Immaculate premiered at South by Southwest on March 12, 2024, and was released theatrically in the United States by Neon on March 22, 2024. The film received mixed reviews from critics, though Sweeney's performance was largely praised, and has grossed $13 million against a budget of $9 million.
Plot[edit]
Sister Mary sneaks into a superior's bedroom at night and steals a ring of keys to escape through the locked gates of the convent. She is captured and knocked unconscious by three hooded figures. She later wakes up in a coffin and is buried alive.
Sister Cecilia turned to religion at a young age after she nearly drowned in a frozen lake and was declared dead for seven minutes, convinced that God had saved her for a purpose. She receives an invitation from Father Sal Tedeschi to join an exclusive convent in Italy that tends to dying nuns in their last days.
She befriends Sister Gwen and is struck by certain oddities, such as an elder nun having scars on her feet in the shape of crosses, and a nail said to have been taken from the cross on which Jesus was crucified. Cecilia is shocked to learn that she is pregnant, even though she is a virgin and has never had relations with a man. The convent's inhabitants begin to treat her as the next Virgin Mary (due to her virgin pregnancy and not an immaculate conception), with many proclaiming the child is a "blessing".
Another nun, Sister Isabelle, tries to drown Cecilia out of jealousy, saying that it "should have been her." Cecilia throws up one of her own teeth and her health worsens. Her request to be taken to a proper hospital is denied by Father Tedeschi. Isabelle dies after falling off the convent's roof as Cecilia is walking through the cloister. Gwen publicly chastises the convent superiors for turning a blind eye but is then bundled away by Father Tedeschi and Deacon Enzo.
At night, Cecilia breaks open a drawer to read her file and is shocked to find information on the accident in her childhood. Hearing a woman screaming, she ventures further and is horrified to witness a hooded figure cutting out Gwen's tongue. An elder appears and silences Cecilia. She begs to escape but the elder chastises her, saying no one ever leaves here.
Cecilia tries to escape the convent by faking a miscarriage using a dead chicken, but the deception is exposed. She attempts to run before being forcibly brought back by Tedeschi and Enzo. Tedeschi explains that he was a geneticist before becoming a priest and used DNA samples taken from the crucifixion nail to create a new Jesus, though it took 20 years until he had his success with Cecilia. Tedeschi burns a cross into her foot, a symbol also on many of the other nuns.
Horrified that the child could save the world or end it as written in Revelation, Cecilia makes another attempt to escape. She beats Mother Superior to death using a crucifix, and shortly after, her water breaks. She manages to strangle the cardinal with her rosary before dousing Tedeschi's lab in ethanol. Tedeschi arrives and tries to stop her through physical force, but Cecilia narrowly escapes by igniting the ethanol with a lighter.
Tedeschi manages to break out of the laboratory after extinguishing the flames and continues his pursuit against Cecilia, forcing her to flee into the catacombs of the convent. Cecilia finds Gwen's mutilated corpse along with a hole in the catacombs walls. She attempts to escape before Tedeschi arrives, and attempts to cut her stomach open before she stabs him in the throat with the crucifixion nail, which she had previously stolen. After exiting the catacombs, Cecilia agonizingly gives birth and bites through the umbilical cord herself; horrified by the sight of the baby, she grabs a nearby rock, lifts it above the baby, and throws it down.
Cast[edit]
- Sydney Sweeney as Cecilia
- Álvaro Morte as Father Sal Tedeschi
- Benedetta Porcaroli as Sister Gwen
- Dora Romano as Mother Superior
- Giorgio Colangeli as Cardinal Franco Merola
- Simona Tabasco as Sister Mary
Production[edit]
Development on Immaculate was underway as early as 2014, when Sydney Sweeney first auditioned for a role in the film from a screenplay written by Andrew Lobel.[6] However, the project fell into development hell instead of entering production.[7] Following her breakout role in the television series Euphoria, Sweeney purchased the rights to the screenplay and approached frequent collaborator Michael Mohan to direct.[6] Mohan has stated that many of the film's scenes were inspired by his Catholic upbringing.[8]
In October 2022, it was announced that Sweeney had joined the cast of the film, with Mohan directing, and with Sweeney serving as a producer under her Fifty-Fifty Films banner.[9] Mohan stated that the script originally featured a cast of high school girls, not nuns, and was changed to better suit Sweeney and audience expectations.[10]
In February 2023, Álvaro Morte, Benedetta Porcaroli, Dora Romano, Giorgio Colangeli and Simona Tabasco joined the cast of the film.[11][12]
Principal photography took place in Rome,[11] and concluded by February 2023.[13]
Release[edit]
In December 2023, Neon acquired US distribution rights to the film.[14] It had its world premiere at South by Southwest on March 12, 2024.[2][15] It was released on March 22, 2024.[16]
Reception[edit]
Box office[edit]
As of March 31, 2024, Immaculate has grossed $11.1 million in the United States and Canada and $2 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $13.1 million.[5][4]
In the United States and Canada, Immaculate was released alongside Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire and Late Night with the Devil, and was projected to gross around $5 million from 2,354 theaters in its opening weekend.[17] The film made $2 million on its first day, and went on to debut to $5.3 million, finishing fourth and marking the best opening weekend in Neon's history.[1