DirectorAlex Garlandinitiated an evolution for the indie distributor A24 last year, with his dystopian thrillerCivil Wargrossing over $100 million globally and nearly $70 million in stateside theaters.Civil Warwas the most expensive film produced by A24, with a reported budget of $50 million. Garland and A24 reunited this year for the acclaimed thrillerWarfare, which he co-directed with the Iraq War veteranRay Mendoza. Produced ona smaller budget of $20 million, the movie opened to excellent reviews but found it difficult to matchCivil War’s performance in its box office debut.
This weekend, the movie added almost $5 million to its domestic total, whichnow stands at over $17 million.Warfarehas now overtaken fellow Iraq War thrillerThe Hurt Lockerdomestically. Released in 2009,The Hurt Lockerwon the Academy Award for Best Picture, and grossed almost $50 million worldwide.Warfarehasn’t quite been unleashed overseas as yet, which means that it’s still too soon to make any sort of sweeping statements about its commercial performance. But there’s no doubting the acclaim that it has attracted.
WarfareisGarland’s top-rated project ever, with a “certified fresh” 94% approval rating on the aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes. More impressively (especially for a movie set against the backdrop of the Iraq War), it holds a “verified hot” 93% audience score on the platform.Warfareis reportedly appealing to Middle-America audiences, which doesn’t really align with its left-leaning politics.In his review, Collider’sAidan Kelleydescribed it as “one of the best films of 2025,” and wrote that it “not only becomes the best tribute to U.S. veterans that it could possibly be, but it also gives viewers a slight sense of what these brave individuals went through to go above and beyond the call of duty.”
‘Warfare’ is the ‘Black Hawk Down’ for This Generation of Male Stars
Part of the movie’s appeal — beyond the excellent reviews — is themurderer’s row of young male starsthat Garland and Mendoza have assembled. Mendoza is played in the movie byD’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, who is joined byCharles Melton,Will Poulter,Joseph Quinn,Michael Gandolfini,Cosmo Jarvis,Kit Connor, andNoah Centineo, among others. you may watch the movie in theaters, and stay tuned to Collider for more updates.
Co-directed by Alex Garland and Iraq War veteran Ray Mendoza, “Warfare” immerses viewers in a real-time mission with a Navy SEAL platoon navigating insurgent territory in 2006 Iraq.
