Lionsgate will release its giant snake survival thriller Beware Boiúna exclusively in U.S. theaters on October 2, 2026, the studio has confirmed. The film, directed by Mike P. Nelson, carries an R rating for bloody violent content, some grisly images, and language, with a runtime of 104 minutes.
The project was initially filmed under the title Titan before being retitled Boiúna: Legend of the Amazon and finally Beware Boiúna. Lionsgate presents the film as a Constantin Film and JB Pictures production in association with North.Five.Six.
Cast and Crew
The film stars Kiana Madeira, Jessica Rothe, and Logan Marshall-Green. Madeira is known for the Fear Street trilogy, Rothe for the Happy Death Day franchise, and Marshall-Green for Upgrade and The Invitation.
Mike P. Nelson directs from a screenplay by Alan McElroy, based on a story by Tony Giglio and Alan McElroy. Nelson previously directed Wrong Turn (2021), V/H/S/85, and Silent Night, Deadly Night (2025). Jeremy Bolt and Robert Kulzer, who worked on the Resident Evil franchise, serve as producers.
Plot and Setting
According to the official synopsis, the film follows a medical mission deep in the Amazon that spirals into a fight for survival when Boiúna, a colossal ancient predator, awakens to reclaim her domain. In the jungle where nature holds absolute power, she decides who lives and who dies.
The story centers on a team of young doctors who travel into the Amazon rainforest on a humanitarian mission along the Curuçá River in Brazil. Their arrival awakens the legendary Boiúna, an enormous predator capable of hunting its victims both on land and in water. The title refers to a creature from Brazilian folklore, also known as the Cobra Grande, a gigantic mythical serpent said to inhabit the rivers of the Amazon.
Production in Colombia
Production took place on location in Leticia and Girardot, Colombia. Nelson said the challenging jungle environment helped create a more realistic portrayal of the giant serpent.
In an interview with ComingSoon, Nelson said, ‘I would go back again in a heartbeat. We had an incredible crew. The logistics, whereas they were complicated to get things done, everybody made it happen. It was such an amazing experience.’
The director also explained his approach to the creature feature genre. ‘When I first signed on to this project, I was like, if I do this, I want to try to go all in and make this scary, make this grounded, make it feel real dirty, sweaty, put real stakes, real snakes, real stakes in there, and try to get away from what we’ve seen snake movies being, which is kind of all tongue-in-cheek,’ Nelson told ComingSoon.
Jessica Rothe spoke about what attracted her to the project. She said, ‘The story is very three dimensional and multi-faceted, that made it a really fun and amazing world to play in.’
Rothe also praised the director, saying, ‘First there was director Mike P. Nelson whose work in WRONG TURN I absolutely adore. He’s such an amazing visual storyteller. But then when I met him, he also was the most genuinely kind, enthusiastic human I have met in a long time.’
Fantastic Fest Premiere and Critical Reception
Beware Boiúna held its world premiere as the opening night film at Fantastic Fest 2026 in Austin, Texas. The festival’s programmer described the film as having ‘more twists than a coiled cobra and a tightly wound pace that will leave you choking for breath.’
Critical response has been divided. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a 56% approval rating from critics based on 34 reviews as of October 2, 2026. On Metacritic, the film has a score of 49 out of 100 based on eight reviews, indicating mixed or average reception.
Dread Central’s Matt Konopka praised the film in his Fantastic Fest review, writing that ‘Beware Boiúna takes the crown as the meanest, bloodiest, scariest giant snake film to ever slither onto screens.’ Slant Magazine’s review called it ‘a rip-roaring creature feature’ that is ‘surprising both for how attuned it is to the rhythms of its setting and for how little interest it has in condescendingly exorcising our white guilt.’
ScreenRant’s George Bate gave the film a 6 out of 10, noting that Nelson ‘consistently refuses to treat star power or narrative importance as a guarantee of survival.’ He added that ‘in stripping the sub-genre of its campy inclination, the film excels as a suspenseful, 90-minute creature feature that takes itself seriously.’
More negative assessments came from The Austin Chronicle, which called it ‘a low-budget Anaconda riff so derivative and ramshackle that its antagonist should grow legs just so it could slink away in shame faster.’ RogerEbert.com gave the film a score of 38, with the reviewer stating there is ‘one phenomenal sequence in the middle of this frustrating movie that’s almost worth seeing, but it only speaks to how much the rest of this creature feature doesn’t work.’
Box Office Performance
In its opening weekend, Beware Boiúna grossed $550,000 from 1,121 theaters across the United States, according to Fangoria. The film landed at number 14 on the domestic charts, with a per-screen average of $490.
The opening came during a competitive weekend that saw the release of Verity, based on Colleen Hoover’s novel, and Tom Cruise’s Digger. Fangoria reported that the film was ‘completely overshadowed by everything else that was going on’ and will likely have a limited theatrical run before moving to video on demand.
International Release
For Indian audiences, the film is being brought to theaters by PVR INOX Pictures in association with Lionsgate Play India. The Indian theatrical release is scheduled for October 9, 2026, one week after the U.S. debut.
Beware Boiúna is currently playing in U.S. theaters. Tickets are available at the film’s official website, bewareboiuna.movie.