'Hurry Up Tomorrow': The Weeknd's film debut or just a misfire? Online reactions say it all

IOL News

19-05-2025

The film, which also stars Barry Keoghan and Jenna Ortega, presents a stylised portrait of celebrity breakdown and fan obsession.
Image: X/@AnAntLife
Some musicians should know when to stay in their lane. And no, that's not shade.
The Weeknd (real name Abel Tesfaye), one of pop's moody chart-toppers, has just made his official film debut in a movie called "Hurry Up Tomorrow," and let's just say… it's not giving what it was meant to give.
This isn't some blink-and-you-miss-it cameo either. The Weeknd is the leading man in a psychological thriller directed by Trey Edward Shults, the same director behind "Waves" and "It Comes at Night".
So expectations were understandably high. But somewhere between the slow pans, cryptic dialogue, and fragmented storytelling, audiences have been left scratching their heads.
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In the film, The Weeknd plays a fictionalised version of himself (which you'd assume would be easier to nail?), a global superstar grappling with fame fatigue, obsessive fans, and a spiralling sense of self.
It's like watching someone read their diary out loud with all the drama of a theatre kid on open mic night.
Barry Keoghan steps in as Lee, a kind of chaotic cheerleader-meets-therapist figure, while Jenna Ortega plays Anima, a fan whose admiration crosses every imaginable line. But even with those two trying to prop the thing up, the central problem remains: The Weeknd's acting abilities.
Social media has been lit up with commentary, from Reddit threads picking apart the movie's erratic structure to X (formerly Twitter) users calling his performance emotionally bankrupt.
To be fair, "Hurry Up Tomorrow" is a moody, artsy companion piece to The Weeknd's latest album - more visual album than a traditional feature film, which might explain the stilted pacing and lack of conventional narrative.
One X user said, "Easily one of the worst movies of the decade, a movie that can't even be saved by a powerhouse of a performance by Jenna Ortega."
"'Hurry Up Tomorrow': Soulless, exhausting, forced. Essentially a feature-length commercial for the album. All style, no substance. Not even Jenna Ortega dancing to Blinding Lights could save this self-insistent slop," said another.
Hurry Up Tomorrow: Soulless, exhausting, forced. Essentially a feature length commercial for the album. All style, no substance. Not even Jenna Ortega dancing to Blinding Lights could save this self-insistent slop. pic.twitter.com/V9VTMFzemp — cob (@sillierdeadite) May 15, 2025
But not all things said were negative, die hard fans had his back, as one wrote: "I just watched hurry up tomorrow and it was for sure something I've never seen before.
"There's a different understanding for everyone. Any hate towards the film is straight up stupid because Abel done his job well, expressing everything he wanted to, I loved it so much"
I just watched hurry up tomorrow and it was for sure something i've never seen before. Theres a different understanding for everyone. Any hate towards the film is straight up stupid because Abel done his job well done expressing everything he wanted to, I loved it so much 🎥💞 pic.twitter.com/T7XOmoAr30 — vivii ﾒ𝟶 saw abel live 2x (@vivii_luvAbel) May 16, 2025
"Hurry up tomorrow was a good movie, yall (you people) just never pay attention to back stories," commented another.
Hurry up tomorrow was a good movie, yall just never pay attention to back stories — idk ❤️‍🩹 (@70sbirdonwire) May 19, 2025
YouTuber @penguinz0, known for his no-nonsense movie reviews, breaks it down nicely in his "Worst Movie of the Year Just Came Out" video clip.
Spoiler alert