Ever since debuting back in 2013, A24 has put its stamp on the film industry via compelling, lower budgeted films of every genre. And, more often than not, their films aren’t of a single genre but rather toe the line between multiple genres. Many of them have been substantial hits critically and commercially, e.g. The Witch, Room, Moonlight, Lady Bird, Hereditary, Midsommar, Uncut Gems, Everything Everywhere All at Once, and Civil War. It’s rare they have an outright misfire, such as Tusk or The Sea of Trees. For the most part, their 2025 output has been in line with the quality expected of the distributor, with highlights including Materialists and Opus.
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But a particular A24 2025 film is without a doubt one of their most divisive entries yet. Eddington has divided people to a degree, but not to the extent of Death of a Unicorn. And now, the Paul Rudd and Jenna Ortega fronted fantasy horror comedy film is streaming on HBO Max, so you can give it a chance and make up your mind which side of the love hate coin you fall on.
In Death of a Unicorn, Rudd stars as Elliot Kintner, who is driving with his teenage daughter Ridley to the expansive estate of his boss, Odell Leopold (Richard E. Grant). Things are tense between the Kintners, due in part because of the recent death of the family’s matriarch and also in part due to the fact that while distracted on his phone, Elliot just ran the car into what appears to be a unicorn.
After Ridley touches the unicorn’s horn, Elliot smashes it with a tire iron. But as it turns out, the unicorn blood that has sprayed on Ridley’s face seems to possess magical powers. Her acne has cleared up. That’s the good news. The bad news is that the unicorn was just a baby, and now mama and papa unicorn are seeking vengeance, and from the Kintners to the crass, selfish Leopold family, almost no one is safe.
Death of a Unicorn progressively dips into fantasy lore quite a bit, which might turn people off. But it’s still surprising the film didn’t do particularly well with critics. It can be a little unfocused, sure, but its grim comedic beats are mostly effective and the work by the ensemble cast (also including A24 favorite Will Poulter, Superman‘s Anthony Carrigan, Téa Leoni, and comedy film player Sunita Mani) is all on-point with the unique tone.
What’s even more surprising is the fact the movie did poorly at the box office. It lost money even though its price tag was just $15 million. Despite opening in just over 3,000 theaters, the film ultimately only netted slightly less than $13 million domestically. That’s a surprisingly slim haul for a movie led by Paul Rudd and Jenna Ortega.
But, at the end of the day, Death of a Unicorn is the exact type of movie that ends up becoming a cult favorite. Given how the audience score on Rotten Tomatoes is higher than the critical reaction, that seems to be the case already. And now that it’s on HBO Max, it can see its audience expand.
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