| Goat | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Tyree Dillihay |
| Screenplay by |
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| Story by |
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| Based on | Funky Dunks[a] by Chris Tougas |
| Produced by |
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| Starring | |
| Edited by | Clare Knight |
| Music by | Kris Bowers |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | Sony Pictures Releasing |
Release date |
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Running time | 100 minutes[2] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $80–90 million[3] |
| Box office | $51 million[4][5] |
Goat (stylized inall caps) is a 2026 American animatedsports comedy film directed by Tyree Dillihay and written by Aaron Buchsbaum and Teddy Riley.Caleb McLaughlin stars as Will Harris, ananthropomorphic goat who aspires to become thegreatest of all time at abasketball-like sport known as roarball. The ensemble voice cast also includesGabrielle Union,Aaron Pierre,Nicola Coughlan,David Harbour,Nick Kroll,Jenifer Lewis,Patton Oswalt,Jelly Roll,Jennifer Hudson,Sherry Cola,Eduardo Franco,Andrew Santino,Bobby Lee, and basketball playerStephen Curry (who also produced) in his film debut. It was produced byColumbia Pictures andSony Pictures Animation.
Goat was being developed by 2019 and announced in May 2024, with most of the cast being announced in June 2025. It had an early access screening on February 7, 2026, and was released in the United States on February 13, 2026, bySony Pictures Releasing. The film received generally positive reviews from critics and has grossed $51 million worldwide.
In a world ofanthropomorphic animals at the city of Vineland, younggoat Will Harris aspires to be like his idol,black panther Jett Fillmore, aroarball player for the Vineland Thorns. Ten years later, the Thorns have not won all season, with Jett asking team owner,warthog Florence "Flo" Everson, to do whatever she can to complete and make the team by finding a sixth player. Meanwhile, Will now works at a diner and is struggling to pay rent while practicing roarball. While trying to find the money, Will faces off against Mane Attraction, the lead player for the Lava Coast Magma. Though he has an early lead, Will loses and his apartment space is taken, causing him to crash with his friend,capybara Daryl.
The next morning, a video of Will breaking Mane's ankles[b] goes viral. As he arrives to the diner, he is surprised to see Flo there, and he is signed to the Thorns on the spot. When Jett finds out, she is enraged and mocks Will during an interview. Will is introduced byproboscis monkey Coach Dennis to the team:Indian rhinoceros Archie Everhardt,giraffe Lenny Williamson,Komodo dragon Modo Olachenko, andostrich Olivia Burke. Will is placed on the bench for a few games, but when Jett has a technical foul, she is forced to sit out. He is subbed in and scores a winning point, gaining the Thorns their first win and the respect of his other teammates. While filming a promotional video, Jett is angered and leaves the shoot, although Will convinces her to follow him and he takes her to the diner where he used to work. Will tells her about how his mother told him to dream big before she passed away years later. The owner of the diner, Carol, makes Jett promise to bring home the Claw, a roarball trophy, for Vineland. That night, Jett goes on a livestream with Mane and defends her team, allowing Dennis to coach them. After this, they go on a winning streak, ending up in the playoffs.
Before the semi-final, Flo tells Jett that the team has been sold, everyone will be cut, and that she will never win the Claw. Will overhears this, although Jett tells him to keep quiet. The team starts off poorly, however, and in the final quarter Will tells them what he overheard. Their team is upset and shocked, and Jett starts hogging the ball as they resume play. Though the Thorns win, everyone on the team quits due to Jett's selfishness. Before the finals, Jett apologizes to Will for her actions and tearfully admits that she was scared of losing her glory and fame. With his help, the pair gets the team back together and they face off against the Magma. During the game, Mane causes Jett to get a possibly career-ending injury on her leg, and she is forced to walk on crutches. When she gets back out on the court, Jett is applauded and she sits on the bench, watching the rest of the team play. During the final quarter, Archie gets an ejection after defending Will from Mane. Jett decides to step back in, and Dennis gives them a new play because they only have a few seconds left on the clock. Jett distracts the Magma and passes the ball to Will, who makes the winning shot. The team celebrates, while Mane’s hair is burnt off and Flo is chased off the field. Back in Vineland, the Thorns celebrate with the well earned Claw, where Modo reveals that he bought the team, allowing them to stay in Vineland.
In May 2024, it was announced thatSony Pictures Animation would develop an animatedsports film titledGoat, with Tyree Dillihay directing and Adam Rosette co-directing, whileStephen Curry and Erick Peyton would produce under theirUnanimous Media company alongside Michelle Raimo Kouyate and Modern Magic's Adam Rosenberg andRodney Rothman.[20] Rick Mischel and Fonda Snyder served as executive producers, with David Schulenburg co-producing.[21] The film had been in the works by 2019.[22] Aaron Buchsbaum and Teddy Riley received screenplay credit, while Nicolas Curcio and Peter Chiarelli received story credit.[23][non-primary source needed]. The film's animation was done bySony Pictures Imageworks,[24][non-primary source needed] using the same animation styles used onKPop Demon Hunters andSpider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.[citation needed]
In June 2025, during theAnnecy International Animation Film Festival, it was announced that Curry,Caleb McLaughlin,Gabrielle Union,Nick Kroll,Nicola Coughlan,David Harbour,Jenifer Lewis, andPatton Oswalt were part of the cast.[25] The following month,Jennifer Hudson,Aaron Pierre,Jelly Roll,Ayesha Curry,Andrew Santino,Bobby Lee,Sherry Cola andEduardo Franco were added to the cast.[26]
Kris Bowers composed the film's score.[27] The film's soundtrack was released viaMercury Records on February 13, 2026.[28] The film's original score was released viaSony Classical the same day.[29]
Goat had an early access screening on February 7, 2026, and was released in the United States on February 13, 2026, coinciding with the2026 NBA All-Star Game, which took place in Los Angeles that weekend.[20]
As of February 16, 2026[update],Goat has grossed $35 million in the United States and Canada, and $16 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $51 million.[4][5]
In the United States and Canada,Goat was released alongsideWuthering Heights,Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die, andCrime 101, and is projected to gross$20–25 million from 3,700 theaters in its four-day opening weekend.[30] The film grossed $7.1 million on its opening day.[31] It ended up debuting to $35 million domestic, finishing second behindWuthering Heights. Nevertheless, it marked the biggest opening weekend for an original animated film sinceElemental in 2023.[32]
On thereview aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes, 80% of 60 critics' reviews are positive.[33]Metacritic, which uses aweighted average, assigned the film a score of 60 out of 100, based on 16 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[34] Audiences polled byCinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.
Mark Kennedy from theAssociated Press praised its visuals while simultaneously criticizing its writing as "lazy, thin" and "tiresome in its overly familiar redemption arc."[35] Brandon Yu from theNew York Times wrote, "it's a story with few surprises and mostly rudimentary emotional concepts, but is enlivened by artwork with colorful texture and a dynamic animation style."[36] Eric Goldman gave it a more favorable review, writing, "where Goat truly shines and stounds out is in its animation" and "has a lot of fun with the idea that these characters truly are animals."[37]
John Nugent ofEmpire gave it a 2 out of 5 rating, saying, "Lovely visuals, but this is a rare miss from Sony Pictures Animation. WatchKPop Demon Hunters again, instead."[38]Owen Gleiberman ofVariety called it "a vibrant surprise. It's a highly original and rousing animated feature -- a sports fable with a hip-hop vibe and an off-kilter cosmology."[39]
