On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a rating of 40%, based on 57 reviews, with an average rating of 5.1/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "The 9th Life of Louis Drax is intriguing and visually compelling, but its disparate parts are never truly woven into a satisfying whole." On Metacritic, the film holds a score of 41 out of 100, based on 20 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".
In August 2014, Jamie Dornan joined the cast of the film, with Alex Andre Aja directing from a screenplay by Max Minghella adapted from the book, who will produce alongside Tim Bricknell under their Antcolony Films banner. In September 2014, Aaron Paul, Sarah Gadon, Oliver Platt, Molly Parker, Barbara Hershey, and Aiden Longworth all joined the cast of the film.
In May 2016, Soda Pictures acquired UK distribution rights to the film. In June 2016, Summit Entertainment acquired distribution rights to the film and set the film for a limited September 2, 2016 release. The film was released in the United Kingdom on September 2, 2016.
