Brendan Fraser's 'Rental Family' Gets Digital Release Date
The acclaimed drama starring Brendan Fraser will hit digital platforms in January 2026, with physical copies following in February. Critics and audiences have praised Fraser's performance in this Japan-US co-production.
Brendan Fraser's latest film 'Rental Family' will arrive on digital platforms January 13, 2026. The Japan-US co-production can be rented or purchased through Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, and Fandango at Home. Physical copies hit stores February 17.
Director Hikari, who worked on Tokyo Vice and Netflix's Beef, helmed the project. The cast includes Mari Yamamoto, Akira Emoto, Takehiro Hira, and Shannon Mahina Gorman. Theaters showed the film starting November 2025.
Fraser Plays Struggling Actor in Tokyo
The story follows Phillip Vanderploeg, an unemployed American actor living in Japan. He discovers work with a 'rental family' agency, playing substitute relatives for lonely clients. The official synopsis explains his journey: 'Set in modern-day Tokyo, Rental Family stars Brendan Fraser as a has-been American actor searching for purpose and belonging in a society where he feels increasingly adrift. An unexpected acting call leads him to a 'rental family' agency, where he is hired to play stand-in roles for strangers seeking connection.'
The description continues: 'As performance begins to blur with reality, the immersive role-playing awakens his humanity and compassion, drawing him deeply into his clients' lives and pushing him off-script whenever his empathetic heart takes over.'
Critics Praise Fraser's Performance
Rental Family earned strong reviews since its theatrical debut. Rotten Tomatoes shows 88% on the critics' Tomatometer with Certified Fresh status. Audiences rated it even higher at 96% with a Verified Hot label.
MovieWeb critic Mark Keizer highlighted Fraser's acting: 'Fraser beautifully undersells Hikari and co-writer Stephen Blahut's most dramatic lines of dialogue using facial combinations so expressive that his head must have its own winch-and-pulley system. It's a very sweet and sympathetic performance.' The Academy Award winner hasn't appeared on 2026 Best Actor ballots.
Director Explains Character's Journey
Hikari described Fraser's character development: 'Philip is how he connects with other characters. He's basically never married. He marries a woman. He never had a child. He has a child, and he also plays a father role. That's how he invests his life. What he did in these steps again was not stop. He kept going. I want to learn.'
The director added: 'That is his willingness to learn. He's willing to take a step. He says he's willing to do whatever the clients want. It really led him to have this whole family, and then also woke up a lot of people as he went too—for example, Takehiro Hira's character, Shinji Tada. I really hope our audience will see themselves in Philip, get in his shoes, walk as if they're Philip, and then discover what they find.'