Picture: Surviving Hurricane Otis – Netflix
Based on the devastating true events of 2023, the gripping Mexican survival drama Surviving Hurricane Otis lands on Netflix on October 23, 2026. Starring Benny Emmanuel and Kristyan Ferrer, here’s everything we know about the new film.
Surviving Hurricane Otis is an upcoming Mexican Netflix Original drama film directed by Jorge Michel Grau (We Are What We Are), who co-wrote the film with José Leonor Alejandro and Venancio Villalobos. Julián de Tavira, Alexis Fridman, Diego Rabasa, Viridiana Torres, Héctor Villegas, and Leonardo Cordero produced the film.
In a recent interview with El País, director Jorge Michel Grau highlighted the film’s groundbreaking ambition and dedication to authenticity:
A film about a natural disaster of this scale had never been made in Mexico. There are some films about earthquakes — I have one myself, 7:19 — but at a budget level you would view as independent cinema. This is a film that Mexican cinema has never seen before.
The film has something very powerful: we took it very seriously. We knew at what time the wind blew and in which direction, and that’s how we filmed it. So in the film you see, minute by minute, how the hurricane approached, how it trapped them, how it ripped them from the pier and later returned them [Wirpul and Cándido].
When will Surviving Hurricane Otis be on Netflix?
Netflix has confirmed that Surviving Hurricane Otis will be released globally on October 23, 2026.
An official trailer for Surviving Hurricane Otis has been released.
What is the plot of Surviving Hurricane Otis?
Here is the official logline from Netflix:
Wirpul and his half-brother fight to survive Hurricane Otis in Acapulco, where their brotherhood and courage turn adversity into hope.
What is Hurricane Otis?
Hurricane Otis was a devastating Category 5 Pacific hurricane that struck Acapulco, Mexico, in October 2023. What made Otis uniquely destructive was its explosive intensification. Initially forecast to remain a weak tropical storm, it rapidly strengthened over unusually warm ocean waters, reaching peak winds of 165 mph before making landfall. This unprecedented rapid intensification caught both forecasters and residents completely off guard.
Otis became the first Pacific hurricane on record to make landfall at Category 5 intensity. The storm’s catastrophic winds and storm surge severely damaged Acapulco’s infrastructure, destroying homes, hotels, and the power grid. It caused widespread communication blackouts, leaving the immediate aftermath shrouded in uncertainty. Overall, it caused at least 52 fatalities and left dozens missing. With damages estimated at $12 billion to $16 billion, Otis is the costliest Pacific hurricane on record and the most expensive weather disaster in Mexican history.
Picture: Just some of the devastating damage Hurricane Otis caused in Acapulco in October 2023
Who are the cast members of Surviving Hurricane Otis?
The film’s two leads are Benny Emmanuel as Wirpul and Kristyan Ferrer as Cándido.
Benny Emmanuel has starred in four Netflix Originals so far: Legend Quest, Snakes and Ladders, Pedal to Metal, and The (Almost) Legends. Outside of Netflix, Emmanuel is best known for starring in films such as Sin Nombre, Detrás de la Montaña, De la infancia, and Chicuarotes.
Picture: Benny Emmanuel Wirpul in Surviving Hurricane Otis – Netflix
Kristyan Ferrer has starred in only one Netflix Original so far: the limited drama series The Dead Girls. He previously starred in Sin Nombre alongside Benny Emmanuel and is best known for films such as 600 Miles, Buen Día, Ramón, and Days of Grace.
Picture: Benny Emmanuel (left) and Kristyan Ferrer (right) in Surviving Hurricane Otis – Netflix
The rest of the cast is as follows:
- Mónica Del Carmen (A Cop Movie)
- Mónica Jiménez (Malvada)
- Andrew Leland Rogers (Good Savage) as Nico.
- Gonzalo Vega Jr. (After Lucia) as Napo.
Are you going to be watching Surviving Hurricane Otis on Netflix? Let us know in the comments below!