Anne Hathaway and Dakota Johnson's 'Verity' Is About to Be Fall's Biggest Sleeper Hit — Here's Everything We Know

Colleen Hoover's Darkest Novel Gets the Hollywood Treatment

If you thought It Ends With Us was intense, buckle up. Verity, the film adaptation of Colleen Hoover's darkest and most twisted novel, is hitting theaters this fall with a powerhouse duo at the helm: Anne Hathaway and Dakota Johnson. Directed by Michael Showalter (who also directed The Idea of You), the erotic thriller is being positioned as one of fall 2026's biggest sleeper hits — and based on early buzz, it absolutely could be.

The story follows a struggling writer named Lowen Ashleigh (Johnson) who's hired by the husband of bestselling author Verity Crawford (Hathaway) to finish her remaining books after Verity is left incapacitated. But when Lowen discovers a hidden manuscript in Verity's office — an autobiography that reveals dark, twisted secrets — everything unravels in the most disturbing way possible.

Hathaway and Johnson Took It Further Than Expected

Here's where it gets interesting. Director Michael Showalter has revealed that Hathaway and Johnson actively pushed to make the film more erotic than originally planned. The two actors shaped some of the most intimate and psychologically charged scenes, leaning into the novel's unapologetic sensuality. Given that Dakota Johnson literally starred in the Fifty Shades franchise, she knows this territory — and Hathaway brings an unsettling intensity that elevates every scene.

Colleen Hoover herself has spoken about how watching the film adaptation actually made her rethink the book's controversial ending. "I've been all over the place now," she told E! News, suggesting the film version adds new layers to the story she originally wrote in 2018.

Box Office Projections Look Strong

2026 has been a massive year for Anne Hathaway at the box office. Her performance in Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey helped push that film past the billion-dollar mark, and now Verity is projected to be her second biggest opening of the year. Industry analysts are comparing its potential to the Fifty Shades franchise's debut numbers — with some estimates putting its opening weekend in the $40-60 million range domestically.

With the Colleen Hoover fanbase (BookTok alone guarantees millions of interested viewers), two A-list leads, and a genuinely dark premise that separates it from typical romance adaptations, Verity has all the ingredients for a box office surprise. This isn't just a book adaptation — it's a psychological thriller that happens to be incredibly sexy, and that's a combination audiences can't resist.