Colleen Hoover Thriller ‘Verity’ Now Showing in Pakistani Cinemas as Anne Hathaway Film Passes $119 Million Worldwide

Pakistani cinema-goers can finally judge one of the year’s most argued-about thrillers for themselves. Verity, the film adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s bestselling novel, is now playing in cinemas across the country, released here by HKC Entertainment. Anne Hathaway plays Verity Crawford, the celebrated novelist left unresponsive after an accident, while Dakota Johnson is Lowen Ashleigh, the struggling writer hired to finish her books. Josh Hartnett, as Verity’s husband Jeremy, completes a triangle that the film barely lets out of one remote house.

A hidden manuscript turns the story dark

The plot turns when Lowen finds Verity’s hidden autobiographical manuscript, a document so disturbing that neither she nor the audience can quite decide whether it is a confession or an elaborate manipulation. Reviewing the film for Dawn’s ICON magazine, the paper’s film critic noted that director Michael Showalter and screenwriter Nick Antosca lean towards a clearer ending than the novel’s famous ambiguity. Hathaway, the review said, is the striking centrepiece of the film, and Hartnett’s darker turn as a family man continues his recent career resurgence — while Johnson’s performance drew the reviewer’s sharpest criticism.

A strong opening, then a steep slide

Released worldwide on October 2, Verity opened at number one in the United States with more than $32 million, and its worldwide gross has now reached nearly $119 million against a reported production budget of $40 million. The second weekend, though, fell by 63 percent to about $12 million, and going into its third weekend the film has lost 500 theatres in North America, dropping from 3,572 screens to 3,072, according to figures reported by Times Now News. Reviews abroad have been mixed; audiences have been kinder. With Verity in Pakistan now, local viewers get to settle the argument the way it should be settled — in a cinema seat.