Disney’s New Political Comedy Stumbles Out of the Gate With One of the Studio’s Weakest Box Office Debuts
Disney’s political comedy Ella McCay stumbled out of the gate with one of the weakest domestic openings in years, underscoring the uphill fight mid-budget films face to lure audiences back to theaters.
Disney just rolled out a political comedy, 'Ella McCay,' and the weekend numbers are... not great. If you felt like you barely heard it was in theaters, the box office reflects that.
The opening: rough
In North America, 'Ella McCay' quietly opened to $2.1 million. For Disney, that lands among the studio's weakest modern domestic debuts and well under what anyone would hope for with a wide release. It also underlines a broader reality: getting audiences to show up for mid-budget, adult-leaning comedies is still an uphill climb.
Quick snapshot
- Weekend gross (North America): $2.1 million
- Rating: PG-13
- Writer-director: James L. Brooks
- Star: Emma Mackey
- Premise: a young politician unexpectedly becomes a state governor
- Budget: around $35 million
- Critical response: Rotten Tomatoes at 23% from 93 reviews
The reviews did not help
Word of mouth came in cold, and the critics were chillier. The Rotten Tomatoes score sits at 23% from 93 reviews, and some outlets really did not mince words.
"Its political satire is toothless: by ignoring the last 17 years of American politics, it renders virtually any points made irrelevant. Perhaps worst of all, its comedy is laugh-free: full of the kinds of cliches and slapstick that make it virtually self-parody."
- John Nugent, Empire Online
Why this stings (and why Disney will be fine)
On the one hand, a $2.1 million start is a faceplant for a wide Disney release. On the other, 'Ella McCay' reportedly costs about $35 million, which is tiny compared to the studio's usual tentpoles that can top $200 million. Variety's takeaway: because this one is a relatively small swing for Disney, the weak opening is unlikely to move the needle much for the company overall. Still, it's tough to build momentum from reviews that downbeat.
Meanwhile, in actual hit territory...
While 'Ella McCay' struggled, 'Zootopia 2' kept cruising. It returned to first place domestically and crossed $1 billion worldwide. Hard to ask for a cleaner contrast.