
Development on Hurry Up Tomorrow began in September 2022 after psychological stress resulted in Tesfaye losing his voice during a concert. Co-writers Tesfaye and Fahim served as the film's producers, alongside Kevin Turen and Harrison Kreiss: Hurry Up Tomorrow was one of the final films produced by Turen and is dedicated to him. The film was the source of a dispute between Turen and Tesfaye's previous collaborator, Sam Levinson. It also reportedly failed to initially attract distributors. Principal photography began by February 2023 and concluded by that July.
Hurry Up Tomorrow was theatrically released in the United States on May 16, 2025, by Lionsgate. The film was panned by critics, who criticized it as a vanity project for Tesfaye, and bombed at the box office, having grossed $6.3 million worldwide against a budget of $15 million.
Plot
Music superstar Abel Tesfaye warms up and performs at a headlining concert. Afterwards, he parties and does drugs with his manager, Lee. Despite encouragement from Lee, Abel does not want to perform due to growing depression after a recent break-up. Meanwhile, Anima, a fan of Tesfaye's music, sets a house on fire before driving to Los Angeles to Abel's next concert, ignoring phone calls from her mother.
Before the concert, Abel is diagnosed with muscle tension dysphonia and considers cancelling, but is convinced to perform by Lee. Before embarking onstage, Abel leaves an emotional, foul-mouthed voicemail to his ex-girlfriend, blaming her for his depression. Anima sneaks into the concert, where Abel loses his voice and abruptly walks offstage. Anima sneaks backstage and meets Abel. Intrigued, Abel waves away security and spends the night with Anima in Pacific Park and later, at a hotel. Anima cries after Abel plays a portion of the unfinished song "Hurry Up Tomorrow", relating to its themes of loneliness and abandonment.