‘The End of Oak Street’ Delivers Classic Movie Fun

Warner Bros.’ new dinosaur film The End of Oak Street hit theaters Friday, and critics are celebrating it as a refreshing return to the simple joys of movie-going. Directed by David Robert Mitchell, best known for the modern horror classic It Follows, the film stars Anne Hathaway and Ewan McGregor as a suburban family whose neighborhood is transported through a dimensional rift into prehistoric times.

“Dinosaur movies should be fun. This shouldn’t be controversial,” wrote NPR critic Linda Holmes in her review. “The new dinosaur movie The End of Oak Street is, thank goodness, a lot of fun.” Holmes added, “It’s a really good time at the movies, and we all deserve that.”

A Family Adventure in Prehistoric Suburbia

The film, set in 1982, follows the Platt family—Denise (Hathaway), Greg (McGregor), and their two children Audrey (Maisy Stella) and Brian (Christian Convery)—as their quiet suburban existence is upended when their entire neighborhood is displaced millions of years into the past. What follows is a survival story that blends family drama with genuine horror, as hungry dinosaurs stalk the streets of what was once a peaceful cul-de-sac.

According to Wikipedia, the film premiered at the Steven J. Ross Theater on August 9 and was released theatrically in the United States on August 14 by Warner Bros. Pictures. It runs 99 minutes and carries a PG-13 rating for language, bursts of violence, and a particularly ghastly prehistoric monster.

Critics Embrace the Fun

The film has earned a Certified Fresh score of 84% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 189 reviews, with the consensus calling it “pulpy good fun carried off with a light touch and a sharp bite.” Metacritic assigned a score of 68 out of 100, indicating “generally favorable” reviews.

David Ehrlich of IndieWire gave the film an A- in his review, calling it “the biggest surprise of a summer that’s delivered on all fronts.” He wrote that the film is “what multiplexes have been missing from recent summers: Lean, clever, original, cheer-at-the-screen entertainment that will traumatize 10-year-olds for life and make their parents feel like they’re kids again.”

Pete Hammond of Deadline was equally enthusiastic in his review, praising the film’s relentless pacing and crowd-pleasing energy: “The sheer level of balls-out action at a pace that never lets the audience breathe is kind of jaw dropping.” He added, “If ever there is a movie to see in a packed theatre it is this one.”

A Deliberate Nod to Spielberg’s Era

Mitchell’s film is set in 1982 for a reason—it deliberately evokes the golden age of Amblin Entertainment and Steven Spielberg classics like E.T., Poltergeist, and Gremlins. Rolling Stone called it “easily the best homage-slash-rip-off of a Spielberg movie in ages.” The film’s cinematographer, Mike Gioulakis, also worked on It Follows, and composer Michael Giacchino provides a score that NPR’s Holmes noted helps the film feel “more rewarding as a theatrical experience.”

Critics have also drawn comparisons to the Jurassic Park franchise, with many noting that The End of Oak Street delivers the thrills that recent Jurassic sequels have lacked. As IndieWire’s Ehrlich put it, “Any five-minute stretch of this film offers more thrill and wit than the folks at InGen have been able to manufacture in total over the last three decades.”

Box Office Outlook

According to Deadline’s box office report, the film earned $2.5 million in Thursday night U.S. previews and is projected to gross $38 million to $48 million globally in its opening weekend. The film was produced on a budget of $80 million to $92 million and is opening alongside Paw Patrol: The Dino Movie in a competitive late-summer marketplace.

What to Watch For

The film represents a significant moment for Mitchell, who returns after an eight-year gap following the divisive Under the Silver Lake. It also marks a highlight in what has been a banner year for Hathaway, who has five movies in release between May and October 2026.

For audiences weary of grim, self-serious blockbusters, The End of Oak Street offers a simple proposition: a good time at the movies. As NPR’s Holmes concluded, “The structure is simple: You meet the family, the family gets in the way of some dinosaurs, the family runs from the dinosaurs, and the family has a climactic confrontation with the dinosaurs. If you see it with a crowd (which you should), the crowd will laugh and gasp. The crowd will feel sad and worried. The crowd will feel relieved.”