Goat (2026 film)

Goat
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Tyree Dillihay
Screenplay by	Aaron Buchsbaum Teddy Riley
Story by	Nicolas Curcio Peter Chiarelli
Based on	Funky Dunks[a] by Chris Tougas
Produced by	Michelle Raimo Kouyate Erick Peyton Stephen Curry Adam Rosenberg Rodney Rothman
Starring	Caleb McLaughlin Gabrielle 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 Stephen Curry
Edited by	Clare Knight
Music by	Kris Bowers
Production companies	Columbia Pictures Sony Pictures Animation
Distributed by	Sony Pictures Releasing
Release date	February 13, 2026 (2026-02-13)
Running time	100 minutes[2]
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$80–90 million[3]
Box office	$51 million[4][5]

Goat (stylized in all caps) is a 2026 American animated sports comedy film directed by Tyree Dillihay and written by Aaron Buchsbaum and Teddy Riley. Caleb McLaughlin stars as Will Harris, an anthropomorphic goat who aspires to become the greatest of all time at a basketball-like sport known as roarball. The ensemble voice cast also includes Gabrielle 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 player Stephen Curry (who also produced) in his film debut. It was produced by Columbia Pictures and Sony 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, by Sony Pictures Releasing. The film received generally positive reviews from critics and has grossed $51 million worldwide.

In a world of anthropomorphic animals at the city of Vineland, young goat Will Harris aspires to be like his idol, black panther Jett Fillmore, a roarball 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 Magmas. 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 by proboscis monkey Coach Dennis to the team: Indian rhinoceros Archie Everhardt, giraffe Lenny Williamson, Komodo dragon Modo Olachenko, and ostrich 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 Magmas. 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 Magmas 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.

• Caleb McLaughlin as Will Harris, a teenage Boer goat who dreams of becoming a professional roarball player
  • Luke Cimity as young Will Harris
• Gabrielle Union as Jett Fillmore, a famous all-star black panther roarball player, known as the "Face of the Thorns", who is Will's idol^[7]
• Aaron Pierre as Mane Attraction, an Andalusian horse who is the MVP of the league and Will's rival^[7][8]
• Nicola Coughlan as Olivia Burke, an ostrich roarball player and member of the Thorns^[7]
• David Harbour as Archie Everhardt, an Indian rhinoceros roarball player, enforcer of the Thorns and a single father of twin daughters^[7]
• Nick Kroll as Modo Olachenko, a Komodo dragon roarball player and member of the Thorns who breathes fire^[7]
• Stephen Curry as Lenny Williamson, a giraffe roarball player and member of the Thorns^[7]
• Jenifer Lewis as Florence "Flo" Everson, a warthog and owner of the Vineland Thorns
• Patton Oswalt as Dennis Cooper, a proboscis monkey and the Thorns' coach^[7]
• Jelly Roll as Grizz, a brutish grizzly bear roarball player^[9]
• Jennifer Hudson as Louise Harris, Will's mother who passed away
• Sherry Cola as Hannah, an aardwolf who is Will's friend
• Eduardo Franco as Daryl, a capybara who is Will's friend^[10]
• Andrew Santino and Bobby Lee as Chuck and Rusty, a musk ox and bat duo who are roarball commentators^[11]
• Ayesha Curry as Carol, a llama who is owner of the diner in which Will's mother worked^[12]
• Wayne Knight as Frank, a gerbil who is Will's landlord
• Adam Pally as Gerald, an armadillo who stopped cheering for the Thorns.
• Dwyane Wade as Rosette, a bull roarball player for the Shadows^[13]
• Kevin Love as Daskas,^[14] a gorilla roarball player for the Shadows
• Angel Reese as Propp,^[15] a polar bear roarball player for the Shivers
• A'ja Wilson as Kouyate,^[16] an American alligator roarball player for the Shadows
• Andre Iguodala as Iggy,^[17] a zebra roarball referee
• Joe La Puma as Sneaky,^[18] a vulture shoe shop owner
• VanVan as Adi and Ari,^[19] Archie's twin children

In May 2024, it was announced that Sony Pictures Animation would develop an animated sports film titled Goat, with Tyree Dillihay directing and Adam Rosette co-directing, while Stephen Curry and Erick Peyton would produce under their Unanimous Media company alongside Michelle Raimo Kouyate and Modern Magic's Adam Rosenberg and Rodney 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]. The film's animation was done by Sony Pictures Imageworks,^[24] using the same animation styles used on KPop Demon Hunters and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.

In June 2025, during the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, it was announced that Curry, Caleb McLaughlin, Gabrielle Union, Nick Kroll, Nicola Coughlan, David Harbour, Jenifer Lewis, and Patton Oswalt were part of the cast.^[25] The following month, Jennifer Hudson, Aaron Pierre, Jelly Roll, Ayesha Curry, Andrew Santino, Bobby Lee, Sherry Cola and Eduardo Franco were added to the cast.^[26]

Kris Bowers composed the film's score.^[27] The film's soundtrack was released via Mercury Records on February 13, 2025.^[28] The film's original score was released via Sony 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 the 2026 NBA All-Star Game, which took place in Los Angeles that weekend.^[20]

As of February 16, 2026, 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 alongside Wuthering Heights, Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die, and Crime 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. Despite finishing second behind Wuthering Heights, it marked the biggest opening weekend for an original animated film since Elemental in 2023.^[32]

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 80% of 59 critics' reviews are positive.^[33] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 60 out of 100, based on 16 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.^[34] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.

Mark Kennedy from the Associated Press praised its visuals while simultaneously criticizing its writing as "lazy, thin" and "tiresome in its overly familiar redemption arc."^[35] Brandon Yu from the New 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 of Empire gave it a 2 out of 5 rating, saying, "Lovely visuals, but this is a rare miss from Sony Pictures Animation. Watch KPop Demon Hunters again, instead."^[38] Owen Gleiberman of Variety 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]

Wikiquote has quotations related to Goat (2026 film).

• Official website
• Goat at IMDb