Body horror movies don’t typically do well at the box office, but there’s nothing typical about The Substance.
Director Coralie Fargeat’s exquisitely gross film starring Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley has earned $25 million worldwide, making it arthouse distributor Mubi’s highest-grossing title ever. The Substance doesn’t have a streaming release date, so it should continue to do well in theaters for weeks to come. Especially after a (slightly NSFW) GIF from one scene went viral.
You can see it here, and once you do, you’ll get why everyone is making jokes about Qualley and her husband, Bleachers frontman and super-producer Jack Antonoff. “Can Jack Antonoff fight?” one user on X wrote, while another joked, “Jack Antonoff count your days.” Here’s one more: “i’ve never prayed on another human beings downfall the way i’m praying on jack antonoff’s.”
Qualley previously discussed starring in The Substance with The Sunday Times. “I’ve always wanted people to take me seriously and so I’ve done roles where I felt like that would come across, and this was something I’d never done because of that,” she said. “I leant in to being totally objectified, a completely vain character.” Qualley also revealed Antonoff proposed to her while she was filming the movie. “I was so excited that I tackled him and he cut his knee, and I flipped over a chair,” she said, “but it was cute.” They got married last August (and were swarmed by Swifties).
The Substance is out in theaters now.
