Anne Hathaway’s 117-Minute Thriller Officially Beats Spider-Man: Brand New Day After Streaming Release

Anne Hathaway’s psychological thriller Verity has pulled off an unexpected upset against Marvel’s web-slinger. Just one day after its October 27, 2026, digital release, the 117-minute Colleen Hoover adaptation climbed to No. 1 on the U.S. Apple TV Store movie chart, overtaking Tom Holland’s Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which slipped to second place.

According to FlixPatrol’s October 28 rankings, Verity debuted at the top while Spider-Man: Brand New Day fell one spot after 44 days on the chart. The achievement is particularly striking given the Marvel blockbuster’s considerably longer digital head start. However, this is an Apple TV Store transactional chart, tracking digital rental and purchase popularity rather than Apple TV subscription viewership. It does not mean Verity has surpassed Spider-Man in overall streaming hours, theatrical earnings, or global popularity.

Why Verity Is Defying Its Rotten Tomatoes Score

Credit:- Amazon MGM Studios

Directed by Michael Showalter, Verity follows struggling author Lowen Ashleigh (Dakota Johnson), who accepts a ghostwriting assignment at the secluded home of bestselling novelist Verity Crawford (Hathaway). Verity is supposedly incapacitated following an accident, leaving her husband Jeremy (Josh Hartnett) to manage the household. However, Lowen’s discovery of a disturbing manuscript threatens to expose secrets that could destroy the family.

The film draws its appeal from the murky territory between confession and fabrication. Rather than offering a straightforward mystery, it makes audiences question whether the characters are victims, manipulators, or both. That approach has divided critics and moviegoers. Rotten Tomatoes currently records a 31% critics’ score from 187 reviews, compared with a considerably stronger 72% verified audience score.

The 41-point disparity suggests that viewers are more willing than critics to embrace the film’s outlandish twists and feverish melodrama. Its swift rise on Apple’s chart reinforces that audience interest, although digital rankings alone cannot establish how many people watched or enjoyed the film. Hathaway herself initially misunderstood the project’s tone. In an interview with The Independent, she recalled assuming Showalter had offered her a romantic comedy.

“I read the log-line and saw I was playing a writer,” she explained, before realizing the screenplay was anything but lighthearted. That tonal bait-and-switch is arguably the film’s biggest asset. Verity trades subtlety for poisonous relationships, unreliable testimony, and revelations designed to provoke arguments long after the credits roll. FandomWire previously explored the adaptation’s unsettling premise in its feature on Hathaway and Johnson’s twisted literary thriller.

How Verity Beat Spider-Man: Brand New Day on Apple TV

Credits: Marvel Studios/Sony Pictures Releasing

The chart victory becomes more interesting when the films’ broader reception is considered. Spider-Man: Brand New Day, directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, reunited Tom Holland with the Marvel Cinematic Universe after Spider-Man: No Way Home. The July 31 theatrical release subsequently reached digital storefronts on October 6. Unlike Verity, the superhero adventure has enjoyed an overwhelmingly positive reception. It currently holds a 90% critics’ score and 97% verified audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, making its temporary displacement by a poorly reviewed thriller all the more surprising.

Yet the comparison needs context. Spider-Man had already spent weeks attracting digital customers, whereas Verity benefited from the initial rush of viewers eager to catch a newly available release. A first-day surge can propel a film above an established blockbuster without proving greater sustained demand. In fact, FlixPatrol’s same-day rankings show Spider-Man: Brand New Day retaining first place on other digital storefront charts, including Amazon’s movie chart and Fandango at Home.

The contrast illustrates how fragmented digital popularity has become. A movie can dominate one retailer while trailing another, depending on pricing, promotions, audience habits, and release timing. For Verity, however, the achievement adds another chapter to an already eventful theatrical run. Its digital debut follows a successful box-office performance despite harsh reviews, suggesting Hoover’s established readership and the Hathaway-Johnson pairing have given the adaptation considerable commercial resilience.

Did Verity deserve to dethrone Spider-Man: Brand New Day, or is this simply opening-day curiosity? Share your thoughts in the comments and follow FandomWire for more streaming updates.

Verity is available to rent or purchase on Apple TV and Prime Video in the United States. Spider-Man: Brand New Day can be rented on Apple TV.