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{{Use American English|date=December 2023}}
{{Infobox film
| name           = A Cure for Wellness
| image          = CureforWellnessOfficialPoster.jpeg
| caption        = Theatrical release poster
| director       = [[Gore Verbinski]]
| producer       = {{Plainlist|
* [[Arnon Milchan]]
* Gore Verbinski
* David Crockett
}}
| screenplay     = [[Justin Haythe]]
| story          = {{Plainlist|
* Justin Haythe
* Gore Verbinski
}}
| starring       = {{Plainlist|
* [[Dane DeHaan]]
* [[Jason Isaacs]]
* [[Mia Goth]]
* [[Harry Groener]]
* [[Celia Imrie]]
* [[Adrian Schiller]]
}}
| music          = [[Benjamin Wallfisch]]
| cinematography = [[Bojan Bazelli]]
| editing        = {{Plainlist|
* Lance Pereira
* Pete Beaudreau
}}
| studio         = {{Plainlist|
* [[Regency Enterprises]]
* [[Gore Verbinski|Blind Wink Productions]]
* [[New Regency Productions]]
}}
| distributor    = [[20th Century Fox]]
| released       = {{Film date|2016|12|10|[[Alamo Drafthouse Cinema|Alamo Drafthouse]]|2017|2|17|United States}}
| runtime        = 147 minutes<ref name="BBFC">{{cite web|url=https://bbfc.co.uk/releases/cure-wellness-film|title=''A Cure For Wellness'' (18)|website=[[British Board of Film Classification]]|access-date=February 14, 2017|archive-date=August 26, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170826035926/http://www.bbfc.co.uk/releases/cure-wellness-film|url-status=dead}}</ref>
| country        = {{Plainlist|
* United States
* Germany<!-- see 'production' section -->
* Luxembourg
}}
| language       = English
| budget         = $40 million<ref name=BOM/>
| gross          = $26.6 million<ref name="BOM">{{cite web |url=https://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=acureforwellness.htm |title=A Cure for Wellness (2017) |website=Box Office Mojo |access-date=May 10, 2017 |archive-date=May 8, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170508203517/http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=acureforwellness.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>
}}

'''''A Cure for Wellness''''' is a 2016 [[psychological horror]] film directed by [[Gore Verbinski]] and written by [[Justin Haythe]]. Haythe and Verbinski were inspired by [[Thomas Mann]]'s 1924 novel ''[[The Magic Mountain]]'' while coming up with the idea for the film.<ref name=han>{{cite web|url=http://www.slashfilm.com/a-cure-for-wellness-gore-verbinski-interview/|title=Interview: Gore Verbinski on Returning to Horror With 'A Cure for Wellness'|date=December 21, 2016|last=Han|first=Angie|access-date=March 2, 2017|quote=Gore Verbinski: Well, there's this book by Thomas Mann called ''The Magic Mountain'' that we're both fans of, and that book deals with people in a sanitarium in the Alps, clutching on to their sickness like a badge before the outbreak of World War I. We wanted to explore this sense of denial and say, well, what if that was a genre?|archive-date=February 21, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170221073428/http://www.slashfilm.com/a-cure-for-wellness-gore-verbinski-interview/|url-status=live}}</ref> Starring [[Dane DeHaan]], [[Jason Isaacs]], and [[Mia Goth]], the plot follows a young executive who is sent to retrieve his company's CEO from a mysterious rehabilitation center in the [[Swiss Alps]].

An international co-production based in the United States, Germany, and Luxembourg,<ref name=bfi>{{cite web|work=[[British Film Institute]]|title=A Cure for Wellness (2017)|url=http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/59ba52ef694c5|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180317233543/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/59ba52ef694c5|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 17, 2018|access-date=March 15, 2018}}</ref> the film was shot on location at various German locations, including [[Hohenzollern Castle]] in [[Baden-Württemberg]].

''A Cure for Wellness'' premiered at the [[Alamo Drafthouse Cinema]] on December 10, 2016, and was released theatrically on February 17, 2017, by [[20th Century Fox]]. The film received generally mixed reviews from critics, who praised its visuals, cinematography, performances and ambition, but criticized its length, script and narrative. It grossed $26 million against its $40 million production budget, making it a [[box-office bomb]].

==Plot==
Lockhart, an executive at a financial services firm in New York City, is sent by the board of directors to retrieve CEO Roland Pembroke, who had abruptly decided to stay at a "wellness center" in the [[Swiss Alps]]. At the spa, Lockhart is met with resistance by the staff and Dr. Heinreich Volmer in attempting to speak with Pembroke.

Lockhart leaves, but is involved in a car crash and awakens at the center – supposedly three days later – with his leg in a plaster cast. In spite of the horrendous collision, both he and the driver suffered only minor injuries. Lockhart meets a mysterious young girl named Hannah who, among others, doses herself with a mysterious fluid from small, blue bottles.

Patient Victoria Watkins and residents of the nearby town regale a fascinated Lockhart with the history of the spa. It was built on the ruins of a castle owned 200 years ago by a baron, who desired an heir of pure blood and married his sister. Learning she was infertile, he performed hellish experiments on the peasants to find a cure. He succeeded, but after finding the carelessly buried bodies of his victims, the peasants stormed the castle and set it on fire. They captured the baron's pregnant sister and the baby was cut from her womb before she was burned. The baby was thrown into the local aquifer, but somehow survived.

Lockhart attempts to escape the center but finds no one is allowed to leave. After giving Hannah a ballerina figurine, Lockhart bikes into town with her help, leaving her in a bar and seeking out a translator for Pembroke's German medical dossier. He learns that the people of the spa suffer from dehydration despite the water they imbibe from the aquifer. Hannah, kept at the spa her entire life, explores the bar and attracts the locals' attention. Lockhart returns and gets into a fight with a man who was sexually assaulting Hannah. He is rescued by Dr. Volmer, by whom the locals are curiously cowed.

Lockhart discovers the transfusion wing of the spa is a front for macabre medical experiments, and that the water from the local aquifer possesses unique properties – toxic to humans, but with life-restoring properties for the eels living in the water. The baron had devised a process to filter the water through the bodies of humans and distill it into a life-giving essence; Volmer uses the patients as filters for this process.

This "cure" is ingested by Hannah, Volmer, and his staff to gain vastly lengthened lifespans. Lockhart realizes that his leg is not broken and he is being  kept prisoner. Volmer subjects Lockhart to nightmarish treatments, warping his mind until he believes he is insane. Hannah perceives this change and gives Lockhart back the ballerina figurine, breaking him out of his delirium.

Hannah has her first menstruation, and Volmer marries her. During the reception, he leads her to a secret bedroom in the ruins of the castle and begins to rape her. Lockhart breaks into Volmer's office and discovers Volmer is the baron and Hannah is his daughter, the baby who was thrown into the well; both have been aging very slowly due to the "cure". Spurred by this information, Lockhart confronts Volmer in the bedroom.

In the ensuing fight, Volmer's face is revealed to be a mask hiding his hideous burns. Lockhart sets Volmer and the castle on fire, but is overpowered by Volmer. Hannah saves Lockhart by killing her father, who falls into the aquifer and is eaten by the eels. Lockhart and Hannah escape on her bicycle as fire engulfs the center, and crash into a car carrying Lockhart's employers, having come to retrieve him and Pembroke. Lockhart tells his employers that Pembroke died, and is ordered into the car. Ignoring their demands and muttering he feels better, he rides away with Hannah, eerily smiling as they finally escape the asylum.

==Cast==
{{Cast listing|
* [[Dane DeHaan]] as Lockhart
** Douglas Hamilton as 9-year-old Lockhart
* [[Jason Isaacs]] as Dr. Heinreich Volmer / Baron von Reichmerl
* [[Mia Goth]] as Hannah von Reichmerl
* [[Harry Groener]] as Roland Pembroke
* [[Celia Imrie]] as Victoria Watkins
* [[Adrian Schiller]] as Deputy Director
* Ivo Nandi as Enrico
* [[Tomas Norström]] as Frank Hill
* Ashok Mandanna as Ron Nair
* [[Lisa Banes]] as Hollis
* David Bishins as Hank Green
* [[Carl Lumbly]] as Wilson 
* [[Magnus Krepper]] as Pieter, the vet
* [[Michael Mendl]] as the bartender
* Tom Flynn as Humphrey
* Eric Todd as Josh
* Jason Babinsky as Carl
* [[Johannes Krisch]] as the caretaker
* Rebecca Street as Lockhart's mother
* [[Bert Tischendorf]] as Lockhart's father
* [[Godehard Giese]] as Prim, the technician
}}

== Production ==
===Development===
The screenplay for ''A Cure for Wellness'' was written by Justin Haythe, and based on a story conceived by Haythe and Verbinski, who were both inspired by the 1924 [[Thomas Mann]] novel ''[[The Magic Mountain]]''.<ref name=han/> The central plot of Mann's novel also involves a sanitarium in the Swiss Alps.<ref name=han/> Verbinski and Haythe also state that the movie took visual and tonal inspiration from [[Silent era]] [[expressionist]] films and [[Universal Classic Monsters]] films, as well as the films ''[[Re-Animator]]'' (1985), ''[[Hellraiser]]'' (1987), ''[[Jacob's Ladder (1990 film)|Jacob's Ladder]]'' (1990), and ''[[Shutter Island (film)|Shutter Island]]'' (2010), the works of [[H.P. Lovecraft]] (namely ''[[The Dunwich Horror]]''), and filmmaker [[Guillermo del Toro]]'s ''[[Cronos (film)|Cronos]]'' (1993), ''[[The Devil's Backbone]]'' (2001), and ''[[Pan's Labyrinth]]'' (2006).

[[File:Beelitz Sanatorium interior1.jpg|thumb|right|[[Beelitz#Beelitz-Heilstätten|Beelitz-Heilstätten]], pictured in 2005, served as a primary filming location.<ref name=minton/>]]

===Casting===
The film's leads, Dane DeHaan and Mia Goth, were announced in April 2015,<ref name=DeHaanGothCast>{{cite news|last1=Ford|first1=Rebecca|last2=Kit|first2=Borys|title=Dane DeHaan, Mia Goth Joining Gore Verbinski's 'A Cure for Wellness' (Exclusive)|url=https://hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/dane-dehaan-mia-goth-joining-787055|access-date=June 8, 2015|work=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]|date=April 8, 2015|archive-date=July 8, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150708162159/http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/dane-dehaan-mia-goth-joining-787055|url-status=live}}</ref> Jason Isaacs was added to the cast that June.<ref name=IsaacsCast>{{cite news|last1=Kit|first1=Borys|title=Jason Isaacs to Play Villain in Gore Verbinski's Supernatural Horror Movie (Exclusive)|url=https://hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/jason-isaacs-play-villain-gore-799279|access-date=June 8, 2015|work=The Hollywood Reporter|date=June 2, 2015|archive-date=June 2, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150602204804/http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/jason-isaacs-play-villain-gore-799279|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Filming===
[[Principal photography]] for the film began on June 22, 2015<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ssninsider.com/on-the-set-for-62215-spielbergs-the-bfg-wraps-along-with-teenage-mutant-ninja-turtles-sequel-woody-harrelson-starts-wilson/ |title=On the Set for 6/22/15: Spielberg's 'The BFG' Wraps Along with 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' Sequel, Woody Harrelson Starts 'Wilson' |work=SSN Insider |access-date=July 6, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150627012735/http://www.ssninsider.com/on-the-set-for-62215-spielbergs-the-bfg-wraps-along-with-teenage-mutant-ninja-turtles-sequel-woody-harrelson-starts-wilson/ |archive-date=June 27, 2015 }}</ref> and took place mainly at [[Babelsberg Studio]] (co-producer) in [[Potsdam]], Germany.<ref>[http://www.studiobabelsberg.com/en/services/co-productions/ Studio Babelsberg – references: „A Cure For Wellness“] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190518123318/https://www.studiobabelsberg.com/en/services/co-productions/ |date=May 18, 2019 }} www.studiobabelsberg.com, February 24, 2017</ref><ref>[http://www.pnn.de/potsdam/1159869/ PNN: ''„A Cure For Wellness“ – Auftrag mit Gruselfaktor für Babelsberger Kulissenbauer''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170225052759/http://www.pnn.de/potsdam/1159869/ |date=February 25, 2017 }} www.pnn.de, February 22, 2017</ref>

Another part of the film was shot at [[Hohenzollern Castle]], in the German municipality of [[Bisingen]]. Eve Stewart, the set designer, stated that the castle was chosen out of a group of German castles because "rather than looking initially frightening, [it] gave the impression of being a sort of sanctuary from modern life that we'd all like to get to."<ref>{{cite web|last=Minton|first=Melissa|url=https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/a-cure-for-wellness-set-design-filming-locations|title=How ''A Cure for Wellness'' Marries Horror and Beauty in Set Design|work=[[Architectural Digest]]|date=February 14, 2017|access-date=October 17, 2020|archive-date=October 22, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201022035204/https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/a-cure-for-wellness-set-design-filming-locations|url-status=live}}</ref> The castle was closed to the public for filming from July 13 to 24, 2015. Aside from Hohenzollern, parts of the film were also shot in [[Saxony-Anhalt]] and Zella-Mehlis, Germany.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Brenner|first1=Julia|date=June 25, 2015|title=Regisseur Gore Verbinski dreht Horrorfilm auf Burg Hohenzollern|url=http://www.schwarzwaelder-bote.de/inhalt.bisingen-regisseur-gore-verbinski-dreht-horrorfilm-auf-burg-hohenzollern.81413f01-c134-4051-b959-d1c3a4d881d1.html|website=Schwarzwälder Bote|language=de|access-date=March 17, 2018|archive-date=July 28, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170728172357/http://www.schwarzwaelder-bote.de/inhalt.bisingen-regisseur-gore-verbinski-dreht-horrorfilm-auf-burg-hohenzollern.81413f01-c134-4051-b959-d1c3a4d881d1.html|url-status=live}}</ref> An abandoned hospital in [[Beelitz#Beelitz-Heilstätten|Beelitz-Heilstätten]], Germany, served as a location for many of the hospital interiors.<ref name=minton>{{cite web|url=http://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/a-cure-for-wellness-set-design-filming-locations|work=Architectural Digest|title=How A Cure for Wellness Marries Horror and Beauty in Set Design|first=Melissa|last=Minton|date=February 14, 2017|access-date=February 21, 2017|archive-date=May 8, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170508121602/http://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/a-cure-for-wellness-set-design-filming-locations|url-status=live}}</ref> The film received funds of €8.1 million from the German Federal Film Fund (DFFF), as well as €500,000 from [[Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dfff-ffa.de/index.php?pressemitteilungen&newsdetail=20160120-52_staatsministerin-gruetters-dfff-bleibt-wichtiger-anreiz-fuer-einen-attraktiven-filmstandort-deutschland |title=DFFF Aktuell |language=de |trans-title=DFFF News |website=Deutscher Filmförderfonds |access-date=April 8, 2016 |archive-date=April 22, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160422073415/http://www.dfff-ffa.de/index.php?pressemitteilungen&newsdetail=20160120-52_staatsministerin-gruetters-dfff-bleibt-wichtiger-anreiz-fuer-einen-attraktiven-filmstandort-deutschland |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.medienboard.de/infothek/aktuelle-meldungen/aktuelles/News/detail/News/ministerpraesident-woidke-am-set-des-films-a-cure-for-wellness/ |title=Ministerpräsident Woidke am Set des Films "A Cure for Wellness" |language=de |trans-title=Minister-president Woidke at the set of "A Cure for Wellness" |website=medienboard.de |publisher=[[Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg]] |date=August 19, 2015 |access-date=April 9, 2016 |archive-date=January 13, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170113230012/https://www.medienboard.de/infothek/aktuelle-meldungen/aktuelles/News/detail/News/ministerpraesident-woidke-am-set-des-films-a-cure-for-wellness/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The water tank scenes took two weeks to film. DeHaan and the director communicated through an [[intercom]], and DeHaan wore a buoyancy and body-positioning waist harness connected with wires and an oxygen tank.<ref name=Alexandertort>{{cite web|author=Alexander, Bryan|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/movies/2017/02/16/dane-dehaan-a-cure-for-wellness-torture/97949662/|title=Why Dane DeHaan endured 'torture' for 'Cure for Wellness'|work=[[USA Today]]|date=February 16, 2017|access-date=September 16, 2017|archive-date=September 16, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170916140848/https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/movies/2017/02/16/dane-dehaan-a-cure-for-wellness-torture/97949662/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Verbinski and the crew used a rubber drill in the scene where Dr. Brennan, the facility's dentist, drills through Mr. Lockhart's healthy tooth without anesthesia. According to DeHaan, he was genuinely nervous and his reaction was used in the filming. Verbinski stated that the scene had compositing, and DeHaan stated there was no outright CGI.<ref>{{cite web|author=Plante, Chris|url=https://www.theverge.com/2017/2/20/14597944/cure-for-wellness-verbinski-dehaan-interview|title=The director of A Cure for Wellness on the unforgettable dental scene|website=[[The Verge]]|date=February 20, 2017|access-date=September 16, 2017|archive-date=September 16, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170916182258/https://www.theverge.com/2017/2/20/14597944/cure-for-wellness-verbinski-dehaan-interview|url-status=live}}</ref> DeHaan filmed the scene while wearing a [[dental gag]] and strapped to the chair.<ref name=Alexandertort/>

In the car crash scene, DeHaan was placed into a harness inside a device described by Bryan Alexander of ''[[USA Today]]'' as being similar to a [[rotisserie]] before being tossed around. DeHaan stated that he experienced his sole filming injury there, in which his arm was dislocated from and then relocated into the socket in its shoulder.<ref name=Alexandertort/>

The German actors used in the scene in which Lockhart is assaulted by elderly people had no prior experience in film acting. Alexander wrote that this scene "wasn't as torturous as it appears."<ref name=Alexandertort/>

Isaacs describes Volmer as "so completely convinced that he has the right way and that he has simple answers to other people's problems," which results in the patients at the Volmer Institute placing "themselves at his mercy."<ref>{{cite web|last=Crucchiola|first=Jordan|url=https://www.vulture.com/2017/02/jason-isaacs-explains-how-to-play-a-truly-chilling-villain.html|title=Jason Isaacs on His Most Frightening Role, and How to Play a Truly Chilling Villain|work=[[Vulture (website)|Vulture]]|date=February 16, 2017|accessdate=June 14, 2023|quote=So in this story for instance, ''A Cure for Wellness'',[...]|archive-date=September 30, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230930173939/https://www.vulture.com/2017/02/jason-isaacs-explains-how-to-play-a-truly-chilling-villain.html|url-status=live}} - Volmer's name is not explicitly stated, but the fact it is Isaacs speaking about the character in the film means he is talking about Vollmer.</ref>

===Music===
{{Main|A Cure for Wellness (soundtrack)}}

''A Cure for Wellness'' was scored by [[Benjamin Wallfisch]] and recorded at [[Abbey Road Studios|Abbey Roads Studios]] in London.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://milanrecords.com/soundtracks/cure-wellness-original-music-benjamin-wallfisch/|title=A Cure For Wellness - original music by Benjamin Wallfisch - Milan Records|work=Milan Records|access-date=July 26, 2017|language=en-US|archive-date=March 1, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190301074502/https://milanrecords.com/soundtracks/cure-wellness-original-music-benjamin-wallfisch/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Soundtrack"/> It was released by [[Milan Records]] on February 17, 2017. The soundtrack album consists of the film's score plus a stripped-down version of a [[Ramones]] song "[[I Wanna Be Sedated|I Wanna be Sedated]]" which is performed by [[Mirel Wagner]].<ref name="Soundtrack">{{Cite web|url=https://moviemusicuk.us/2017/02/21/a-cure-for-wellness-benjamin-wallfisch/|title=A CURE FOR WELLNESS – Benjamin Wallfisch|date=February 21, 2017|website=MOVIE MUSIC UK|access-date=July 26, 2017|archive-date=July 11, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170711142458/https://moviemusicuk.us/2017/02/21/a-cure-for-wellness-benjamin-wallfisch/|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Release==
The film premiered at the [[Alamo Drafthouse Cinema]] in [[Austin, Texas]] on December 10, 2016, as part of the [[List of films shown at Butt-Numb-A-Thon#Butt-Numb-A-Thon 18 Psycho (2016)|Butt-Numb-A-Thon Film Festival]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Leydon |first=Joe |date=December 13, 2016 |title=Harry Knowles' Annual Butt-Numb-a-Thon Teases 'Logan,' 'A Cure for Wellness' |url=https://www.yahoo.com/news/harry-knowles-annual-butt-thon-teases-logan-cure-023110136.html |access-date=September 6, 2023 |website=Yahoo News |publisher=Variety |language=en-US |archive-date=September 6, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230906070745/https://www.yahoo.com/news/harry-knowles-annual-butt-thon-teases-logan-cure-023110136.html |url-status=live }}</ref> It subsequently received a theatrical release in the United States on February 17, 2017, by [[20th Century Fox]], after initially being slated for a September 23, 2016, release date.<ref name=BOM/>

In the United States, [[20th Century Fox]] premiered a 40-second [[Super Bowl commercials|exclusive commercial]] during the [[Super Bowl LI|51st Super Bowl]] on February 5, 2017, which resembled a medication advertisement.<ref name=barrie>{{cite web|work=Vulture|author=Barrie, Emma|title=A Cure for Wellness Super Bowl Spot Tricks You and Then Scares You|date=February 5, 2017|access-date=March 16, 2018|url=https://vulture.com/2017/02/a-cure-for-wellness-super-bowl-spot-is-terrifying.html|archive-date=March 17, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180317165125/http://www.vulture.com/2017/02/a-cure-for-wellness-super-bowl-spot-is-terrifying.html|url-status=live}}</ref> An article in ''[[New York (magazine)|Vulture]]'' reviewed the television commercial, which noted: "This spot that aired during the Super Bowl tonight may have tricked you into thinking you were just watching a regular commercial for some terrible new medication, probably not approved by the [[Food and Drug Administration|FDA]]. But it turned out you were watching a trailer for a new supernatural horror film."<ref name=barrie/>

Two days before the film's U.S. premiere, ''[[The New York Times]]'' reported that 20th Century Fox had created a group of fake news sites as part of a viral marketing campaign for ''A Cure for Wellness''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/15/arts/fake-news-a-cure-for-wellness-movie.html|title=20th Century Fox Used Fake News to Publicize 'A Cure for Wellness'|work=The New York Times|date=February 15, 2017|access-date=February 22, 2017|first=Liam|last=Stack|archive-date=August 7, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170807112032/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/15/arts/fake-news-a-cure-for-wellness-movie.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|author1=Klein, David O. |author2=Wueller, Joshua R.|ssrn=2958790|title=Fake News: A Legal Perspective|journal=[[Journal of Internet Law]] |volume=20 |issue=10 |pages=1, 6–13|date=April 26, 2017}}</ref> The film trailer also gained media attention for showing a scene where Mia Goth was in a bathtub full of eels.<ref>{{cite web|work=[[Screen Rant]]|url=https://screenrant.com/cure-for-wellness-interview-mia-goth/|title=Mia Goth Explains Cure for Wellness' 'Eels in the Tub' Scene|access-date=March 15, 2018|date=February 17, 2017|author=Putchko, Kristy|archive-date=April 3, 2022|archive-url=https://archive.today/20220403225428/https://screenrant.com/cure-for-wellness-interview-mia-goth/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|work=Indiewire|url=https://indiewire.com/2016/12/a-cure-for-wellness-trailer-mia-goth-dane-dehaan-gore-verbinski-1201757856|access-date=March 17, 2018|title='A Cure for Wellness' Trailer: Mia Goth Contends with a Bathtub Full of Snakes|author=Nordine, Michael|date=December 13, 2016|archive-date=March 18, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180318054557/http://www.indiewire.com/2016/12/a-cure-for-wellness-trailer-mia-goth-dane-dehaan-gore-verbinski-1201757856/|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Reception==
===Box office===
''A Cure for Wellness'' grossed $8.1 million in the United States and Canada and $18.4 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $26.5 million, against a production budget of $40 million.<ref name=BOM/>

In the United States and Canada, the film was initially projected to gross $6–8 million from about 2,700 theaters in its opening weekend.<ref name="preview">{{cite web |url=http://www.latimes.com/business/hollywood/la-fi-ct-movie-projector-great-wall-20170213-story.html |title=Matt Damon's 'Great Wall' poised for soft U.S. opening against 'Lego Batman' and 'Fifty Shades' |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=February 14, 2017 |access-date=February 15, 2017 |archive-date=February 14, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170214235252/http://www.latimes.com/business/hollywood/la-fi-ct-movie-projector-great-wall-20170213-story.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="preview2">{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2017/02/fifty-shades-darker-lego-batman-great-wall-cure-for-wellness-fist-fight-box-office-1201912117/|title=Moviegoers Likely To Spend Less George Washingtons Over Presidents Day Weekend: Box Office Preview|website=[[Deadline Hollywood]]|date=February 15, 2017|access-date=November 13, 2019|archive-date=January 10, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210110123533/https://deadline.com/2017/02/fifty-shades-darker-lego-batman-great-wall-cure-for-wellness-fist-fight-box-office-1201912117/|url-status=live}}</ref> However, after making just $300,000 from Thursday night previews and $1.5 million on its first day, weekend projections were lowered to $4 million. It ended up debuting to $4.2 million, finishing 10th at the box office.<ref name="opening">{{cite web |url=https://deadline.com/2017/02/lego-batman-fifty-shades-fist-fight-the-great-wall-cure-for-wellness-weekend-box-office-1201914695/ |title=Holdovers Reign Over Holiday Weekend, But Why Did The New Releases Tank?: Presidents' Day B.O. |website=[[Deadline Hollywood]] |date=February 20, 2017 |access-date=November 13, 2019 |archive-date=January 10, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210110123446/https://deadline.com/2017/02/lego-batman-fifty-shades-fist-fight-the-great-wall-cure-for-wellness-weekend-box-office-1201914695/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

After dropping to $1.4 million in its second weekend, the film was pulled from 97.8% of theaters (2,704 to 88), the largest such drop by percentage ever and at the time the second largest (now fifth) third-week theater drop by number of screens in history.<ref name="theaters">{{cite web|title=Biggest Theater Drops|url=https://boxofficemojo.com/alltime/theaterdrops.htm|work=[[Box Office Mojo]]|access-date=March 17, 2018|archive-date=March 15, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180315053503/http://www.boxofficemojo.com/alltime/theaterdrops.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Critical response===
''A Cure for Wellness'' received mixed reviews from critics, with praise for its visuals, cinematography, performances and ambition, but criticism for its length, plot and structure.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Bumbray|first1=Chris|title=Review: A Cure for Wellness|url=https://joblo.com/movie-news/review-a-cure-for-wellness-243|website=JoBlo|publisher=JoBlo Media Inc.|access-date=February 8, 2017|archive-date=February 8, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170208034728/http://www.joblo.com/movie-news/review-a-cure-for-wellness-243|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=TheWrap/><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/feb/26/a-cure-for-wellness-review-slick-horror-gore-verbinski|title=A Cure for Wellness review – slick horror full of plot holes|last=Ide|first=Wendy|date=February 26, 2017|work=The Observer|access-date=December 10, 2019|language=en-GB|issn=0029-7712|archive-date=September 12, 2017|archive-url=https://archive.today/20170912071123/https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/feb/26/a-cure-for-wellness-review-slick-horror-gore-verbinski|url-status=live}}</ref> Critics have noted the film's [[Lovecraftian]] elements.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2017/02/a-cure-for-wellness-review-oh-god-not-the-eels/516738/|title='A Cure for Wellness' Is a Malevolent Thrill Ride, With Eels|first=David|last=Sims|work=The Atlantic|date=February 15, 2017|access-date=March 19, 2017|archive-date=August 3, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170803004716/https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2017/02/a-cure-for-wellness-review-oh-god-not-the-eels/516738/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://bloody-disgusting.com/news/3418409/another-trailer-gore-verbinskis-a-cure-for-wellness/|title=The 'A Cure For Wellness' Trailer is a Lovecraftian Nightmare|work=[[Bloody Disgusting]]|date=December 20, 2016|access-date=March 19, 2017|archive-date=April 2, 2022|archive-url=https://archive.today/20220402231417/https://bloody-disgusting.com/news/3418409/another-trailer-gore-verbinskis-a-cure-for-wellness/|url-status=live}}</ref> On the [[review aggregation]] website [[Rotten Tomatoes]], the film has an approval rating of 42% based on 210 reviews. The site's critical consensus reads, "''A Cure for Wellness'' boasts a surfeit of visual style, but it's wasted on a derivative and predictable story whose twists, turns, and frights have all been more effectively dealt before."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/a_cure_for_wellness|title=A Cure for Wellness (2017)|work=Rotten Tomatoes|access-date=May 23, 2022|archive-date=June 8, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170608160737/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/a_cure_for_wellness|url-status=live}}</ref> On [[Metacritic]], the film has a score of 47 out of 100, based on 40 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://metacritic.com/movie/a-cure-for-wellness|title=A Cure for Wellness reviews|work=Metacritic|access-date=February 22, 2017|archive-date=February 23, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170223080326/http://www.metacritic.com/movie/a-cure-for-wellness|url-status=live}}</ref> Audiences polled by [[CinemaScore]] gave the film an average grade of "C+" on an A+ to F scale.<ref>{{cite web |date=February 20, 2017 |last1=D'Alessandro |first1=Anthony |title=Holdovers Reign Over Presidents Day Weekend, But Why Did The New Releases Tank? – Monday Update |url=https://deadline.com/2017/02/lego-batman-fifty-shades-fist-fight-the-great-wall-cure-for-wellness-weekend-box-office-1201914695/ |website=Deadline Hollywood |quote=it's as confusing as all heck. As a result, it's not stoking genre crowds with a C+ CinemaScore. |access-date=November 13, 2019 |archive-date=January 10, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210110123446/https://deadline.com/2017/02/lego-batman-fifty-shades-fist-fight-the-great-wall-cure-for-wellness-weekend-box-office-1201914695/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[A.O. Scott]] of ''[[The New York Times]]'' compared the film to works by [[Martin Scorsese]] and [[Guillermo del Toro]], adding: "It's all in good fun, really, though two and a half hours may be more of this kind of fun than a body can stand. You might feel like you're in the company of a manic cinephile friend breathlessly recounting his favorite movie scenes in no particular order. You admire his devotion, his taste and his scholarship, but in the end the experience is probably more satisfying for him than it is for you."<ref name=nyt>{{cite web|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/16/movies/a-cure-for-wellness-review.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20180317093212/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/16/movies/a-cure-for-wellness-review.html|url-status=live|date=February 16, 2017|access-date=December 30, 2017|title=Review: 'A Cure for Wellness' Is a Riot of Film References. With Eels|author=Scott, A.O.|archive-date=March 17, 2018}}</ref> Justin Chang of the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' wrote that the film's first hour "sustains a creepy, clammy tension that draws you along without quite accelerating into outright terror," but concluding: "The terrors we see in ''A Cure for Wellness'' are never as scary as they are beautiful, but they are never so beautiful as they are arbitrary."<ref>{{cite web|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|author=Chang, Justin|date=February 16, 2017|access-date=March 15, 2018|url=http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-cure-for-wellness-review-20170213-story.html|title=The mad puzzle of Gore Verbinski's 'A Cure for Wellness'|archive-date=March 9, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170309185523/http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-cure-for-wellness-review-20170213-story.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Andrew Lapin of [[National Public Radio]] wrote that DeHaan's "disarmingly boyish face instantly gives us the impression of someone out of his element", but felt the film was derivative and overly long.<ref>{{cite web|title='A Cure For Wellness' Needs A Dose Of Originality|url=https://www.npr.org/2017/02/16/514497824/a-cure-for-wellness-needs-a-dose-of-originality|author=Lapin, Andrew|date=February 16, 2017|publisher=[[National Public Radio]]|access-date=April 30, 2020|archive-date=February 14, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190214051058/https://www.npr.org/2017/02/16/514497824/a-cure-for-wellness-needs-a-dose-of-originality|url-status=live}}</ref>

''[[The New Republic]]''{{'}}s [[Jo Livingstone]] criticized the film's conclusion: "The poor ending is a great shame. For Verbinski calls upon a great pantheon of stories in order to talk about daddy issues, yes, but more importantly to talk about capitalism. In the movie, two strains of moneymaking compete. Financial services go up against the wellness industry in a fully binaristic duel: city versus mountaintop, suit versus white coat, aggression versus docility. Both industries exploit those they profit from, and ''A Cure for Wellness'' is at its best when showing how contemporary philosophies of "health and wealth" are, at base, all the same old sin."<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[The New Republic]]|author=Livingstone, Josephine|access-date=March 15, 2018|date=February 22, 2017|url=https://newrepublic.com/article/140807/cure-wellness-horror-movie-deserve|title=A Cure For Wellness Is the Horror Movie We Deserve|archive-date=April 16, 2020|archive-url=https://archive.today/20200416215609/https://newrepublic.com/article/140807/cure-wellness-horror-movie-deserve|url-status=live}}</ref> Moira Macdonald of ''[[The Seattle Times]]'' was critical of the film's runtime, noting: "If Verbinski could have trimmed about an hour from the film (which weighs in at a portly 146 minutes), he might have had something... [it] looks terrific — clearly money was spent on production values, which is always a pleasant surprise in a non-franchise film...And the first half of the film nicely creates a squirmy, elegant tension."<ref>{{cite web|author=Macdonald, Moira|work=[[The Seattle Times]]|title='Cure for Wellness' review: Movie, heal thyself|date=February 14, 2017|access-date=December 22, 2017|url=https://www.seattletimes.com/entertainment/movies/cure-for-wellness-review-movie-heal-thyself/|archive-date=March 17, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180317165438/https://www.seattletimes.com/entertainment/movies/cure-for-wellness-review-movie-heal-thyself/|url-status=live}}</ref> Tim Holland of ''[[TV Guide]]'' awarded the film three out of five stars, writing: {{blockquote|''A Cure for Wellness'', Gore Verbinski's eerie and atmospheric new horror film, looks like something supreme schlockmeister [[Roger Corman]] might have produced back in the day–if he'd been handed a boatload of cash and was given a green light to spend it on just one picture, that is. And that's meant as a compliment: This movie is a demented riff on notable psychological thrillers like ''[[The Shining (film)|The Shining]]'', ''[[Shutter Island (film)|Shutter Island]]'', and ''The Phantom of the Opera'', and it tosses in the most disturbing dental-work scene since [[Laurence Olivier]] did squirm-inducing things to [[Dustin Hoffman]] in ''[[Marathon Man (film)|Marathon Man]]''. It's certainly the most deliriously deranged picture you're likely to see this year.<ref>{{cite web|work=[[TV Guide]]|title=A Cure For Wellness Review|author=Holland, Tim|access-date=March 17, 2018|url=http://www.tvguide.com/movies/a-cure-for-wellness/review/1039024/|archive-date=March 17, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180317231910/http://www.tvguide.com/movies/a-cure-for-wellness/review/1039024/|url-status=live}} {{rating|3|5}}</ref>}}

Writing for ''[[TheWrap]]'', Alonso Duralde praised the film's production design but criticized its narrative, saying: "While the movie is about people who are happy to remain removed from the world, not realizing that they are involved in something truly dreadful, many viewers will be all too willing to head for the exits."<ref name=TheWrap>{{cite web|last1=Duralde|first1=Alonso|title='A Cure for Wellness' Review: Sludgy Horror Film Mistakes Art Direction for Suspense|url=https://thewrap.com/a-cure-for-wellness-review-dane-dehaan-gore-verbinski/|website=The Wrap|access-date=February 8, 2017|archive-date=February 7, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170207205022/http://www.thewrap.com/a-cure-for-wellness-review-dane-dehaan-gore-verbinski/|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Home media===
The film was released on [[Blu-ray]] and [[DVD]] in North America by 20th Century Fox on June 6, 2017.<ref>{{cite web|work=DVD Talk|url=https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/72153/cure-for-wellness-a/|date=June 17, 2017|title=A Cure For Wellness (Blu-ray)|access-date=December 19, 2017|author=Coen, Olie|archive-date=September 26, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170926160409/http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/72153/cure-for-wellness-a/|url-status=live}}</ref> The Blu-ray release features a deleted sequence, featurettes, and theatrical trailers as bonus materials, as well as digital and DVD copies.<ref>{{cite AV media|title=A Cure for Wellness|publisher=20th Century Fox Home Video|year=2017|type=Blu-ray|asin=B01LTICM98}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==

* {{Official website}}
* {{IMDb title}}


{{Gore Verbinski}}

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