The sci-fi horror feature The End of Oak Street, starring Hollywood actors Anne Hathaway and Ewan McGregor, arrived in Ukrainian cinemas on August 13, 2026. Distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, the film combines suburban family drama with prehistoric monster action.
Set in a typical American suburb during the 1980s where residents strive to maintain an ideal image, the story centers on the Platt family. Living on Oak Street, the family includes father Greg, mother Denise, high school student Audrey, and young schoolboy Brian. Behind their polished exterior, the family harbors growing personal conflicts on the verge of exploding.
A mysterious incident strikes the neighborhood in the middle of the night. A section of Oak Street is inexplicably ripped out of its time and space, transporting the entire block and its inhabitants several hundred million years into the past.
By morning, bloodthirsty dinosaurs roam the residential street, searching for local residents and domestic pets to consume.
To survive their new prehistoric environment, the Platt family members must resolve their personal differences, learn to communicate, and build trust with one another. Overcoming their internal friction proves just as challenging as escaping a hungry Tyrannosaurus rex.
Suburban drama meets prehistoric horror
The lead actors carry the character dynamics throughout the story. Without charismatic performers, the roles might feel superficial or thinly written, but the talents of Anne Hathaway and Ewan McGregor provide emotional weight to the narrative.
Hathaway portrays Denise, a housewife who serves as the functional head of the household. She tells her weak-willed husband Greg, played by McGregor, that she can endure as much as he can and even more. Unfulfilled in her personal life, Denise frequently criticizes her husband, while Greg avoids serious discussions and keeps secrets. Despite these conventional character traits, Hathaway and McGregor make the couple compelling to watch.
The young actors playing the Platt children deliver strong performances alongside their veteran co-stars. Canadian singer and actress Maisie Stella, known for her role in the television series Nashville, plays Audrey. Fellow Canadian actor Christian Convery, who appeared in Cocaine Bear, The Monkey, Frankenstein, and the fantasy series Sweet Tooth, portrays Brian.
Director David Robert Mitchell expands into big budget filmmaking
American filmmaker David Robert Mitchell directed the feature from his own original screenplay. Mitchell previously made his directorial debut with the 2010 independent coming-of-age comedy The Myth of the American Sleepover. He followed with two low-budget horror features, It Follows in 2014 and Under the Silver Lake in 2018, both of which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival.
While Mitchell earned critical acclaim for his first two features, his third film received mixed reviews and struggled at the box office. Nevertheless, the director secured an 80 million dollar budget to bring his latest project to the screen.
Critical reception and review scores
Early viewers from private test screenings in the United States posted positive reactions on social media. Reviewers highlighted Hathaway's acting, compared the production to Steven Spielberg's 1993 classic Jurassic Park, and praised the balance between comedy and suspense.
Critical review aggregators reflect generally positive ratings for the film. On IMDb, the movie holds a score of 6.6 out of 10. Rotten Tomatoes reports an 83 percent approval rating from critics, earning the film a Certified Fresh designation. On Metacritic, the picture maintains a score of 67 out of 100, which indicates generally favorable reviews.
Flaws, strengths, and final score
The film contains noticeable shortcomings, including thinly written character arcs and a complete absence of scientific explanations for the time displacement event.
Despite those flaws, strong lead performances, impressive visual effects, and a well-crafted balance of horror and comedic tone establish the movie as an entertaining summer blockbuster.
Although the happy ending follows a familiar trajectory, the plot incorporates several unexpected twists that keep viewers on edge. The film features a concise runtime of 1 hour and 40 minutes, offering a focused pace compared to longer summer releases such as Odyssey and Spider-Man 4. The film receives an overall rating of 7 out of 10 points.
