What Verity's Box Office Means For The Future Of Colleen Hoover Adaptations

It was a big weekend for theaters, and one that leaves much to discuss. The headlines about this past weekend at the movies were largely focused on Tom Cruise's box office flop "Digger." Rightfully so, as it's going to go down as one of the biggest bombs of the year for Warner Bros. But perhaps some more focus should be put on the big winner of the weekend. Not just "Verity," which took the number one spot on the charts, but the author behind the book that inspired a now-hit thriller.

"Verity" opened to $32 million domestically over the weekend and added a further $29.8 million internationally, giving it a $61.8 million global debut. That made it the number one movie worldwide, cementing Anne Hathaway's steamy thriller as the sleeper box office hit of the fall movie season. Perhaps more importantly, it cements author Colleen Hoover's status as a bona fide hit-maker.

Directed by Michael Showalter, the latest Hoover adaptation centers on a struggling writer who is hired to complete an injured best-selling author's book series. While living at the author's home, she discovers a horrifying manuscript and must decide whether to expose the truth. Dakota Johnson ("Materialists") also stars alongside Josh Hartnett ("Oppenheimer"), Asel Swango ("Power Book II: Ghost"), and Daniel Echevarria ("Daredevil: Born Again").

This is the fourth adaptation of Hoover's work in two years to hit it big. "It Ends With Us" was one of the movies that helped save the box office in 2024, taking in $351 million worldwide on a reported $25 million budget. And that's just the tip of the iceberg.

Halloween 2025 was a terrible box office weekend and Colleen Hoover's "Regretting You," saddled with lousy reviews, led the pack with just over $8 million. It seemed DOA. However, the movie miraculously legged out to $90.4 million worldwide on a $25 million budget, reviews be damned. "Reminders of Him" further solidified Hoover's box office rep when it made $89.2 million worldwide on a (you guessed it!) $25 million budget.

With "Verity" doing bigger-than-expected business, it's clear that a trend is forming. Amazon MGM Studios produced the adaptation on a $40 million budget and it will be profitable in no time. Yet, once again, the reviews have been rough. /Film's Nina Starner described "Verity" as "barely a movie" in her review.

But does that even matter? It didn't harm any of the other movies we've talked about. Even if "Verity" doesn't have long legs, it's already well on its way to profit. Hoover is, one could argue, a movie star unto herself — and a valuable one at that. Not unlike Stephen King, her books are about to get snatched up for adaptations all over the place.

Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively's behind-the-scenes "It Ends With Us" drama may hold up that film's sequel, but it could still happen. Beyond that though, Hoover also has plenty of other novels ripe for the taking. This includes the "Slammed" series, the "Hopeless" series, and the "Maybe Someday" series. Can you say franchise?

Come what may, Hoover has made a huge name for herself in Hollywood over the last two years. Her future is bright.

"Verity" is in theaters now.