Dust Bunny
Dust Bunny is a 2025 American fantasy action film written, produced and directed by Bryan Fuller in his feature film directorial debut. It stars Mads Mikkelsen, Sophie Sloan, Sheila Atim, David Dastmalchian, and Sigourney Weaver. It follows a hit man who is approached by an eight-year-old girl to kill the "monster" under her bed that she claims "ate" her family, suspecting they were actually killed by dangerous assassins who are after him.
The film premiered at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival on September 9, 2025, followed by a theatrical release in the United States on December 12.
Plot
Eight-year-old Aurora lives in New York City with her parents. While lying on the fire escape at night, a firefly draws her attention to her neighbour in unit 5B. Intrigued, she follows him to Chinatown one night and witnesses him kill a dragon – actually an armed gang in a dragon dance puppet.Aurora warns her parents to avoid stepping on her bedroom floor, as she says this will trigger the appearance of a monster under her bed. They attempt to soothe her while setting aside her concerns, but she remains convinced and says "Goodbye" to them. That night, hiding under her blanket, she hears them being attacked and wakes up alone, finding her parents' bedroom is torn apart.
Aurora tries to hire Resident 5B to kill the monster. He finds it more likely that her parents were mistakenly killed by assassins who were looking for him, and informs his handler Laverne. That evening, two hitmen arrive in Aurora's apartment. 5B kills one following a hand-to-hand battle; the other disappears after shooting at Aurora's unoccupied bed. In the aftermath, Aurora and 5B narrowly avoid questioning from Brenda, the child protection agent assigned to Aurora; she reveals enough for 5B to understand that Aurora's birth parents and three sets of foster parents have all disappeared.
Aurora becomes more deeply immersed in 5B's world. They bring the dismembered body of the assassin he killed to Laverne, who reveals that she hired the two assassins to remove Aurora as a loose end, being a witness to 5B's activity. They also encounter an assassin who has a contract on 5B.
The assassin and his team follow them home and converge on Aurora's apartment. Brenda returns as well, revealing that she is an FBI agent. 5B, the hitmen, and the FBI engage in a fierce firefight that ends when the monster – a giant, vicious bunny that emerges from the floor – consumes everyone except Aurora.
In the morning, 5B emerges from the floor, presumably spat out by the monster due to having applied a thumb-sucking deterrent. Laverne arrives and 5B pleads with her to not kill Aurora and to get off the floor, revealing that she is his mother. The monster re-emerges and Laverne stands her ground shooting at it before it consumes her. The monster then moves at 5B but Aurora stands between them and tells the monster, "No."
5B understands that the monster is hers and tells Aurora that she can control it. Together, they leave the city to start a new life together. As they drive between fields of sunflowers, their car's shadow on the road has the form of the monster running with them. A mid-credits scene reveals that Brenda survived by hiding in the ironing cabinet.
Cast
- Mads Mikkelsen as Resident 5B, a hitman
- Sophie Sloan as Aurora, a girl whose family was killed by a monster under the bed
- Sigourney Weaver as Laverne
- Sheila Atim as Brenda
- David Dastmalchian as Conspicuously Inconspicuous Man
- Rebecca Henderson as an intimidating woman
Production
Principal photography began in Budapest in June 2023. Since the production is not part of the Alliance of [Motion Picture and Television Producers], it was granted an interim agreement to continue filming during the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike.