Jamie Lee Curtis' liberal Disney dramedy Ella McCay bombs at the box office amid scathing reviews
Jamie Lee Curtis has suffered a major blow at the box office with her new film, Ella McCay.
The politically-charged rom-com, which also stars Emma Mackey and Woody Harrelson, opened with just $2.1million at the domestic box office, making it one of the worst openings of all time for a Disney film.
With a budget of $35million, the movie is set to potentially lose millions for Disney unless it miraculously turns a huge profit internationally, which is doubtful.
Ella McCay is set in 2008 during former President Barack Obama's election, and follows a young Democrat, played by Mackey, who becomes the governor of an unnamed state.
It follows Mackey's character as she juggles her political career while dealing with family trauma and a complicated marriage in the optimistic Obama era.
Jamie Lee Curtis has suffered a major blow at the box office with her new film, Ella McCay
Curtis plays Helen McCay in the film, who is the eccentric and 'fiercely protective' aunt of Ella.
Critics have not been kind to Ella McCay, with the James L. Brooks-directed comedy currently sitting at just 22% on Rotten Tomatoes –– making it one of the worst-reviewed films of the year.
'An odd, messy, misjudged shambles. You can’t fault the earnest tone or the plucky performances, but you can fault almost everything else,' wrote John Nugent for Empire magazine.
'A low point in the career of the legendary James L. Brooks, starring gifted actors who seem, all of a sudden in a fit of group amnesia, to have forgotten how to act,' penned critic Peter Travers.
'Dated in tone and positively antediluvian in its attitudes towards women in power, this is a clunky waste of Emma Mackey in the title role and of Jack Lowden as her crowbarred-in plot device of a husband,' wrote Wendy Ide for The Observer.
Social media has also been harsh towards the dramedy, with one user writing, 'I guarantee you that no one who has seen the Ella McCay trailer is at all surprised by these box office numbers.'
Another commented, 'James L. Brooks completely misfires with #EllaMcCay. Emma Mackey is a great actress, but she is given a terrible script. Everything in this film fails, which is a shame when you look at that cast.'
Despite the backlash, Curtis has proudly been promoting the film over the last few weeks.
The politically-charged rom-com opened with just $2.1million at the domestic box office, making it one of the worst openings of all time for a Disney film
Curtis plays Helen McCay in the film, who is the eccentric and 'fiercely protective' aunt of Ella
Last Tuesday, she cozied up to husband Christopher Guest, 77, at the Los Angeles premiere of the film, which was held at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood.
Curtis dressed for the occasion in a black leather dress that clung to her figure and layered the look with a black cardigan.
The Halloween star additionally slipped into a pair of closed-toed, black pumps and carried a black clutch in her hand.
For a finishing touch, she accessorized with earrings as well as a flashy silver bracelet and watch on her left wrist.
Curtis will next be seen alongside Nicole Kidman in the Amazon Prime series Scarpetta.
She will also return to her iconic horror roots in the frightening film Sender, which she is also producing.
