Poster © 20th Century Studios. Shown at reduced size for review and commentary.
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GenreComedy & Drama
RatedPG-13
Runtime1 hr 55 mins
ReleasedDecember 12, 2025
StreamingSee Where to Watch
DirectorJames L. Brooks
StarringEmma Mackey, Jamie Lee Curtis, Jack Lowden
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Ella McCay (2025)
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| 🎫Get Tickets | ✎Edit History |
| iIMDb Profile | %Rotten Tomatoes |
| WWikipedia | LLetterboxd |
| TTMDB | +Add to Top 8 |
| Ella McCay's Details | |
| Genre | Comedy & Drama |
| Rated | PG-13 |
| Released | 12/09/2025 (El Capitan Theatre); 12/12/2025 (United States) |
| Streaming | See Where to Watch on this page. |
| Running Time | 1 hr 55 mins |
| Budget | $35M (reported) |
| Box Office | Updated daily from Box Office Mojo. See the numbers below. |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Ella McCay's Interests | |
| General | State capitols, inauguration speeches, family drama at the bar, press conferences, 2008. |
| Music | Hans Zimmer |
| Movies | Broadcast News (1987). Same writer and director, same smart women running on no sleep. |
| Television | The Simpsons. James L. Brooks helped build Springfield, and Julie Kavner narrates here. |
| Heroes | Aunt Helen. Every family needs one person who tells it straight. |
| Ella McCay's Crew | |
| Director | James L. Brooks |
| Writers | James L. Brooks |
| Producers | James L. Brooks, Richard Sakai, Julie Ansell, Jennifer Brooks |
| Cinematography | Robert Elswit |
| Music | Hans Zimmer |
| Edited By | Tracey Wadmore-Smith |
| Production | Gracie Films |
| Distributed By | 20th Century Studios |
It's 2008, and Ella McCay (Emma Mackey) is the idealistic, hardworking lieutenant governor of an unnamed state. When her mentor, Governor Bill Moore (Albert Brooks), takes a cabinet job with the incoming president, Ella suddenly gets the top seat. Her family does not make it easier: husband Ryan (Jack Lowden), estranged dad Eddie (Woody Harrelson), little brother Casey (Spike Fearn), who has barely left his apartment in a year, and Aunt Helen (Jamie Lee Curtis), who sees everything. State trooper Nash (Kumail Nanjiani) drives her around and gets a front row seat. James L. Brooks writes and directs. One hundred fifteen minutes, zero days off.
Anyone who got promoted overnight. Keep the speech short.
There’s a whole season of prestige TV crammed into Ella McCay, and 115 minutes isn’t close to enough room. Emma Mackey plays Ella, a lieutenant governor who suddenly gets the top job in 2008, and James L. Brooks piles on a reporter digging into a scandal, a husband sulking because she forgot to thank him in a very long speech, an estranged dad (Woody Harrelson) who wants back in, and a little brother who basically lives indoors now. Any one of those is a movie. All of them at once is a traffic jam. Mackey is bright and likable, and Jamie Lee Curtis, as the aunt who runs a bar and sees through everybody, steals her scenes. Critics landed at 23% on Rotten Tomatoes, and it made $4.03 million domestic on a reported $35 million budget. A 4.2 because the cast is great and the tone never settles. $299.36 says you try copying Ella’s poster pose at least once this week.
What works: Emma Mackey is warm and quick as Ella, Jamie Lee Curtis gets the best lines as her aunt, and Julie Kavner’s narration is a cozy surprise.
What doesn’t: Too many subplots fight for the same two hours, and the tone lurches from political comedy to family weepie with no warning.
Who it’s for: Longtime James L. Brooks fans who miss grown-up comedies about messy families and will forgive a crowded script.
Spoilers
Ella’s time as governor lasts three days: party bosses force her out, but she trades her resignation for passing her bill for new mothers and a dental care bill for kids. Her husband ends up arrested over the payoff to the reporter, and Ella starts a legal aid nonprofit with Nash and Estelle.
| Emma Mackey | Ella McCay |
| Jamie Lee Curtis | Helen McCay |
| Jack Lowden | Ryan Newell |
| Kumail Nanjiani | State Trooper Nash |
| Ayo Edebiri | Susan |
| Julie Kavner | Estelle |
| Spike Fearn | Casey McCay |
| Rebecca Hall | Claire McCay |
| Albert Brooks | Governor Bill Moore |
| Woody Harrelson | Eddie McCay |
| Becky Ann Baker | Mrs. Newell |
| Sheetal Sheth | Audrey |
| Joey Brooks | State Trooper Alexander |
| Tracey Ullman | the voice of Olympia |
- (cur | prev) 14:30, 31 October 2026 DataBot +40 Numbers refreshed: IMDb users 5.2 / 10 (7,416 votes) → 5.2 / 10 (7,452 votes).
- (cur | prev) 14:30, 24 October 2026 DataBot +40 Numbers refreshed: IMDb users 5.2 / 10 (7,390 votes) → 5.2 / 10 (7,416 votes).
- (cur | prev) 14:30, 19 October 2026 DataBot +520 Numbers refreshed: Worldwide box office $4.6M; Domestic box office $4M; Opening weekend $2M; Profit / loss (est.) -$50.2M; Rotten Tomatoes 23%; CinemaScore B−; box office chart updated; Rotten Tomatoes critics 23% (137 reviews); Metacritic 39 / 100; Rotten Tomatoes audience 57% (250+ verified ratings); CinemaScore B−; IMDb users 5.2 / 10 (7,390 votes); movie.guru score 2.4.
- (cur | prev) 12:00, 19 October 2026 DataBot +2,000 Profile created from Wikipedia and Box Office Mojo: cast, crew, release dates, budget, official trailer.