Goat was being developed by 2019 and announced in May 2024, with most of the cast being announced in June 2025. It premiered at Los Angeles on February 6, 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 $146 million worldwide.
Plot
In a world of anthropomorphic animals, 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 yet 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 working at a diner and practicing roarball, is struggling to pay off his apartment rent. After earning money from selling his prized sneakers, Will faces off against an Andalusian horse named Mane Attraction, the lead player for the Lava Coast Magma, by betting the money. Though he has an early lead, Will loses and his apartment is repossessed; he moves in with his friends, capybara Daryl and aardwolf Hannah.
The next morning, a video of Will breaking Mane's ankles[b] goes viral. At work, Will is signed onto the Thorns by Flo. When Jett finds out, she is enraged and mocks Will during a press conference. Will is introduced by proboscis monkey coach Dennis Cooper 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. Will 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, but Will comforts her, and takes her to the diner he used to work at. There, Jett sees that the city supports her, and Will reminds Jett of his mother's ambitions for him to play roarball prior to her death. Carol, the owner of the diner, 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, the Thorns go on a winning streak, ending up in the playoffs.
At a party just before the semi-final, Flo tells Jett that she has sold the Thorns to make herself a profit, and that everyone will be cut and Jett will never win the Claw. Will overhears this, although Jett forces him to keep quiet. The team starts off poorly, however, and in the final quarter, Will tells them what he overheard. The team is upset and shocked, and Jett starts hogging the ball as they resume play. Though the Thorns win, they quit due to Jett's selfishness. Before the finals, Jett apologizes to Will for her actions and tearfully admits her fear of losing her legacy. With his help, the pair gets the team back together and they face off against the Magma.
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, she is applauded and 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. Jett distracts the Magma and passes the ball to Will, who makes the winning shot. As they celebrate, Mane loses his hair, while Flo is chased off the field by Archie's twin daughters. Back in Vineland, the Thorns celebrate with the well earned Claw, where Modo reveals that he won ownership of the team in a card game, allowing them to stay.
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.[10] Rick Mischel and Fonda Snyder served as executive producers, with David Schulenburg co-producing.[11] The film had been in the works by 2019.[12] Aaron Buchsbaum and Teddy Riley received screenplay credit, while Nicolas Curcio and Peter Chiarelli received story credit.[13][non-primary source needed].
The film's animation was done by Sony Pictures Imageworks,[16][non-primary source needed] using animation techniques also used in KPop Demon Hunters and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.[citation needed] Like their previous films, the film uses a new artstyle of animation that’s both graphic and more in the vein of street art graffiti.[17] The team logos for the film were designed by graphic fan designer Emily Morgan who took over 500 hours through 600 rough drafts in order 7 color palettes.[18] To design the impact frames of the film, artists used graphic sports cards to add more flare into the characters.[19] For the costumes of the animals, designer Dominique Dawson focuses on their anatomy and build off the personalities of the teams.[20]
Goat had its world premiere at Los Angeles on February 6, 2026,[24] 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.[10]
Reception
Box office
As of March8,2026[update], Goat has grossed $84 million in the United States and Canada, and $62million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $146million.[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 was projected to gross $20–25 million from 3,700 theaters in its four-day opening weekend.[25] The film grossed $7.1million on its opening day.[26] It ended up debuting to $35 million domestic, finishing second behind Wuthering Heights. Nevertheless, it marked the biggest opening weekend for an original animated film since Elemental in 2023.[27] In its second weekend, Goat finished first with $17.2 million, dethroning Wuthering Heights.[28][29]
Critical response
Metacritic review breakdown
Positive
9 (56%)
Mixed
6 (38%)
Negative
1 (6%)
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 83% of 75 critics' reviews are positive.The website's consensus reads: "Sporting a terrific voice cast, nifty animation, and a solid moral for youngsters, GOAT plays a familiar game with enough style and finesse to come close to the greats."[30]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.[31] 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."[32] 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."[33] Eric Goldman gave it a more favorable review, writing, "where Goat truly shines and stands out is in its animation" and "has a lot of fun with the idea that these characters truly are animals."[34]
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."[35]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."[36]
Notes
↑The film was primarily inspired by a single chapter, "Farm Team".[1]
↑In basketball (the real-life equivalent of roarball), "breaking ankles" is a slang term which refers to rapid movements from a player which causes a defender to stumble or fall.[6]
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