: The Weeknd's Hurry Up Tomorrow is a surrealist vanity project". Associated Press . Retrieved May 16, 2025.
  23. 1 2 Bramesco, Charles (May 15, 2025). "Hurry Up Tomorrow Review: The Weeknd's Emotionally Threadbare Vanity Project Is All Skips, No Repeats". IndieWire . Retrieved May 16, 2025.
  24. Hanson, Mark (May 15, 2025). "Hurry Up Tomorrow Review: Histrionic, Doom-Laden Navel-Gazing". Slant Magazine . Retrieved May 16, 2025.
  25. Abele, Robert (May 16, 2025). "Review: Hurry Up Tomorrow: Weeknd vanity project wastes the talent in front of, and behind, the camera". Los Angeles Times . Archived from the original on May 16, 2025. Retrieved May 16, 2025.
  26. Lawrence, Andrew (May 15, 2025). "Hurry Up Tomorrow review – The Weeknd's meta-thriller plays like a music video". The Guardian . ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved May 16, 2025.
  27. Yu, Brandon (May 15, 2025). "Hurry Up Tomorrow Review: The Weeknd's Overextended Music Video". The New York Times . ISSN   0362-4331. Archived from the original on May 17, 2025. Retrieved May 16, 2025.
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  30. "Home". CinemaScore. Retrieved May 17, 2025.
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  32. Schager, Nick (May 16, 2025). "The Weeknd's Unbearable Hurry Up Tomorrow Is the Worst Film of the Year". The Daily Beast . Retrieved May 16, 2025.
  33. Hoffman, Jordan (May 15, 2025). "Hurry Up Tomorrow review: The Weeknd's mopey pop star drama is astonishingly boring". Entertainment Weekly . Retrieved May 16, 2025.
  34. Mooney, Alexander (May 15, 2025). "The Weeknd's Hurry Up Tomorrow is a laughable psychodrama that's not only bad, it's boring". Toronto Star . Retrieved May 15, 2025.
  35. Weaver, Jackson (May 15, 2025). "The Weeknd could've gone to therapy. Instead, he made Hurry Up Tomorrow". CBC News . Retrieved May 15, 2025.
  36. Gilchrist, Todd (May 15, 2025). "Hurry Up Tomorrow Review: The Weeknd's Cinematic Apology for a Flubbed Concert Performance Should Issue Its Own". Variety . Retrieved May 21, 2025.
  37. Hassenger, Jesse (May 15, 2025). "Even as a music video, Hurry Up Tomorrow would be excruciating". The A.V. Club . Retrieved May 21, 2025.
  38. Johnson, G. Allen (May 15, 2025). "In Hurry Up Tomorrow, the Weeknd makes a Purple Rain for the Euphoria generation". San Francisco Chronicle . Retrieved May 15, 2025.
  39. Bloom, Madison (May 16, 2025). "Hurry Up Tomorrow Review: The Weeknd Is Still High on His Own Mythology". Pitchfork . Retrieved May 17, 2025.
  40. McIntyre, Hugh (August 5, 2025). "Lady Gaga Leads 2025 MTV VMAs Nominations: See The Full List". Forbes . Archived from the original on August 5, 2025. Retrieved August 5, 2025.