Amy Adams has spent her entire career chasing that elusive Oscar, but her recent choices feel less like "award bait" and more like a fever dream. If you’ve been keeping an eye on the trades, you know that the amy adams new movie Nightbitch has been the talk of the town—not always for the reasons you’d expect. It is weird. It is messy. Honestly, it’s kind of a lot.
Released widely on Hulu at the tail end of 2024 and making waves on international streaming into 2025, the film stars Adams as "Mother," a woman who is so burnt out by the monotony of stay-at-home parenting that she starts believing she’s turning into a dog. It’s not just a metaphor. She actually runs on all fours. She eats out of a bowl. It’s a bold swing for an actress who usually plays more grounded, internal roles.
What People Get Wrong About Nightbitch
A lot of critics and fans were honestly expecting a full-blown body horror film. Think The Fly, but with a toddler in the background. But that’s not really what director Marielle Heller delivered. Instead, we got a "magical realism" satire that is more about the psychological erosion of identity than literal fur and fangs.
Many viewers were disappointed because the movie didn't go "full feral" early enough. The box office was, frankly, abysmal, pulling in less than $200,000 during its limited theatrical run before being shuttled off to streaming. But here is the thing: Adams’ performance is actually incredible. She brings a raw, vibrating rage to the screen that anyone who has ever been stuck at home with a screaming two-year-old will instantly recognize.
She's not just "acting" tired; she looks like she hasn’t slept since the Obama administration. It’s that commitment that kept her name in the conversation during the 2025 awards season, even if the movie itself remained divisive.
The Real Story Behind the Transformation
The film is based on Rachel Yoder's 2021 novel, which was much darker and more visceral. In the book, the "dog" elements are a bit more terrifying. The movie softens those edges, choosing to focus on the comedy of suburban isolation. Scoot McNairy plays the husband, and he is perfectly cast as the "well-meaning but totally useless" partner. He’s the guy who comes home from a business trip and asks why the house is a mess while his wife is literally growling at the neighbors.
Nightbitch isn't the only thing on her plate, though. If you're looking for the amy adams new movie that feels more like her classic prestige drama, you should be looking toward At the Sea.
Moving On to At the Sea
While Nightbitch was about losing yourself in motherhood, At the Sea is about finding yourself after everything else is gone. Directed by Kornél Mundruczó (the guy who did Pieces of a Woman), this film is currently in the late stages of post-production and is one of the most anticipated releases for 2026.
The plot follows Laura, played by Adams, who returns to her family’s beach house after a long stint in rehabilitation. She’s lost her career, her fame, and her sense of who she is. It’s a stacked cast, too:
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- Murray Bartlett (from The White Lotus)
- Brett Goldstein (Roy Kent himself!)
- Dan Levy
- Jenny Slate
- Rainn Wilson
This feels like the "correction" to the weirdness of her dog-transformation era. It’s a heavy, character-driven drama that filmed throughout Boston and is expected to hit the festival circuit—likely Cannes or Venice—later this year.
What Happened to The Invite?
You might have seen old headlines from a couple of years ago about a movie called The Invite starring Amy Adams and Paul Rudd. It was supposed to be a comedy about a middle-aged couple discovering their neighbors are into orgies.
Well, that project went through a massive overhaul. In April 2025, it was announced that Olivia Wilde took over directing duties, and the cast completely changed. Now, it stars Seth Rogen and Penélope Cruz. So, if you were holding out for Amy Adams and Paul Rudd to get into some swingers-style hijinks, you're out of luck. That version of the movie is basically dead.
The Future: Klara and the Sun
There’s also the Taika Waititi project, Klara and the Sun, based on the Kazuo Ishiguro novel. This one is already in the can. Adams plays "The Mother" (a recurring theme for her lately) who buys an Artificial Friend (Jenna Ortega) for her sick daughter.
It’s sci-fi, but it’s the heart-wrenching kind. Given Waititi’s track record, it’ll probably be a visual feast, but the real draw is seeing Adams and Ortega play off each other. It’s a clash of two very different acting styles—Adams’ classical intensity versus Ortega’s modern, deadpan cool.
Is the Oscar Finally Coming?
Look, we’ve been saying "this is the year" for Amy Adams for nearly two decades. Six nominations and zero wins is a rough stat. Nightbitch was too weird for the Academy's traditionalists, even if her performance deserved the nod.
The real money for 2026 is on At the Sea. It has all the hallmarks of an Oscar winner: a recovery narrative, a prestigious director, and a role that requires "unfolding" a character in a quiet, coastal setting.
If you want to stay ahead of the curve, here is what you should do:
- Watch Nightbitch on Hulu (or Disney+ if you're outside the US). Go in expecting a weird satire about parenting, not a horror movie.
- Read Klara and the Sun. The book is short but will gut you, and it'll give you a huge head start on the themes before the movie drops.
- Keep an eye on the 2026 Sundance and Cannes lineups. That’s where we will get the first real look at At the Sea.
The amy adams new movie cycle is currently at a turning point. She’s moving away from the "feral" experiments of 2024 and back into the high-stakes emotional dramas that made her a household name. Whether she finally gets that statue or not, she’s certainly not playing it safe anymore.