Culture
M. Night Shyamalan’s ‘Remain’: First Reactions
The supernatural thriller, co-written by Nicholas Sparks and starring Jake Gyllenhaal, doesn't hit theaters till Feb. 5.
FULL ARTICLE · The Hollywood Reporter Film
Surprise! M. Night Shyamalan‘s hotly anticipated next feature Remain had an impromptu premiere at the 2026 Beyond Fest and the early reaction to the supernatural thriller has already hit social media.
Remain screened at the genre festival ahead of a planned retrospective screening of Shyamalan’s 1998 classic The Sixth Sense. The filmmaker personally introduced Remain at Beyond and to say festivalgoers were surprised is an understatement as his new feature is not slated to be released in theaters by Warner Bros. until Feb. 5, 2027. Although, Remain‘s original release date was Oct. 23, 2026 it was moved to be closer to Valentine’s Day.
Clearly Shyamalan and Warners are feeling bullish about the prospects of Remain, and the early screening and hype building backs up comments he made at Warner Bros. Discovery’s upfront presentation to advertisers in New York earlier this year, when he confessed that Remain was “my highest-testing movie of my career.” The positive reaction to Remain‘s first trailer also suggests Shyamalan is on to something.
Remain is a romantic supernatural thriller starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Phoebe Dynevor and Julie Hagerty, and tells the story of an architect recovering from depression who moves to Cape Cod and encounters a mysterious woman.
Shyamalan co-created the project with bestselling The Notebook and Dear John author Nicholas Sparks and Remain first appeared as a bestselling novel from the pair in 2025.
Remain is Shyamalan’s second consecutive film for Warners after 2024’s Trap which made $84 million at the box office off a $30 million budget and became something of a memeable pop culture phenomenon.
See the early reaction to Remain below.
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