What do you get when you put red-hot stars like the Weeknd, Barry Keoghan, Jenna Ortega, and Riley Keough in a movie together? Apparently, a “self-indulgent” mess and a “feature-length ego-stroke,” say the critics — ouch.
The Weeknd (real name Abel Tesfaye) cowrote and produced the new film Hurry Up Tomorrow, which serves as a companion piece to his sixth studio album, released in January. Trey Edward Shults (Waves) directed and cowrote the Lionsgate picture, which is being described as a “musical psychological thriller.” Reza Fahim (The Idol) is the third cowriter.
More from GoldDerby
Hurry Up Tomorrow has a tepid 15 percent on Rotten Tomatoes and a 30 score at Metacritic, making it one of the worst-reviewed movies of 2025 so far. For comparison’s sake, the reigning Razzie “winner” for Worst Picture, Madame Web, earned an 11 percent last year on the all-important Tomatometer, and instantly became the butt of countless jokes.
The film’s plot follows the Weeknd as a fictionalized version of himself, who becomes resentful and depressed after his girlfriend breaks up with him. After the musician encounters a mysterious stranger, he embarks on a psychedelic journey that causes him to question everything he knows about life. Here’s the trailer:
The Weeknd is no stranger to poor reviews, as his 2023 television drama The Idol received a 19 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. It starred Lily-Rose Depp as a pop idol who has a complex relationship with the Weeknd’s unsavory cult leader character. But The Idol had the last laugh at the Emmys, winning the trophy for Best Choreography.
While the Weeknd has yet to respond to the reviews for Hurry Up Tomorrow, he said the following in 2023 about critics who trashed his tunes: “I’m not responsible for how someone feels about my music.” The artist is a four-time Grammy winner for the songs “Hurricane” and “Earned It (Fifty Shades Of Grey),” and the albums Starboy and Beauty Behind The Madness.
Here is a snapshot of what the critics are saying about Hurry Up Tomorrow:
Jordan Hoffman (Entertainment Weekly): “The nearly plot-free movie is self-indulgent, overly serious, and, worst of all, just plain dull.”
Nick Schager (The Daily Beast): “A feature-length ego-stroke of monumental hubris that instantly assumes pole position in the race for year’s worst movie.”
Adam Graham (Detroit News): “It is dragged down by a lack of emotional connection and the high-wire act of bridging reality and fiction in a way that feels truthful, as if the filmmakers’ best intentions were blinded by the lights.”
Maria Sherman (Associated Press): “An exciting vanity project with surrealist imagination but stiff writing, no stakes, limited emotional weight and an unclear narrative.”
Charles Bramesco (IndieWire): “If the unbearable weight of massive talent is really so crazy-making, that unwieldy creativity should be set free, however messy. Or, if I can just say what I mean: making audiences feel nostalgic about Kanye West? In this cultural economy?”
G. Allen Johnson (San Francisco Chronicle): “It’s not a perfect film, but it is one that questions, probes and challenges.”
Todd Gilchrist (Variety): “Hurry Up Tomorrow bears all the signs of pop star hubris masquerading as artistic candor, despite game performances by Jenna Ortega and Barry Keogan to prop up the budding thespian.”
Brandon Yu (New York Times): “Primarily amounts to an overextended music video that shrinks and cheapens the universe that the Weeknd’s songs gesture toward.”
Hurry Up Tomorrow opened in U.S. theaters on May 16. It has a running time of one hour, 45 minutes, and is rated R for language throughout, drug use, some bloody violence, and brief nudity.
SIGN UP for Gold Derby’s free newsletter with latest predictions
Best of GoldDerby
Sign up for Gold Derby’s Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
