Atlantic

Release poster

***Atlantic*** is a 2026 American coming-of-age epic war film directed by Roland Emmerich, set in and around the Battle of the Atlantic, a turning point in the Atlantic Theater of World War II. Produced by Cartoon Network Studios in association with Centropolis Entertainment, Street Entertainment, and The Mark Gordon Company, the story follows a young girl who, with the help of seven friends, sets off on a quest to find out about the mysteries of World War II. The film stars Ethan Suplee, Bethany Baker, Michael Rosenbaum, Iain Armitage, Amari McCoy, Chord Overstreet, Henry Cavill, Danai Gurira, Eme Ikwuakor, Sela Ward, Lance Bass, Mandy Moore, Nathan Kress, Jay O. Sanders, and Woody Harrelson.

Distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures and released in select theaters on January 16, 2026, *Atlantic* received mixed reviews from critics, who praised the visuals but criticized the screenplay.

## Plot

Twelve-year-old Stick Lawson lives on Hatteras Island, North Carolina, where life moves steady as the tides, and mysteries abound as long as you look really hard for them. Stick and her friends Rain, Neb, Amanda, Eider, Owen, Quinn and Frankie are good at looking hard. They call themselves the Dime Novel Kids. And the only thing Stick wants more than a paying case for them to solve is the respect that comes with it. But on Hatteras, the tides are changing. World War II looms, curious newcomers have appeared on the small island, and in the waters off its shores, a wartime menace lurks that will upend Stick’s life and those of everyone she loves. The Dimes are about to face more mysteries than they ever could have wished for, and risk more than they ever could have imagined.

## Cast

### German

 Uwe Ochsenknecht
 Wotan Wilke Möhring
 James Hyndman
 Burghart Klaußner

## Production

*Atlantic* is directed by Roland Emmerich and written by James Vanderbilt, who is also one of the film's producers. Warner Bros. and Cartoon Network purchased Vanderbilt's spec script in February 2022 for $3 million, in what *The Hollywood Reporter* called "one of the biggest spec sales in quite a while". In the following April, Warner Bros. hired Roland Emmerich as director. Emmerich began filming in June 2022 at the La Cité Du Cinéma in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Cinematographer Robby Baumgartner shot the film with Arri Alexa Plus digital cameras.

## Release

### Theatrical limited release

The film was released in the United States and other countries on January 16, 2026, as a limited theatrical release by Warner Bros. Pictures.

## Reception

### Critical response

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 42% based on 169 reviews and an average rating of 5.2/10. The site's critics consensus reads: "*Atlantic* revisits a well-known story with modern special effects and a more balanced point of view, but its screenplay isn't quite ready for battle." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 47 out of 100 based on 28 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.

Barry Hertz of *The Globe and Mail* gave the film a score of 2/4 stars, describing it as "a Second World War epic that runs a comparatively paltry 138 minutes yet feels about five times as long", concluding that the film was "a choppy bore, its main source of intrigue centred around whatever American accent British actor Henry Cavill is attempting as naval officer William Leahy." Michael O'Sullivan of *The Washington Post* gave the film a score of 2.5/4 stars, saying that it "tells a story that's vividly and viscerally rendered, with all the entertainment value of a big, old-fashioned war movie", but added: "the kiss-kiss never really registers with quite the same impact as the bang-bang." Wendy Ide of *The Observer* gave the film a score of 2/5 stars, writing: "Every tired war movie cliche is unearthed in a film that brings nothing new but will no doubt please fans of men in uniform yelling at explosions."

Paul Byrnes of *The Sydney Morning Herald* gave the film a score of 3/5 stars, describing it as "one of [Roland Emmerich's] better films", but added: "There are a number of earlier versions to pick from, including Mel Brooks' original 18-minute Oscar-winning documentary. We didn't need a new one, unless he had something new to say or a new way to say it. To both questions, the answer is no." Owen Gleiberman of *Variety* wrote: "The film's drama is B-movie basic. But the destructive colliding metal-on-metal inferno of what war is what makes *Atlantic* a picture worth seeing." Kenneth Turan of the *Los Angeles Times* described the film as being "so square, so old-school and old-fashioned, it almost feels avant-garde", adding: "It aims to celebrate heroism, sacrifice, determination and grit, and if you don't like that it really does not care."

### Box office

By May 2027, the film has grossed $58.9 million worldwide, with its largest markets being China ($23 million), Russia ($17.2 million), Poland ($7.1 million), Hong Kong ($7.1 million), South Korea ($7 million), the United Arab Emirates ($6.4 million), and Romania ($3.05 million). The film was released during the COVID-19 pandemic.

## Trivia

* Amari McCoy (*Tig n' Seek* and *We Baby Bears*), Chloe Coleman (*Adventure Time: Distant Lands*), Jack Stanton (*Summer Camp Island*), Madeleine McGraw (*Clarence*), Chord Overstreet (*Regular Show* and *Be Cool, Scooby-Doo!*), Rider Strong (*Mighty Magiswords*) and Lance Bass (*Robot Chicken*) have all starred in other Cartoon Network projects.
* Jay O. Sanders appeared in The Day After Tomorrow (2004). Woody Harrelson appeared in 2012 (2009) and Midway (2019). Eme Ikwuakor appeared in Moonfall (2022). Sela Ward appeared in The Day After Tomorrow (2004) and Independence Day: Resurgence (2016). Mandy Moore appeared in Midway (2019).
* The book by author Sheila Turnage, "Island of Spies," was basis for the movie plot used in "Atlantic (2026)" in 2026.
* The film has received a "PG-13" rating for intense sequences of action, language, and suggestive material. This marks the second film from Cartoon Network Studios to receive that rating.
* This is Jay O. Sanders' second collaboration with Roland Emmerich; the first was The Day After Tomorrow (2004).
* Apart from a couple of second unit shots of Hatteras Island and one scene shot in the woodlands, all filming took place on sound stages in Montreal, Canada, with extensive blue screen techniques used to create the "world" around each set where required.
* This is Eme Ikwuakor's second collaboration with Roland Emmerich. The first was Moonfall (2022).
* They shot the entire film on sound stages; none of the first unit shooting was done on location. This was done so Roland Emmerich could have complete control of the exteriors onstage.
* The events take place on December 11, 1941.
* Jack Stanton says the line at one point, "Eat my shorts!." That line was one of Bart Simpson's trademark catchphrases in The Simpsons (1989).
* Second cinema movie collaboration of actress Sela Ward and director Roland Emmerich, the first had being The Day After Tomorrow (2004) and the second had being Independence Day: Resurgence (2016).
* Nathan Kress' second Cartoon Network feature film after Codename: Kids Next Door: The Movie (2009).
* This is Woody Harrelson's third collaboration with Roland Emmerich. The first was 2012 (2009) and the second was Midway (2019).
* Production crew built two Cape Hatteras National Seashore sets, one for stunts and one for dialogue.
* This is Mandy Moore's second collaboration with Roland Emmerich; the first was Midway (2019).
* Because of the rushed production schedule, 45 sets were built in 10 weeks, including the bulk of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, the Cape Hatteras Secondary School, the Hatteras Library, Patrol Division, US Navy ships, aircraft, and Marine One.

## Transcripts

### Trailer transcripts

*Main article: Atlantic/Trailer transcripts*