Alpha

Thirteen-year-old Alpha lives in an uneasy household with her single mother, Maman. One afternoon she comes home from school with a fresh tattoo on her arm, and what might have been an ordinary teenage act spirals into a crisis. Neighbors whisper, teachers react, and medical and authority figures start asking questions that neither Alpha nor her mother expected. As pressure mounts from school, the clinic and the community, the film follows how their fragile trust and daily routine fracture, while secrets about identity and control begin to surface. The story stays close to their relationship, keeping sudden reveals and the ultimate outcome under wraps.

Released in 2025, Alpha was directed by Julia Ducournau and stars Mélissa Boros as Alpha, Golshifteh Farahani as Maman, and Tahar Rahim in a key adult role, with Emma Mackey and Finnegan Oldfield in supporting parts. The film continued Ducournau's interest in intimate, unsettling material.

Wide box office reporting for Alpha is limited at this time, with no major global grosses publicly confirmed. Its commercial footprint appears modest compared with mainstream releases, reflective of a film positioned more for critical audiences and festival screenings than blockbuster returns.

Since its debut the film has generated conversation about adolescence, consent and maternal protection in contemporary settings. Visual choices and tense domestic scenes have been shared and discussed online, particularly among viewers familiar with the director's earlier work, prompting debates about how far genre cinema can push in portraying family conflict and bodily autonomy.

Early audience scores sit around 6.44 out of 10 from 80 votes, indicating mixed to generally favorable reactions. Critics and viewers note that Alpha blends horror, drama and science fiction elements to probe power dynamics between adults and teens, identity anxiety and community scrutiny. Performances by Boros and Farahani are often singled out for emotional intensity, while the film's mood and pacing create a slow-burning unease rather than straightforward scares.