The Thing with Feathers is a 2025 British drama film starring Benedict Cumberbatch. It is written and directed by Dylan Southern and adapted from the book Grief Is the Thing with Feathers by Max Porter. It received mixed reviews from critics.
Left to raise two young sons after the unexpected death of his wife, Dad's life begins to unravel. Grief is messy and chaotic enough as it is, but when it takes the form of an unhinged and unwanted house guestâÂÂCrowâÂÂtaunting him from the shadows, things start to spiral out of control... but maybe that's exactly what Dad needs.
The project is from Film4, Lobo Films and CumberbatchâÂÂs SunnyMarch. Producers on the project are Andrea Cornwell, Adam Ackland and Leah Clarke. It is an adaptation by Dylan Southern of the novel Grief Is the Thing with Feathers by Max Porter. The film received British Film Institute (BFI) Filmmaking Fund production support in 2024.
Principal photography began in early 2024.
It premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival on 25 January 2025. It was also shown as European premiere at the 75th Berlin International Film Festival in 18 February 2025. In April 2025, Vue Lumière acquired U.K. and Irish distribution rights to the film. They released it across the UK and Ireland on 21 November 2025.