Mercy rises to the top of the American box office in its debut, the futuristic action thriller dethroning Avatar: Fire and Ash’s five-week reign. Mercy is set in a not too distant future, where Det. Chris Raven (Chris Pratt) stands accused of killing his wife. He has ninety minutes to prove his innocence to the A.I. judge Maddox (Rebecca Ferguson), or face the death penalty.
The cast talks about how the film makes use of the current rise of AI, with Chris Pratt explaining the progression of Judge Maddox’s character. “Chris Raven’s story is his attempt to establish he’s not guilty while being forced to come to terms with his demons,” says Pratt, “but an equally incredible arc is the character of Judge Maddox, who feels like a cold, calculating computer program but through the course of the film actually becomes more sentient. She’s a character who essentially is trying to hide the humanity creeping up inside of her programming.”
“In a way, the film could be seen as offering a sort of Bill of Rights about how AI should be controlled, if it ever finds its way into the justice system,” Pratt continues. “Who knows what advances will be made between now and 2029? Maybe in a few years, someone will watch this film and say, ‘Wow, they got that right!’”
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Photo credit: Justin Lubin
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Mercy has since received positive reviews from US critics, with Variety calling it a ““Well-executed future-shock thriller.” ComicBookMovie.com praised the film, writing that it’s a “Great popcorn entertainment with some wild twists!.”
There’s also great feedback from the UK, where Press Association UK described watching the film as “A thought provoking and thrilling 90 minutes.” VT UK mirrored the sentiment regarding the thrilling nature of Mercy, writing “Hugely original plot. Gripped from start to finish.”
Mercy is coming to Philippine theaters on January 28, 2026, including 4DX and IMAX. Mercy is distributed in the Philippines by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International. Connect with the hashtag #MercyMovie @columbiapicph
