Anne Hathaway’s New Film Is Getting Review Bombed From Both Sides — For Two Very Different Reasons

If you ever needed proof that some movies are lightning rods before they even hit the screen, Anne Hathaway's latest, 'Mother Mary', is basically Exhibit A. The film isn’t out in the U.S. yet, but it's already getting torched online—and not for just one reason, either. Here's the breakdown on how a single unreleased movie managed to draw fire from both religious critics and disgruntled pop music fans, all before opening day.

What Is 'Mother Mary' Actually About?

At its core, 'Mother Mary' is a drama coming from A24, directed and written by David Lowery (so, yes, expect some moodiness). Anne Hathaway stars as a world-famous pop star called Mother Mary, who reconnects with Sam Anselm (played by Michaela Coel), her old costume designer and ex-best friend, right before a big comeback show. Also on board: Hunter Schafer and FKA Twigs. On paper, it sounds like a pretty standard character-driven A24 thing: emotional baggage, pop music, dramatic reunions.

The Review Bombing: A Double Feature

Here’s where it gets weird. As of now, the film is sitting at a shockingly low 3.6 rating on IMDB. That would be bad for a cheesy D-list horror, let alone something with this kind of cast—and get this, most of these reviews came in before the actual release. Over 62% of folks just dropped a brutal 1-star, apparently without seeing the movie.

So, why the online pitchforks? Turns out, it’s a two-faction controversy:

• Religious Reviewers: A chunk of the backlash is coming from people offended by the film’s approach to Christian figures. They’re accusing 'Mother Mary' of mocking the Virgin Mary, with some declaring it disrespectful and 'offensive and disappointing for believers.' Obvious tension when pop culture butts up against religious symbolism—this is not new territory, but it’s always messy.
• Pop Band Drama: The second group is fans of the electronic duo Mothermary (who actually style themselves MOTHERMARY, very all-caps). Back in February, the band claimed on Instagram that they were considering 'calling [their] lawyer' to take legal action against Anne Hathaway’s film for stealing their style and themes. Nothing's gone to court yet, but a bunch of their fans flooded the comments to encourage them to sue anyway. Doesn’t take much for a flame war to start in these fandom corners.

So, Is the Movie Any Good?

While IMDB is basically an angry comment section right now, critics who have actually seen the film seem way less cranky. On Rotten Tomatoes, it’s carrying a solid 75% score from 36 reviews as of this writing. Not a masterpiece, but definitely not the disaster the user reviews would suggest.

When Can You Actually Watch It?

'Mother Mary' starts out with a limited run in theaters this weekend. After that, the plan is for it to go nationwide on April 24, 2026 (yep, you read that right—unclear if this is just a typo making the rounds or if they really mean to wait two years for the big rollout).

Bottom line: If you want to see what all the fuss is about, you’ll have to wait a bit—unless you count angry internet speculation as your idea of early access. In any case, this is one movie’s online drama that actually delivers on the promise of being stranger than fiction.