In March 2023, it was announced that Close and Lie were cast in the film.[1] The film was shot in the summer of 2023 in Finland, in the archipelagos of Kotka, Porvoo and Espoo located in the Gulf of Finland.[2]
In July that same year, it was announced that the filmmakers were granted an interim agreement by SAG-AFTRA to allow production to occur since the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike was occurring at the time.[3][4]
Release
The Summer Book premiered at the BFI London Film Festival on 12 October 2024.[5][6] The North American theatrical debut was at the AFI Fest on 27 October 2024 in Hollywood, California.
Glenn Close and Charlie McDowell at the North American release of The Summer Book on 27 October 2024.
Its distribution rights in the Nordic countries are held by SF Studios, which is set to release it in Finland on 31 January 2025.[7]
The Summer Book premiered in cinemas in Jansson's native Finland on January 31, 2025, and was the number one film at the Finnish box office during its opening weekend. By March, film tickets in the country had surpassed 100,000.[8] In July 2025, Music Box Films acquired US distribution rights to the film, and released it on September 19, 2025.[9]
Reception
The Summer Book has received generally positive reviews, with currently a 73% rating from 15 critics the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes.[10] Critics have called the film "light in story but heavy in mood" and an "evocative drama that finds life in death and death in life",[11] while also describing it as "infinitely gentle"[12] and "an appealing throwback to old-fashioned family dramas of a more innocent era."[13]
Glenn Close's performance has received particular acclaim. IndieWire described Close as "the film's secret weapon"[14] while The Hollywood Reporter praised her "finely etched characterization"[15] and Variety noted that, "attentive to characterful details of accent and posture, Close plays this tender-tough old bird beautifully."[16]
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