Chloé Zhao's Hamnet is one of the season's most anticipated films — the two-time Oscar winner's screen adaptation of Maggie O'Farrell's bestselling 2020 novel, starring Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal as Agnes and William Shakespeare. The film opens in a limited US release on November 27, 2026 (Thanksgiving Day), expanding nationwide on December 12, 2026, with an original score by Max Richter. Hamnet is already an awards-season standout, having won the TIFF People's Choice Award.
Image: Focus Features / official trailer still
Release Date & Cast
Hamnet is Chloé Zhao's adaptation of Maggie O'Farrell's 2020 novel, co-written for the screen by Zhao and O'Farrell. Focus Features and Amblin are behind the release, which begins with a limited US rollout on November 27, 2026 (Thanksgiving Day) before going nationwide on December 12, 2026.
Leading the cast are Jessie Buckley as Agnes and Paul Mescal as William Shakespeare, with Joe Alwyn, Emily Watson and David Wilmot in key supporting roles. Jacobi Jupe plays the young Hamnet, alongside Olivia Lynes, Bodhi Rae Breathnach, Sam Woolf, Hera Gibson, Freya Hannan-Mills, Dainton Anderson, Elliot Baxter and Jack Shalloo.
The film is produced by Steven Spielberg, Sam Mendes, Liza Marshall, Pippa Harris and Nicolas Gonda, and was filmed in the UK — including locations in Wales — in July 2024. The story is a fictional imagining of the Shakespeares grieving their young son Hamnet, and of how that loss may have shaped Hamlet. Hamnet had its world premiere at Telluride in August 2025 and went on to win the 2025 TIFF People's Choice Award — making Zhao the first filmmaker to win the TIFF People's Choice twice, following Nomadland in 2020.
Soundtrack & Music
Composer: Max Richter
Soundtrack Album: Hamnet (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Tracks: 18 tracks, ~67 min
Label: Decca Records (℗ 2025 Focus Features/Universal Music Operations)
Release: November 2025 (digital; exact day unconfirmed)
Richter's score draws on “the basic atoms of Elizabethan musical practice,” per Deutsche Grammophon, with a choral language built around women's voices for the character of Agnes. Variety notes that Richter's beloved “On the Nature of Daylight” appears in the film's finale. Olivia Lynes contributes vocals to one track on the album, and both O'Farrell and Zhao are credited as composer/lyricists on the release, per Qobuz.
Frequently Asked Questions
When is Hamnet released?
Hamnet opens in a limited US release on November 27, 2026 (Thanksgiving Day), and expands nationwide on December 12, 2026, via Focus Features/Amblin.
Who composed the soundtrack?
Max Richter composed the score; the 18-track Hamnet (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) digital album is out via Decca Records.
Who stars in it?
Jessie Buckley stars as Agnes and Paul Mescal as William Shakespeare, with Joe Alwyn, Emily Watson and David Wilmot in supporting roles.
Is it based on a true story?
It is a fictional imagining of how the Shakespeares' grief over their son Hamnet may have shaped Hamlet, adapted from Maggie O'Farrell's 2020 novel.
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