Forgotten Island: DreamWorks' Best-Reviewed Film Opens Softly

The best-reviewed movie DreamWorks has ever made just opened to a soft weekend. Forgotten Island, an original animated fantasy rooted in Filipino mythology, earned roughly thirteen million dollars in its domestic debut over the September 25–27 frame — a modest start for a film critics have been calling a high point for the studio, according to The Numbers data reported by Cineglams.

Forgotten Island opened fifth at the domestic box office, trailing a crowded weekend led by the Avengers: Endgame re-release, the Resident Evil sequel, and two new releases. Worldwide, it reached about twenty million dollars after pulling in around five and a half million internationally, with several major European markets still to open, according to High On Films.

That gap between acclaim and ticket sales is the story. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film debuted at a perfect score across its first 22 reviews, and the site's consensus now describes it as a candy-colored ode to friendship and folklore, per Wikipedia's summary of the aggregation. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave it an A grade, and 83 percent of PostTrak respondents said they would definitely recommend it. Strong word of mouth is the one thing that can rescue a soft opening.

Why critics love it

Forgotten Island comes from Joel Crawford and Januel Mercado, the duo behind Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, and it is notably not a sequel — no pre-sold IP, no legacy characters, no number in the title, as Startefacts noted. Set in the 1990s Philippines, it follows lifelong best friends Jo, voiced by H.E.R., and Raissa, voiced by Liza Soberano, on their last night together before their paths split. They tumble into the mythical island of Nakali and learn the exit fee: the memories of their friendship.

The Hollywood Reporter praised the film's imaginative use of Filipino folklore and described its animation as dazzling and tremendously fast-paced, with influences from anime, Studio Ghibli, and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, according to ComingSoon's review roundup. The Sydney Morning Herald gave it four out of five, with critic Karl Quinn noting the mix of 3D computer animation, 2D animation, and manga-style hyper-expressive moments.

DiscussingFilm awarded it four and a half out of five, highlighting the emotionally complex story of friendship and the painterly animation, while IGN focused on its exploration of shared memories and Refinery29 described it as joyful and hilarious, per the same roundup.

The representation bet

What makes Forgotten Island distinctive is the culture at its center. The creatures of Nakali draw on stories from Filipino families — a Manananggal hunts the heroes across the island, and the voice cast includes Lea Salonga, Manny Jacinto, Dolly de Leon, Jo Koy, and Ronny Chieng alongside H.E.R., Liza Soberano, Dave Franco, and Jenny Slate, according to Fortress of Solitude's review.

Dave Franco voices the chaotic were-aspin Raww, and Lea Salonga voices the vampire-like Manang. The film even premiered as the first-ever movie shown at the Lucas Museum, underscoring how seriously the studio is taking its cultural showcase, according to Archynetys.

The contrast with typical studio strategy is sharp. In a year wall-to-wall with sequels and brand extensions, DreamWorks bet its strongest reviews on an original story that had nothing pre-sold. The trade-off is visible in the numbers: the weekend's top four films earned roughly eighty-eight and a half million dollars combined, and the crowded frame left little breathing room for a new animated title aimed at families.

Why it matters for animation fans

There is a counterpoint worth hearing: not every critic is sold. Fortress of Solitude found the maximalist style overwhelming, arguing that the film crams in too many underdeveloped side characters and that its lore-heavy world-building could use more storytelling nuance for viewers unfamiliar with the mythology. Even a friendly four-and-a-half-star review admitted the emotional core matters more than the world-building.

For Filipino and Filipino-American audiences, though, this is a landmark regardless of the gross. A major studio putting a 1990s Philippines setting and folklore creatures like the Manananggal on hundreds of screens is representation of a kind animation rarely delivers — and the A grade from opening-weekend audiences suggests the people who did show up loved it.

What happens next is a slow-burn test. With European markets still opening and family audiences arriving through fall, the film has a real chance at the kind of legs that reward strong word of mouth. If the recommend rate holds, the story of this release won't be the soft opening — it will be the comeback.