Emma Mackey's New Movie Delivered One Of Disney's Worst Box Office Openings Ever

Disney is having a very good year at the box office thanks to massive hits like the $1 billion smash "Lilo & Stitch" and under-the-radar successes like "Freakier Friday." But they can't all be winners. Unfortunately, director James L. Brooks' ("As Good as It Gets") long-awaited return to the director's chair was decidedly not a winner, as "Ella McCay" flopped badly in its debut. How bad was it? Well, it now ranks as one of the worst opening weekends ever for a Disney movie.

Starring Emma Mackey ("Barbie"), "Ella McCay" opened to just $2.1 million on 2,500 screens for a terrible $840 per-screen average. That's in the same territory as the John Cena and Allison Brie vehicle "Freelance," one of the biggest box office flops of 2023. That one opened to $2.08 million, finishing with just $10.1 million worldwide.

It's also not terribly far off from Eddie Murphy's "The Adventures of Pluto Nash" ($2.1 million). That $100 million would-be blockbuster made just $7.1 million worldwide and may be the single biggest box office bomb in cinema history. The good news for Disney here is that "Ella McCay" was relatively cheap at just $35 million. It also pulled in $3 million overseas, giving it a $5.1 million global debut. Barring a miraculous turnaround, though, there's no chance it will break even, but it's not going to lose a fortune, either.

"Ella McCay" centers on Ella (Mackey), an idealistic young woman who juggles her family and work life in a comedy about the people you love and how to survive them. It boasts an impressive cast that also includes the likes of Oscar-winner Jamie Lee Curtis ("Halloween"), Jack Lowden ("Slow Horses"), Kumail Nanjiani ("Eternals"), Ayo Edebiri ("The Bear"), Rebecca Hall ("Godzilla vs. Kong"), Albert Brooks ("Drive"), and Woody Harrelson ("The Hunger Games").

In terms of comps for Disney movies, not counting re-releases, it's tough to find a worse opening for the legendary studio. We have to go back to 2004 with the release of "Teacher's Pet" ($2.4 million opening/$6.4 million worldwide) to get close. There's also 2023's sports comedy "Next Goal Wins" ($2.5 million opening/$18.6 million worldwide). That's what we're dealing with. The only potential upside is that it's got the fruitful holiday stretch over Christmas coming up, with few other movies aimed at women vying for attention (although "Avatar: Fire and Ash" is going to suck up all of the oxygen in the room).

Another way to think about it, if we're trying to look at the cup half full, is that this movie could have very easily gone directly to streaming. At that budget, it might have made sense by 2020s studio logic. Disney tried to give it a chance in theaters, and it'll still be a movie with a fair amount of click value when it arrives on Hulu. The downside is that it earned a lousy reception, though /Film's Bill Bria did give "Ella McCay" a favorable review, calling it a "screwball melodrama" that "revels in being old-fashioned."

Unfortunately, it's a sign of the times. The box office has struggled mightily to recover from the pandemic, with ticket sales unlikely to reach the high highs of 2019 ever again — at least not until inflation gets to a point where that's not a high bar to clear anymore. The biggest victim remains original movies without a big genre hook for audiences. Where "Sinners" and "Weapons" can succeed, comedies and dramas are largely relegated to being viewed from the comfort of home nowadays

"Ella McCay" is currently in theaters.