Jenna Ortega & Paul Rudd’s Overlooked Dark Comedy Finds New Life as HBO Max Hit
The dark comedy Death of a Unicorn may have slipped past many moviegoers earlier this year, but it’s now finding new life on streaming. Directed and written by Alex Scharfman in his feature debut, the film stars Paul Rudd and Jenna Ortega as a father and daughter who accidentally hit and kill a unicorn.
What follows is a strange and dangerous adventure as the mythical creature’s parents hunt them down.
The movie also features Will Poulter, Téa Leoni, Richard E. Grant, Anthony Carrigan, Sunita Mani, and Stephen Park. Kathryn Erbe lends her voice as the narrator of The Unicorn Tapestries.
The film premiered at the South by Southwest Festival on March 8, 2025, before hitting theaters in North America on March 28 via A24. Reviews were mixed. Rotten Tomatoes shows 53% of critics gave it a positive review, with the site’s summary noting, “Receiving some sparkle from Paul Rudd and Jenna Ortega’s father-daughter rapport, Death of a Unicorn’s broad satire is a bit too on the horn but makes for an entertainingly splattery creature feature.” Metacritic’s score sits at 51 out of 100 based on 40 reviews, and CinemaScore audiences gave it a “B–.”
At the box office, the movie earned around $16.1 million against its $15 million budget. While not a huge theatrical hit, its run on streaming has been much more impressive. On HBO Max, the film has jumped to the top of the movie charts, even overtaking Sinners in the number two spot and Opus, another recent A24 release, now sitting at number three.
Jenna Ortega’s presence is certainly helping the film’s streaming success. She has a strong track record with streaming audiences, especially after her massive breakout in Netflix’s Wednesday, one of the platform’s most-watched shows ever.
Paul Rudd’s comedic charm and the film’s bizarre mix of dark humor and fantasy horror also seem to be resonating with viewers who are now discovering it at home.
Payback is a beast. Alex Scharfman's DEATH OF A UNICORN starring Paul Rudd, Jenna Ortega, Will Poulter, Téa Leoni, and Richard E. Grant. In theaters everywhere March 28. pic.twitter.com/m6uRUW61t4
— A24 (@A24) February 27, 2025
A24 has a busy year ahead on HBO Max. Other titles like Highest 2 Lowest and The Smashing Machine are set to join the library, giving subscribers plenty of offbeat and daring films to look forward to. For now, Death of a Unicorn is proving that sometimes, a movie doesn’t need to dominate theaters to find its audience. Streaming can give under-the-radar films a second chance, and in this case, a surprisingly strong one.
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