Summary
Don’t Worry Darling is a 2022 American psychological thriller film directed by Olivia Wilde from a screenplay by Katie Silberman, based on a spec script by Carey Van Dyke, Shane Van Dyke, and Silberman. The film stars Florence Pugh, Harry Styles, Wilde, Gemma Chan, KiKi Layne, Nick Kroll, and Chris Pine. The film follows a housewife (Pugh) living in an idyllic company town who begins to suspect a sinister secret being kept from its residents by the man who runs it (Pine).
Following the critical success of Wilde’s feature directorial debut Booksmart (2019), a multi-studio bidding war took place for the rights of her second film, with New Line Cinema eventually winning. Pugh joined the cast in April 2020, with Styles being added that September, replacing Shia LaBeouf after production had already begun. Filming began in Los Angeles in October 2020, lasting through February 2021. The film was the subject of media attention and controversy, including conflicting reports regarding the circumstances of LaBeouf’s departure and alleged conflicts between Wilde and Pugh.
Don’t Worry Darling premiered at the 79th Venice International Film Festival on September 5, 2022, and was theatrically released in the United States on September 23, by Warner Bros. Pictures. It received mixed reviews from critics who praised Pugh’s performance, the cinematography, and production design, but criticized the screenplay and direction, and noted similarities to other works in the genre such as The Stepford Wives (1975) and Get Out (2017). The film grossed $87 million on a budget of $35 million.