Channing Tatum’s Marvel Star Team-Up Debuts With a Perfect 100% on Rotten Tomatoes

Well, that was fast. Channing Tatum and Gemma Chan have a 2026 drama-thriller called 'Josephine,' and it just came out of Sundance chatter with a spotless Rotten Tomatoes score and critics basically tripping over themselves to praise it. The setup sounds familiar, but the reaction? Kind of a juggernaut.

The temperature check

As of now, 'Josephine' is sitting at 100% on Rotten Tomatoes from 16 critic reviews. No audience score yet, so this is purely the critical chorus talking — and they are loud.

"Josephine might not tell a particularly original story, but it tells it in a way that makes us see the world anew."
— Bilge Ebiri, New York Magazine/Vulture

Over at The Daily Beast, Nick Schager calls it intensely empathetic and says that even with its tough subject matter, newcomer Mason Reeves makes the whole thing land harder than you expect. The Wrap's Matt Donato goes 4.5/5, arguing it's a special, hard-to-stomach piece that works because director Beth de Araújo is fearless behind the camera. Kate Sánchez at But Why Tho? throws down a 10/10, pointing to the technical control but especially the way it handles trauma with care. Pop Culture Reviews' Brittany Patrice Witherspoon gives it 4/5 and tags the script as haunting — basically a parent’s worst nightmare in narrative form. Collider's Taylor Gates rates it 9/10 and frames it as a coming-of-age story, but one that digs into a darker, messier slice of girlhood we rarely see this directly.

The Playlist's Carlos Aguilar hands it an A for being unflinching and deeply human. IndieWire's Kate Erbland goes A– and zeroes in on de Araújo's knack for ratcheting tension at every level. The Hollywood Reporter’s David Rooney shouts out the precision of the visuals and the way scenes flow from one to the next. And Screen International's Tim Grierson says the terror here is grounded in the real world, which is exactly why it hits so hard.

"The standout of this year's Sundance Film Festival competition, in terms of both audacity of subject and maturity of execution."
— Peter Debruge, Variety

Who is behind it (and in it)

'Josephine' is a two-hour drama-mystery-thriller directed by Beth de Araújo. Mason Reeves leads the cast, with Channing Tatum, Gemma Chan, Philip Ettinger, and Syra McCarthy in the mix. If you are sensing a theme here — critics keep coming back to de Araújo’s control and the film’s nerve — you are not wrong.

Quick snapshot

• Rotten Tomatoes: 100% Fresh from 16 critic reviews; audience score not available yet
• Notable praise: empathy (Daily Beast), fearless direction (The Wrap), technical precision and tender handling of trauma (But Why Tho?), a darker spin on girlhood (Collider)
• Top-line raves: A from The Playlist; A– from IndieWire; 4.5/5 from The Wrap; 10/10 from But Why Tho?; 4/5 from Pop Culture Reviews; 9/10 from Collider
• Craft notes: precise visuals and elegant transitions (THR); real-world terror that actually feels real (Screen International)
• Festival buzz: called a Sundance competition standout by Variety
• Vitals: 2026 release; 2-hour runtime; drama/mystery/thriller
• Cast: Mason Reeves, Channing Tatum, Gemma Chan, Philip Ettinger, Syra McCarthy

Bottom line: this sounds like a tough, nerve-prickly watch that critics are calling both emotionally exacting and meticulously made. If the early wave holds, 'Josephine' is going to be one of those titles everyone has an opinion about — and de Araújo just planted her flag as a director to watch.