Romy Mathis, the CEO of a robotic process automation company in New York City, is dissatisfied with her sex life with her husband, Jacob, a theater director. While on the way to work one day, she is almost mauled by a dog until a young man stops and calms it down. That young man, Samuel, turns out to be an intern at Romy's company and picks Romy as his 'mentor' through the company's mentorship program. Samuel propositions Romy during a private meeting; she objects, then gives in and kisses him. Initially conflicted about the incident, the two later meet at a hotel. Romy expresses concern that she may be taking advantage of Samuel due to their power difference, but Samuel explains to her that he is the one with the power, as he could get her fired "with one phone call". Romy comes to an intense orgasm at the hotel in dominance and submission dynamic with Samuel the dominant partner; however, Romy sobs with deep conflict about her enjoyment of this experience after the orgasm. The two continue to meet at multiple rendezvous, their sexual affair gaining considerable intensity.
Samuel continues to push boundaries. In one instance, he appears at Romy and Jacob's country home, ingratiating himself with the entire family, under the pretense of returning Romy's laptop, which she left at the office. Feeling disrespected, Romy lashes out at Samuel, telling him that her family is everything to her and never to show up at her home again. The two argue and Samuel says he will request a transfer to a different department, which Romy objects as she fears it will only stir questions about her role in his transfer request. Unable to handle the stress, Romy tells her husband that she is dissatisfied with their sex life and has never experienced an orgasm with him. Desperate, Romy meets with Samuel to convince him to continue their affair, but only after she confirms her submission to Samuel. Soon afterward, Samuel appears uninvited at her house again for her daughter's birthday party. He attends with Esme, who acts in a secretarial role to Romy, with whom he is dating.
Esme informs Romy that she knows about her affair with Samuel. She asks Romy to end the affair, make structural changes to the company, and promote Esme to prevent her from coming forward with what she knows. Romy later confesses the affair to Jacob, albeit describing it as a stranger and a one-night stand. She desperately reaches out to Jacob, describing her sexual needs, to which Jacob reacts without compassion, dismissing her feelings, and throwing her out. Jacob walks into their country house sometime later to find Romy and Samuel together. He confronts Samuel in a fistfight but then suffers a panic attack, with Samuel coming to his aid. A scorned Samuel leaves, and Romy and Jacob decide to rekindle their marriage and sex life.
A board member informs Romy that Samuel has taken a new job in Japan. He asks if she had anything to do with Samuel leaving, and invites her to his house to talk about it the following week, when he will have the place to himself. Disgusted, Romy firmly states that she is unafraid of him and tells him to leave her office.
At home, Romy and Jacob reenact a sex act that occurred in Romy's affair, leading Romy to orgasm.
It was announced in November 2023 that David Hinojosa of 2AM was going to produce the project alongside Halina Reijn of Man Up Films, with A24 financing the project.[11][12] Julia Oh, Zach Nutman, and Christine D'Souza Gelb of 2AM served as executive producers.[13] It was later revealed that Julia Oh would take on the producer role, contrary to earlier reports that she would serve as an executive producer.[14] In addition to her role as producer, Halina Reijn directed the film from a screenplay she wrote.[15][16] The project marked Reijn's second English-language feature film, both produced by A24.[17][18]
The film's workplace dynamics were influenced by cinematic elements from Indecent Proposal and Basic Instinct.[19][20] The affair in the film was set in an American workplace because the stricter hierarchy and rules in the U.S. compared to Europe was felt by the filmmaker to make such a relationship feel even more forbidden and taboo.[21]
Reijn was inspired to write the script after hearing about a woman who had never experienced an orgasm throughout her 25-year marriage.[22] She added that her interest in exploring women's relationships with their bodies was a key motivator for making this movie.[23][24] She also credited her passion for the erotic thrillers of the 1980s and 1990s, particularly those by directors Paul Verhoeven and Adrian Lyne, as the inspirational driving force behind her decision to make this film.[25][26] Lizzy Talbot was hired as the intimacy coordinator.[27]
The original plan was to make a summer movie; however, it was changed to Christmas due to the impact of the 2023 WGA strike and 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike on the film's schedule.[28][29]
The film features INXS's 1988 single "Never Tear Us Apart". A24 struggled to secure the rights to the track, which Reijn complained about to Kidman, who personally secured the rights within "a couple of days".[39]
Release
Theatrical
Halina Reijn during the presentation of the film at the Venice International Film Festival
Babygirl was released in the United States on VOD on January 28, 2025.[47][48]
Reception
Box office
As of January 30, 2025[update], Babygirl has grossed $27.2 million in the United States and Canada, and $13.1 million in other territories, for a total of $40.3 million worldwide.[6][7]Screen Rant reported the film's break-even point was around $50 million.[4]
In the United States and Canada, Babygirl was released alongside Nosferatu, A Complete Unknown, and The Fire Inside, and was projected to gross around $7 million from 2,115 theaters in its five-day opening weekend.[49] The film made $1.5 million on its first day and then $1.3 million on its second. It went on to debut to $4.4 million in its opening weekend (and a total of $7.3 million over the five days), finishing in seventh.[50] It then made $1.4 million on the first day of 2025, for a total of $10.5 million over its first eight days of release.[51] The film enjoyed a stronghold in its second weekend, dropping just 0.5% to $4.5 million.[52][53] It fell by 31% and earned $3.1 million, finishing eighth in its third weekend with a reduction in theaters.[54][55] The film dropped only 36% and earned a solid $1.9 million, finishing eleventh in the fourth weekend despite losing 427 theaters and playing across just 1,460 theaters.[56][57] It managed to earn $891.6k on the fifth weekend with only 777 theaters, finishing fourteenth.[58][59]
On January 30, 2025, A24 announced that Babygirl had exceeded $50 million in global box office revenue, securing its place among the studio’s top ten highest-grossing films worldwide.[60]
Critical response
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 77% of 223 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.0/10. The website's consensus reads: "Nicole Kidman and Harris Dickinson memorably smolder together in Babygirl, with writer-director Halina Reijn's clinical gaze keeping this sexually frank thriller more provocative than prurient."[61]Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 80 out of 100, based on 54 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[62] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B–" on an A+ to F scale, while those surveyed by PostTrak gave it a 67% overall positive score, with 38% saying they would "definitely recommend" it.[50]
Michelle Goldberg of The New York Times observed that "On the cusp of our terrible new era, it felt, for all its darkness and perversity, like an artifact of a more optimistic moment, when equality seemed close enough at hand that the orgasm gap between men and women – something the movie's director, Halina Reijn, often talks about in interviews – could be a subject of serious concern."[63] Damon Wise of Deadline Hollywood praised the performance of Kidman as "[she] really goes the distance, imbuing Romy with a psychological vulnerability that is missing from the film it most obvious sounds like (Fifty Shades of Grey) and presenting a unique reversal of the film it most obviously looks like (Secretary)." He also mentioned Dickinson's performance as "an inspired piece of casting, manifesting like a monster from the id with his dorky, knife-and-fork haircut and clothes that he appears to have put on with a shovel."[64] Nicholas Barber of the BBC lauded Reijn's gritty, indie-style direction in Babygirl, highlighting how she avoids the usual Hollywood neo-noir gloss, choosing instead to expose the raw, unpolished truth behind moments like the intern's arrival at the family's retreat or the co-worker's discovery of the affair. Barber also praised Kidman for delivering a bold and captivating performance, describing it as one of her most daring and impactful in years.[65]
David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter called out the film as "sexy, dark and unpredictable" and praised the cast performance. He mentioned Dickinson was "a magnetic screen presence", Kidman was "in spectacular form, swinging from outrage to fear to ravenously lustful consent", Wilde brought "sly notes of humor".[66]Richard Lawson of Vanity Fair praised the overall film as "Reijn creates the sense that we are watching test subjects through a two-way mirror. This doesn't necessarily make the proceedings any less interesting. But one does maybe crave a bit more heat from a movie that is so willing to tackle intimate matters."[67]
In a more critical review, Xan Brooks of The Guardian stated, "for all its excited carnality and seesawing power struggles, the film's thrills feel machine-tooled and vacuum-packed. Babygirl rolls off the track looking almost as neat and anonymous as a box from Tensile's upstate delivery warehouse." However, he commended Kidman's "bright, bold performance" as it "carries a top-note of distress, as though she is not entirely convinced by everything she's signed up for."[68] In contrast, Owen Gleiberman of Variety praised the overall film as "a shrewdly honest and entertaining movie about a flagrantly 'wrong' sadomasochistic affair" and he termed Kidman's performance "fearless".[69]. He later concluded that Kidman had the best performance by a female actor in 2024.[70]
Robbie Collin of The Telegraph praised the film, noting that it "is sharp enough – and hot enough." He highlighted Nicole Kidman's performance as "ferociously good, convincing utterly as this formerly level-headed careerist whose deeply buried, long-denied appetites are simultaneously proving her making and downfall."[71] Alison Willmore of Vulture described the film as "a self-love story," emphasizing that part of its message is about the importance of allowing oneself to be vulnerable and to "let yourself be small for a while."[72]Glenn Kenny of RogerEbert.com praised Kidman's performance but the film itself did not convince him: "Kidman has garnered kudos for an uninhibited and daring performance, but when has she ever shied away from uninhibited and daring performances? I love to see them always, but I love to see them even more in good movies."[73]Kevin Maher of The Times mentioned that "...like the best BDSM experiences (they say), is slightly contrived but very satisfying."[74]
Radhika Seth of Vogue acknowledged that the film is not for everyone, dividing critics and even premiere attendees. However, she praised Antonio Banderas, Nicole Kidman, Halina Reijn, and Cristobal Tapia de Veer for their standout contributions to the film.[75] Ben Croll of TheWrap said that despite hints at deeper themes and narratives, the film stands out for its surprising absence of cynicism.[76] Martin Tsai of Collider noted that while the film does elicit some laughs, whether intentional or not, it ultimately feels more demeaning for Nicole Kidman than Dogville. He pointed out that Catherine Breillat had already addressed similar themes more skillfully in Last Summer, and criticized Reijn for lacking the nuance needed to elevate the film into something more meaningful.[77]
Stephanie Zacharek of Time called out that this was one of Kidman's finest performances in a long career of more than 40 years,[78] while Carla Meyer of Los Angeles Times considered Kidman's performance was an Oscar's worthy.[79] Concurred with that, Peter Travers of ABC News
mentioned that "Kidman's daring is now the stuff of legend".[80] Nick Schager of The Daily Beast mentioned that the film featured a standout performance from Kidman as a woman on a daring quest for self-discovery and fulfillment, and delivered a bold and entertaining cinematic jolt.[81]Richard Roeper of Chicago Sun-Times praised Banderas's performance as he served as a steady presence, with a standout moment later in the story showcasing his formidable acting prowess.[82]
Accolades
The film appeared on multiple filmmakers, critics and editors' lists of the best films of 2024, including:
^Gleiberman, Owen; Debruge, Peter (December 10, 2024). "The Best Movies of 2024". Variety. Archived from the original on December 10, 2024. Retrieved December 10, 2024.
^Chen, Nick; Greig, James; Pace-McCarrick, Solomon; Sisley, Dominique (December 19, 2024). "The 20 best films of 2024". Dazed. Archived from the original on December 19, 2024. Retrieved December 20, 2024.
^Antrim, Taylor; Hess, Liam; Macabasco, Lisa Wong; Marius, Marley; Schama, Chloe; Seth, Radhika (December 13, 2024). "The Best Movies of 2024". Vogue. Archived from the original on December 13, 2024. Retrieved December 13, 2024.
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