‘Verity’ Is Riding a Wave of Strong Walk-up Sales Into Opening Weekend

Colleen Hoover’s novels have become a reliable box office force, and Hollywood has taken notice. ‘It Ends With Us’ was the sleeper hit of its summer, earning more than $346 million worldwide, and expectations have been building ever since for the next adaptation. Now, the ‘Verity’ box office opening is shaping up to deliver another win for the author’s devoted fan base.

The psychological thriller follows Dakota Johnson as Lowen Ashleigh, a struggling writer hired to ghostwrite for renowned author Verity Crawford, played by Anne Hathaway, under mysterious circumstances. Her assignment takes a dark turn when she discovers chilling autobiographical notes and begins blurring the lines with Verity’s husband Jeremy, played by Josh Hartnett.

The latest numbers suggest audiences are showing up in force. According to tracking account Global Box Office, ‘Verity’ is seeing outstanding walk-up business and strong Friday sales, putting it on track for a $25 million to $32 million domestic debut. That would comfortably make it the No. 1 film of the weekend.

Walk-ups have been a key factor all along. Deadline reported the domestic outlook at $30 million-plus from 3,510 theaters, noting the film had a definite chance to overperform thanks to walk-up business from Hoover’s readers. The outlet also projected $20 million to $25 million from 70 offshore territories, setting up a potential $50 million to $55 million global start.

Interestingly, presales alone haven’t told the full story. Deadline noted that U.S. and Canadian presales were behind ‘It Ends With Us’, which opened to $50 million, but suggested that wasn’t necessarily a bad sign given how much of this audience buys tickets at the last minute.

VERITY is having outstanding walkups and Friday’s sales, as it’s now on track for a $25M-$32M domestic debut, easily #1! Starring Dakota Johnson and Anne Hathaway, it’s another testament of how powerful Colleen Hoover adaptations are. https://t.co/W8LmDN3il2

— Global Box Office (@GlobalBoxOffice) October 1, 2026

The numbers look even better against the film’s price tag. ‘Verity’ was produced for $40 million, according to Variety, and its success would help Amazon MGM rebound after this summer’s ‘Masters of the Universe’, which flopped with $113 million worldwide against a $200 million budget.

Thursday previews kicked off at 2 p.m., ahead of the film’s nationwide opening on Friday, October 2. Variety has said a strong result should also hand Hathaway her third No. 1 opening of the year after ‘The Devil Wears Prada 2’ and ‘The Odyssey’.

Anne Hathaway, Dakota Johnson, and Josh Hartnett star in an all-new trailer for #Verity.

In theaters October 2. pic.twitter.com/niq02J5nO5

— Rotten Tomatoes 🍅 (@RottenTomatoes) August 11, 2026

The weekend matchup has become one of the season’s more surprising stories. While ‘Verity’ surges, Tom Cruise’s big-budget satire ‘Digger’ is tracking at $12 million to $15 million from 3,300 theaters, according to Warner Bros., with some rivals doubting it will even reach $10 million.

That contrast underlines just how powerful a built-in readership can be. Hoover self-published ‘Verity’ in 2018 before Grand Central Publishing acquired it in 2021, and the novel’s fan base has clearly followed it to theaters.

The film isn’t winning over everyone, though. ‘Verity’ currently holds a 41% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes, making it the only one of Hathaway’s 5 theatrical releases this year to be labeled rotten. Online reactions have been divided too, with at least one skeptic dismissing it as BookTok fare in response to the tracking news.

Still, reviews may matter less here than usual. If the Friday surge continues, ‘Verity’ looks set to prove once again that Colleen Hoover adaptations can thrive at the box office regardless of what critics think.

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