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Normal (2025 film)

2025 film by Ben Wheatley

Normal (2025 film)

Normal is a 2025 American action comedy film directed by Ben Wheatley from a screenplay by Derek Kolstad, based on a story he co-wrote with Bob Odenkirk. The film stars Odenkirk, Henry Winkler and Lena Headey. The story—set in the fictitious town of Normal, Minnesota—follows a newly-arrived interim sheriff who investigates a town-wide conspiracy after a botched bank robbery.

Normal (2025 film)

Normal
Theatrical release poster
Directed byBen Wheatley
Screenplay byDerek Kolstad
Story by
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyArmando Salas
Edited byJonathan Amos
Music by
Production
companies
  • OPE Partners
  • Tradecraft Productions
  • Le Foole Inc
Distributed byMagnolia Pictures
Release dates
  • September 7, 2025 (2025-09-07) (TIFF)
  • April 17, 2026 (2026-04-17) (United States)
Running time
91 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
Languages
  • English
  • Japanese[2]
Budget<$20 million[3]
Box office$6 million[4]

Normal is a 2025 American action comedy film directed by Ben Wheatley from a screenplay by Derek Kolstad, based on a story he co-wrote with Bob Odenkirk. The film stars Odenkirk, Henry Winkler and Lena Headey. The story—set in the fictitious town of Normal, Minnesota—follows a newly-arrived interim sheriff who investigates a town-wide conspiracy after a botched bank robbery.

The film premiered in the Midnight Madness program at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival on September 7, 2025. It was theatrically released in the United States by Magnolia Pictures on April 17, 2026. It received generally positive reviews from critics.

Plot

Ulysses begins serving as interim sheriff of Normal, Minnesota, where he is chiefly occupied with nuisance reports from the residents of the prosperous small town. He has nagging suspicions about the hypothermia death of the previous sheriff, and is mindful of the sheriff's distraught adult child, Alex.

A couple passing through town ineptly attempt to rob the bank. Ulysses had briefly met one of them at his motel and, sensing the extreme nervousness of his deputies, enters the bank to calm the situation. However, his deputies shoot him in the back and, seeing that they hit his bulletproof vest, indiscriminately shoot into the bank. Several people are killed, and others flee while the deputies reload their weapons. Ulysses discovers that the bank vault is full of cash, gold bars, and military weapons.

The mayor contacts Ulysses and explains that they are safeguarding the property of a Yakuza crime syndicate, which has enriched the entire town. He offers Ulysses the opportunity to join them as permanent sheriff, if he will kill the robbers to demonstrate his loyalty. Ulysses instead allies with the robbers, Lori and Keith. They fight their way out of the bank and through the town in the midst of a blizzard which disrupts power and communications, experiencing numerous violent encounters with deputies, shopkeepers, and other armed townsfolk.

A coded message sent during the robbery alerts the Yakuza leaders. Unable to contact the town, they dispatch a team from Japan on a private plane to resolve the threat to their operation.

Ulysses escorts Lori and Keith to a snowplow, which the couple use to leave town through the storm. Ulysses then returns to the police station where he is ambushed by Moira, the local barkeeper whom he had befriended the previous evening. Moira confesses to killing the sheriff and prepares to kill Ulysses. However, Alex intervenes and kills Moira, avenging the sheriff's death. Ulysses sends Alex to place explosives from the police station in the bank vault, and uses this as leverage to force a deal with the remaining townspeople: make it look like storm damage to the town with a car crashed into the bank, in order to convince the Yakuza that everything is okay and avoid their retribution.

When the Yakuza arrive, they inspect the bank, accept the staged accident, and are satisfied that their property remains secure. The townsfolk and Yakuza then have a celebratory dinner. During the gathering, a loaded shotgun mounted on the wall of the restaurant falls and accidentally discharges, killing the Yakuza leader. The incident immediately triggers a violent melee from which only Ulysses, Alex and one deputy survive.

The film ends with Ulysses and Alex in rural Texas, where they are working together in another substitute sheriff assignment, and the surviving deputy serving as the new sheriff of Normal.

Cast

Production

Derek Kolstad had written a script for Normal prior to filming the 2021 film Nobody, and while working on that film together, he and Bob Odenkirk discussed the project and decided it would make for another good collaboration between the two. The script had action, but also Hitchcockian crime-thriller and mystery elements.[5] Kolstad and Odenkirk further developed the story to the final screenplay,[6][7] and the project was taken to the 2024 European Film Market, packaged with Ben Wheatley directing and Odenkirk starring.[8]

Principal photography began on October 21, 2024 in Winnipeg with a cast reported in November 2024 that also includes Henry Winkler, Lena Headey, Reena Jolly, Ryan Allen, Billy MacLellan, Brendan Fletcher, Peter Shinkoda, and Jess McLeod.[6] Harry Gregson-Williams and Ryder McNair composed the score for the film.[9]

Release

The companies that the film was sold to in pre-sales at the EFM included Sky Cinema for the United Kingdom, Amazon MGM Studios for Canada, Scandinavia, Australia and New Zealand, Metropolitan Filmexport for France and Leonine Studios in Germany.[10]

The film was selected for the Midnight Madness program at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival,[11] premiering September 7, 2025.[2] Later that month, Magnolia Pictures acquired U.S. distribution rights to the film, scheduling it for a theatrical release in the United States on April 17, 2026 across 2,000 theaters, the company's widest release to date.[12][13]

Reception

Box office

In the United States and Canada, Normal was released alongside Lee Cronin's The Mummy, and is projected to gross around $3 million from 2,027 theaters in its opening weekend.[14]

Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 76% of 153 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.4/10. The website's consensus reads: "Normal thrives on Bob Odenkirk's gruff yet playful presence and director Ben Wheatley's over-the-top carnage, delivering simple, ridiculous, and consistently entertaining thrills despite its familiar premise."[15] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 63 out of 100, based on 28 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[16] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "C+" on an A+ to F scale.[14]

For Deadline Hollywood, Pete Hammond wrote that "Odenkirk rules this roost just as he does in the Nobody movies, but with the firepower Wheatley keeps shooting Normal manages to exceed those action levels if you can believe it."[17]

References

  1. ↑ "Normal [19]" (in Korean). Korea Media Rating Board. March 31, 2026. Retrieved May 19, 2026.
  2. 1 2 "Normal". Toronto International Film Festival. Retrieved July 24, 2025.
  3. ↑ Welk, Brian (April 16, 2026). "Bob Odenkirk's Transformation Into John Wick Is Just Beginning". Indiewire. Retrieved April 19, 2026.
  4. ↑ "Normal- Financial Information". The Numbers. Retrieved May 8, 2026.
  5. ↑ Roxborough, Scott (February 15, 2024). "Why Bob Odenkirk Is Ready to "Get His Ass Handed to Him" Again". The Hollywood Reporter. Eldridge Industries. Archived from the original on February 15, 2024. Retrieved November 21, 2024.
  6. 1 2 Shanfeld, Ethan (November 4, 2024). "Henry Winkler and Lena Headey Join Bob Odenkirk in Action Movie Normal (Exclusive)". Variety. Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on November 11, 2024. Retrieved November 4, 2024.
  7. ↑ Vlessing, Etan (July 24, 2025). "Bob Odenkirk's Action Pic Normal, Bryan Fuller's Dust Bunny Join Toronto Film Fest Lineup". The Hollywood Reporter. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved July 24, 2025.
  8. ↑ Roxborough, Scott (February 8, 2024). "Bob Odenkirk Reteams With Nobody Writer on Normal". The Hollywood Reporter. Eldridge Industries. Archived from the original on June 24, 2024. Retrieved November 21, 2024.
  9. ↑ "Harry Gregson-Williams & Ryder McNair Scoring Ben Wheatley's Normal". Film Music Reporter. August 12, 2025.
  10. ↑ Wiseman, Andreas (May 2, 2024). "Bob Odenkirk Action Movie Normal Pre-Sells Around The World". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on May 2, 2024. Retrieved May 2, 2024.
  11. ↑ Rubin, Rebecca (July 24, 2025). "TIFF Unveils Midnight Madness Slate, Including Bob Odenkirk's Normal and F— My Son!". Variety. Archived from the original on August 31, 2025. Retrieved July 24, 2025.
  12. ↑ Fleming, Mike Jr (September 22, 2025). "Magnolia Pictures Lands TIFF Hit 'Normal'; 2026 Wide Release For Bob Odenkirk Starrer Hatched By 'John Wick's Derek Kolstad". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on September 22, 2025. Retrieved September 22, 2025.
  13. ↑ D'Alessandro, Anthony (October 24, 2025). "'Normal': Bob Odenkirk Action Movie Sets Spring Date, Will Be Magnolia Pictures' Widest Release Ever". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved October 24, 2025.
  14. 1 2 D'Alessandro, Anthony (April 17, 2026). "'Lee Cronin's The Mummy' Unwraps $1.5M Previews – Box Office". Deadline. Archived from the original on April 17, 2026. Retrieved April 17, 2026.
  15. ↑ "Normal". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved June 7, 2026.
  16. ↑ "Normal Reviews - Metacritic". www.metacritic.com. Retrieved April 21, 2026.
  17. ↑ Hammond, Pete (September 8, 2025). "'Normal' Review: Bob Odenkirk Back In Action Again In Ben Wheatley's Wildly Violent Black Comedy Western – Toronto Film Festival". Deadline. Retrieved October 8, 2025.