Although some movies proved popular at the 2025 box office, many more struggled to earn financial success. The likes of Captain America: Brave New World and the live-action Snow White were notable failures in the first half of the year, with the Jared Leto-led Tron: Ares, Edgar Wright‘s The Running Man, and more fading into box office obscurity in the second half. However, few films were as unpopular with theatergoers as James L. Brooks’ latest directorial effort, Ella McCay.

So poor was Ella McCay‘s initial U.S. run that it reportedly was pulled from the French theatrical lineup ahead of its scheduled January 7 release. This is all despite having an eye-catching central cast, with the likes of Academy Award winner Jamie Lee Curtis, Woody Harrelson, Spike Fearn, Jack Lowden, Kumail Nanjiani, Ayo Edebiri, and more, supporting star Emma Mackey of Sex Education fame. Alas, the movie bombed, earning just $4.5 million worldwide against a reported $35 million budget and becoming one of Disney’s most disappointing commercial efforts of the year.

Since its release on streaming, Ella McCay has found redemption and been a mainstay in the charts. Having made its debut on February 5, the film rose up the ranks and managed to fight off popular rivals in a way its theatrical run never could. However, all good things come to an end, and Ella McCay has found itself clinging to the bottom place on the Hulu charts in the U.S., at the time of writing. A synopsis for the movie reads:

“Ella McCay follows an idealistic young woman juggling her less-than-perfect family with her passion for her work. From writer-director James L. Brooks, this fresh and heartwarming comedy is about the people you love and how to survive them.”

Critics Were Not Fond of ‘Ella McCay’

Image via 20th Century Studios

Part of Ella McCay‘s box office misfortune was certainly the initial critical response, with the film earning just 24% on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. Jeff Ewing of Collider awarded the movie just 3/10 in his review, saying, “It’s actually a little difficult to say if there’s a better version of Ella McCay buried somewhere inside this movie, given that it’s hard to pin down what the intended target of this movie is at the end of the day.”

Ella McCay is streaming on Hulu. Make sure to stay tuned to Collider for more updates.

Release Date

December 11, 2025

Runtime

115 minutes

Director

James L. Brooks

Writers

James L. Brooks

Producers

Julie Ansell, Richard Sakai, James L. Brooks, Jennifer Brooks, Francine Maisler