Ben Affleck And Ana De Armas' Erotic Thriller 'Deep Water' Won't Hit Theaters

Ben Affleck and Ana de Armas’ film, “Deep Water,” will not get a theatrical release. Instead, the film will be released domestically on Hulu and overseas on Amazon.

Deadline reported that the erotic thriller will hit streaming services after it was pulled from the Disney theatrical release calendar last week. The outlet also reported that the Adrian Lyne-directed movie, which was originally slated for theatrical release on Jan. 14, 2022, is being sent to streaming due to the feeble theatrical marketplace for adult fare this time.

The latest adult film to underperform in theaters is Steven Spielberg’s “West Side Story” with a $10.5 million opening. Boosted by the Thanksgiving holiday, the only drama to break through with a running domestic box office of $41 million is “House of Gucci,” starring Lady Gaga.

“Deep Water” stars Affleck and De Armas, who play Vic and Melinda Van Allen, a married couple whose mind games with each other take a twisted turn when people around them start turning up dead. Based on a 1957 novel of the same name by Patricia Highsmith, the film follows the couple as they are trapped in an unhappy marriage while living together in a small town.

In the original novel, the couple staves off divorce by allowing each other to have relationships with other men and women, as long as they don’t leave their family. Soon, however, Vic becomes a suspect in the mysterious disappearances of some of his wife’s lovers.

Adapted into film by Zach Helm and Sam Levinson, the film also stars Lil Rel Howery, Rachel Blanchard, Tracy Letts, Finn Wittrock, Dash Mihok, Kristen Connolly, Jade Fernandez, and Jacob Elordi. It is directed by Adrian Lyne and marks the acclaimed director’s first directorial effort since the 2002 movie “Unfaithful.” His other notable films include the most famous erotic thrillers of the last four decades, including “Flashdance,” “9 ½ Weeks,” “Fatal Attraction,” “Indecent Proposal,” and “Jacob’s Ladder.”