Rental Family

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Rental Family

PG-13

2025

1h 43m

Comedy

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

87%

Tomatometer

190 Reviews

96%

Popcornmeter

1,000+ Verified Ratings

Set in modern-day Tokyo, RENTAL FAMILY follows an American actor (Brendan Fraser) who struggles to find purpose until he lands an unusual gig: working for a Japanese "rental family" agency, playing stand-in roles for strangers. As he immerses himself in his clients’ worlds, he begins to form genuine bonds that blur the lines between performance and reality. Confronting the moral complexities of his work, he rediscovers purpose, belonging, and the quiet beauty of human connection.

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Critics Consensus

A sweet-natured dramedy about faking human connection until you make it, Rental Family provides Brendan Fraser an ideal showcase for his sensitive star power while backing him up with a terrific ensemble.

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Audience Says

A feel-good story to warm you up this holiday season, Rental Family explores loneliness while reaffirming the significance of human connection.

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Donald Clarke

Irish Times

1d

3/5

It could be enormously clunky, but the quiet warmth of Fraser’s performance, the delicacy of Hikari’s direction and the ravishing location work just about distract from the teeth-smarting sentimentality.

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Clarisse Loughrey

Independent (UK)

6d

3/5

With Fraser as her figurehead, it’s certainly a work of broad and deep compassion. But there are self-imposed limitations that you’d wish Hikari and her co-writer Stephen Blahut would cross, if not purely out of curiosity.

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Wendy Ide

Observer (UK)

Jan 20

Although Fraser plays the character with an almost childlike naivety, there’s something rather off-putting about this big wet sponge of a man who believes all too readily in the roles he is assigned to play.

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Joanne Soh

The Straits Times (Singapore)

5d

4/5

Though predictable and slow-moving at times, Rental Family is an amiable tale about the significance of human connection.

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David Nusair

Reel Film Reviews

6d

3.5/4

...a terrific, engaging piece of work that boasts, at its core, one of Fraser’s very best performances.

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Adam Sweeting

The Arts Desk

Jan 20

5/5

A delicate and shrewdly-observed web of comedy, irony, tragedy and cultural confusion, Rental Family is a little treasure.

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geoffrey w

3d

Just okay. And that’s because Brendan Fraser holds it together.

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Sheila Robinson A

5d

It was heartwarming!

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Randall G

Jan 18

What? No superheroes, no 6 minute long fight scenes. Rental Family is a touching, beautiful movie. The viewer is transported to another culture with a business that offers a fascinating service to supprt the culture. Beautifull, sensitive performances and story. Loved it.

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Donut Dough

Jan 11

Brendan Fraser was excellent, based in Japan. I thought this was a great family movie

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Meloney

Jan 8

In this modern age where we can buy almost anything and have it delivered, can we also buy the lives we wish for? Rental Family explores this idea with a Japanese aesthetic, and explores what it means to be human, to connect, to be authentic. Definitely worth seeing.

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Sher m

Jan 2

I was completely surprised by how much I loved it. It was touching, heartfelt, and talked about how very real it is. The impact one person has on another on their life on their emotional stability on everything.

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HIKARI

Director

Brendan Fraser

Actor

Takehiro Hira

Actor

Mari Yamamoto

Actor

Shannon Gorman

Actor

Akira Emoto

Actor

Rental Family: Extended Preview

9:17

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Synopsis

Set in modern-day Tokyo, RENTAL FAMILY follows an American actor (Brendan Fraser) who struggles to find purpose until he lands an unusual gig: working for a Japanese "rental family" agency, playing stand-in roles for strangers. As he immerses himself in his clients’ worlds, he begins to form genuine bonds that blur the lines between performance and reality. Confronting the moral complexities of his work, he rediscovers purpose, belonging, and the quiet beauty of human connection.

Director: HIKARI
Producer: Eddie Vaisman, Julia Lebedev, HIKARI, Shin Yamaguchi
Screenwriter: HIKARI, Stephen Blahut
Distributor: Searchlight Pictures
Production Co: Sight Unseen
Rating: PG-13 (Thematic Elements|Suggestive Material|Some Strong Language)
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Nov 21, 2025, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 13, 2026
Box Office (Gross USA): $10.0M
Runtime: 1h 43m

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