Ben Affleck’s Animals Now Streaming on Netflix With Kerry Washington

Ben Affleck’s crime thriller Animals is now streaming on Netflix after a day-and-date limited theatrical bow on Oct. 9. Affleck directed, co-wrote and stars as Los Angeles mayoral candidate Mark Kimball opposite Kerry Washington as his wife, Abigail, in a story that detonates when their son Denny is kidnapped, according to Netflix Tudum. Deadline confirmed the Oct. 9 theatrical-and-streaming release and reviewed the R-rated film at 1 hour 46 minutes.

In the Tudum trailer feature, Affleck describes the project as a test of moral compass under pressure: “Who are we really? Who are we when our masks come off?” The plot follows a politician’s polished public life cracking when a ransom demand arrives. Emmy winner Gillian Anderson plays mysterious fixer Dayle, who tells the couple that whatever secrets they have kept from each other need to come out while their son’s life is at stake, Tudum reported. Affleck also framed the movie as being “really about marriage — what it means to attach yourself to someone, the bargains and exchanges.”

Deadline’s Pete Hammond wrote that Affleck’s script, co-written with Billy Ray and Connor O’McIntyre, layers a failing campaign, a strained marriage and a $7 million ransom demand into a propulsive thriller that also echoes themes from Akira Kurosawa’s High and Low without claiming a direct remake credit in the press notes. Hammond noted that Mark pours remaining family funds into the race without telling Abigail, then must face the kidnapping with campaign manager Sam (Steven Yeun) bringing in Anderson’s fixer for a loan plus a steep additional fee.

The ensemble also includes Adriana Paz, Luis Gerardo Méndez, Christopher Woodley as Denny, and supporting players including Ray Fisher and Matt Gerald, Deadline listed. Tudum said Affleck sought “good collaborators,” rehearsed the company for several weeks and shot on location at the family’s lavish Los Angeles home, leaning on audience expectations of the cast before “drift[ing] away” from them in service of the story.

Production partners include Artists Equity, the studio Affleck co-founded with Matt Damon and RedBird Capital’s Gerry Cardinale. Producers credited across Tudum and Deadline include Brad Weston, Collin Creighton, Affleck, Damon, Dani Bernfeld and Luciana Damon. Deadline’s review called the tone uneven and overstuffed — swinging between kidnap thriller, marriage melodrama and political commentary — even as it praised the kinetic editing by William Goldenberg and Christopher Rouse and Anderson’s clipped delivery.

Netflix is streaming the film now while offering a limited theatrical footprint, Deadline said. Hammond compared the outing unfavorably with Affleck’s earlier 2026 Netflix thriller collaboration The Rip, arguing Animals asks too many tonal questions at once. Still, Tudum’s feature presents the project as Affleck’s personal statement on crisis, partnership and public image. Viewers looking for more studio and streaming news can browse our Hollywood hub.

Verification: Now-streaming status, cast roles, Affleck quotes, Anderson fixer beat, Artists Equity partnership and producer list come from Netflix Tudum (Thea Glassman, Oct. 9, 2026). Day-and-date Oct. 9 release, R rating, runtime, ransom/campaign plot details, co-writer credits, editor shout-outs and critical framing are from Deadline (Pete Hammond, Oct. 8, 2026).