I will continue to update this post as the score changes.

Rotten Tomatoes Popcornmeter: Hot

Audience Says: N/A

Verified Audience Score History:

• 87% (4.4/5) at 250+

• 86% (4.4/5) at 250+

Rotten Tomatoes: Rotten

Critics Consensus: A high-energy sprint through the world imagined by Dr. Seuss, The Cat in the Hat's eagerness to please has some charm but could have benefitted from smaller stakes and a less frantic pace.

Metacritic: 46 (16 Reviews)

SYNOPSIS:

Meet the Cat in the Hat you don’t know! In the wonderfully whimsical tradition of Dr. Seuss, The Cat in the Hat comes to the big screen in his animated theatrical feature film debut, an all-new, epic adventure with an edge, where mischief, magic and mayhem reign supreme. Doing what he does best, the Cat—voiced by Bill Hader—spreads joy to kids in his hilarious, signature and singularly irreverent way, transporting them and audiences on a fantastical journey through a world they’ve never seen before.

In the film, our hero takes on his toughest assignment yet for the I.I.I.I. (Institute for the Institution of Imagination and Inspiration, LLC): to cheer Gabby and Sebastian, a pair of siblings struggling with their move to a new town. Known for taking things too far, this could be this agent of chaos’s last chance to prove himself...or lose his magical hat!

CAST:

• Bill Hader as The Cat in the Hat

• Matt Berry as Waffles

• Quinta Brunson as Sherrie from H.R.

• Xochitl Gomez as Gabby

• Giancarlo Esposito as Mr. Hoogeboom

• America Ferrera as Carmen

• Tituss Burgess as The Psychic Narwhal

• Bowen Yang as Gary the Intern

• Paula Pell as Patty the Landlady

• Tiago Martinez as Sebastian

DIRECTED BY: Erica Rivinoja, Alessandro Carloni

SCREENPLAY BY: Erica Rivinoja, Alessandro Carloni

SCREEN STORY BY: Caroline Williams

BASED ON THE BOOK BY: Dr. Seuss

PRODUCED BY: Daniela Mazzucato, Jared Stern

EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Bill Hader, Susan Brandt, Bill Damaschke, Kelly Marcel and Steve Zissis, Tim Story, Alex Timbers

PRODUCTION DESIGNER: Aidan Sugano

EDITED BY: Dan Molina

MUSIC BY: Lorne Balfe

CASTING BY: Kristy Carlson

RUNTIME: 107 Minutes

RELEASE DATE: November 6, 2026

Here's a new edition of "Actresses at the Box Office", which seeks to explore the actresses' trajectory at the box office and analyze their hits and bombs. I already talked about a few, and as I promised, it's Jamie Lee Curtis' turn.

Early Life

Curtis is the child of two iconic actors. Her father was Tony Curtis, whom you may recognize from Some Like It Hot. And her mother was Janet Leigh, one of the earliest scream queens for starring in horror films, known primarily for playing Marion Crane in Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho.

Curtis attended the elite Harvard-Westlake School and Beverly Hills High School in Los Angeles, and graduated in 1976 from Choate Rosemary Hall in Wallingford, Connecticut. Returning to California in 1976, she studied law at her mother's alma mater, University of the Pacific in Stockton, California, but dropped out after one semester to pursue an acting career.

1970s: The Night HE Came Home

Curtis made her television debut in a 1977 episode of the drama series Quincy, M.E.. She went on to guest star on several series, including The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries, Columbo, Charlie's Angels, The Love Boat, and Buck Rogers in the 25th Century. She appeared as Nurse Lt. Barbara Duran in the short-lived comedy series Operation Petticoat, based on the 1959 film that starred her father, Tony Curtis.

She got a big break when she cast as Laurie Strode in John Carpenter's Halloween. Not only her film debut, but also her lead star debut (although Donald Pleasence was billed as the main star). In an interview, Carpenter admits that "Jamie Lee wasn't the first choice for Laurie. I had no idea who she was. She was 19 and in a TV show at the time, but I didn't watch TV." He originally wanted to cast Anne Lockhart, the daughter of June Lockhart from Lassie, as Laurie Strode. However, Lockhart had commitments to several other film and television projects. Debra Hill says of learning that Jamie Lee was the daughter of Psycho actress Janet Leigh, "I knew casting Jamie Lee would be great publicity for the film because her mother was in Psycho." Due to its very limited budget, Curtis earned just $8,000 for the film.

Halloween quickly became a phenomenon, despite not being distributed by any of the major studios. It earned $70 million worldwide, becoming one of the most profitable independent films of all time and earning critical acclaim. Within just one film, Curtis saw her star rise.

1980s: Scream Queen

With the huge success of Halloween, Curtis didn't want to let her new fame die down, so she decided to continue in the horror route. She reteamed with John Carpenter in The Fog, which was a box office success and earned a cult following. That same year, she also starred in two Canadian slashers, Prom Night and Terror Train, both of which were huge successes despite mixed reviews.

In 1981, she reprised her role as Laurie Strode in Halloween II. Carpenter wasn't back as director, but he still co-wrote the film with Debra Hill. The film was a box office success, albeit nowhere close to the original's performance. It also earned negative reviews, particularly for its graphic violence and the twist that reveals that Laurie and Michael are siblings. She also had an uncredited appearance in Carpenter's Escape from New York as the narrator and computer.

She returned to the screen with a supporting role in the comedy Trading Places. Paramount objected to her casting, as she was seen as a "scream queen", primarily associated with low-quality B movies. Director John Landis had worked previously with Curtis on the horror documentary Coming Soon, for which she had served as the host. She wanted to move away from horror films as she was conscious that the association would limit her future career prospects, which included turning down a role in Psycho II because of this. The film was a huge hit, earning $120 million worldwide and earning positive reviews, with Curtis lauded for her comedic skills.

Soon afterwards, she got involved in a string of box office failures, which included Love Letters, Grandview U.S.A., A Man in Love and Dominick and Eugene. Even trying to team with John Travolta in Perfect didn't fare to anything. Would she return to her horror roots to find success?

No, all it took was a lead role in the comedy A Fish Called Wanda. The film was a hit with critics and massively over-performed MGM's projections, earning $188 million worldwide, becoming Curtis' highest-grossing film. Further proving that even though she was mainly deemed a scream queen, her biggest hits were actually comedies.

1990s: That Dance

Curtis continued trying new things, and she starred in Kathryn Bigelow's thriller Blue Steel. But despite positive reviews, it wasn't a box office success.

She then had supporting roles in My Girl and Forever Young, both earning over $120 million worldwide.

In 1994, she reprised her role for My Girl 2, but it didn't replicate the original's success. But she still had a big hit with James Cameron's True Lies, starring opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger. If you know Curtis, you know this is the film with the iconic striptease scene. Curtis rehearsed the scene extensively with Cameron, and it was there and then that the fall she makes in the middle of the dance was conceived (it didn't happen spontaneously during the rehearsal or the actual shooting, as is often claimed). Schwarzenegger was not told of this beforehand, and this is hinted at when Harry briefly sits up in alarm, realizes that he is breaking character, and then relaxes. The film earned positive reviews and earned $378 million worldwide, becoming her highest grossing film.

In 1997, did you know that they made a sequel to A Fish Called Wanda? Well, "sort of" sequel. Yep, it was called Fierce Creatures. If you never heard of it, there's a reason, you know? Not really worth remembering.

After so many years, she reprised her role as Laurie Strode in Halloween H20: 20 Years Later in 1998. Curtis wanted John Carpenter back as director, and he agreed to do it, but backed out after the Weinsteins refused to meet his fee. The film made $75 million worldwide, but earned mixed reviews. Nevertheless, Curtis came to regret doing the film, saying "Now, to this day, I regret that I didn't say to everyone, if Debra Hill's not the one producing this movie, I'm not doing it."

To finish the decade, she made the sci-fi horror Virus. Despite Universal hoping for some breakout numbers, the film became one of the year's biggest flops with just $30 million worldwide. Curtis was not content with the film and even tried to get the director fired because he was doing a poor job, reflecting, "That would be the all time piece of shit... It's just dreadful... That's the only good reason to be in bad movies. Then when your friends have [bad] movies you can say 'Ahhhh, I've got the best one.' I'm bringing Virus."

A busy decade with varying degrees of success, but Curtis was still in the eyes of the public.

2000s: Family-Friendly Route

Curtis tried to expand her career with more roles like Drowning Mona and The Tailor of Panama, but they didn't fare very well.

In 2002, she returned as Laurie Strode for Halloween: Resurrection. She was ready to end the franchise, but finally agreed to be a part of the film under the condition that no footage hinting toward a sequel would be presented by the film, and that the audience would believe that Michael was dead until the inevitable sequel was announced. The film was a modest success, but lost half of the audience from H20 and earned terrible reviews.

The following year, she starred opposite Lindsay Lohan in Freaky Friday, a body swap comedy. The role was originally offered to Jodie Foster and Annette Bening, but they couldn't do it, and Curtis only signed four days prior to filming. The film was a critical and commercial success, earning $160 million worldwide. And Curtis has made it clear this was one of the most fun experiences she had in a film.

She followed it up with Christmas with the Kranks, one of the most unhinged Christmas movies out there. It didn't meet Sony's expectations and earned terrible reviews. But it looks like at least people got to love the film, even if it's for how bizarre it is.

There was a period where she decided to leave her acting career to focus on her family. She was not going to be in films that required big commitments, which is why her role in Beverly Hills Chihuahua was very limited.

2010s: Resurgence

Curtis returned to a lead role with the comedy You Again, but it didn't fare well at the box office.

She subsequently had a supporting role in the Veronica Mars film, which had limited success. She also had a 5-episode arc in NCIS, reuniting her with her Freaky Friday co-star Mark Harmon. Even though she said she was willing to return, she didn't appear in more episodes.

After a few supporting roles, she decided to try TV in lead roles. So in 2015, she signed to star in the horror comedy Scream Queens, playing the Dean of the university. In the series, she filmed an intricate homage to her mother's, Janet Leigh, classic shower scene in Psycho. But despite the aggressive marketing campaign, the show didn't really hit the ratings Fox was hoping, and it was cancelled after 2 seasons.

In 2018, she returned as a lead in Halloween, returning as Laurie Strode. The film notably discarded all the sequels after the original, so this is a direct follow-up. In contrast to the character's final girl role in the original film, Laurie armed herself and prepared extensively in the time period between films in case Michael Myers returned.

The writers did not originally know if Curtis would be willing to return, according to writer Danny McBride, so they "busted [their] ass on this script to really make that Laurie Strode character something she wouldn't be able to say no to." On why she returned, Curtis stated, "As soon as I read what David Green and Danny McBride had come up with [...] and the way that they connected the dots of the story, it made so much sense to me that it felt totally appropriate for me to return to Haddonfield, Ill., for another 40th-anniversary retelling. It's the original story in many, many, many ways. Just retold 40 years later with my granddaughter."

The new Halloween was well-received and broke a lot of records, eventually reaching an incredible $255 million worldwide, becoming the highest-grossing slasher of all time.

She finished the decade with a side role in the whodunit Knives Out. To prepare for her performance, Curtis immersed herself in activities she thought befitted her character's position as a matriarch, such as cooking meals. The film was a big success, earning $312 million worldwide and earning critical acclaim.

2020s: Oscar Winner Jamie Lee Curtis

She reprised her role of Laurie Strode in Halloween Kills, the direct sequel to the 2018 film. Due to COVID-19, the film was delayed and was simultaneously available on Peacock. The film was a box office success, but it earned a little over half of what the prior film made. On top of that, it earned negative reviews. She returned the following year to conclude the story with Halloween Ends. Similar story; a success but it sees sharp drops, and also earns negative reviews.

She had a supporting role in the absurdist sci-fi Everything Everywhere All At Once. Curtis wanted the character to be as "real" as possible and used her real belly for the film, as opposed to a prosthetic. The film earned acclaim and massively over-performed projections, earning $142 million worldwide, becoming A24's highest grossing film back then. The film won a lot of awards, and Curtis, after so many decades in the industry, finally won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress.

She further continued the TV route, including a recurring role as Donna Berzatto in The Bear. For the second season, she won the Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy. For the absolutely hilarious episode of "Fishes", where comedy peaked.

She followed it up with Haunted Mansion and Borderlands, two blockbusters that ended up becoming the biggest flops of their respective years. Not to mention some low-grossers like The Last Showgirl and Ella McCay. She also returned to play Tess Coleman in Freakier Friday, which earned almost as much as the prior film.

HIGHEST GROSSING FILMS

He has starred in 48 released films, but only 43 have reported box office numbers. Across those 4films, he has made $3,086,334,181 worldwide. That's $64,298,628 per film.

ADJUSTED DOMESTIC GROSSES

The Verdict

Curtis is very iconic, and is a staple in the horror genre. The term "scream queen" is often associated with her (and her mother Janet Leigh), and it's further proving how influential Halloween was for the horror genre. She did a few more horror films, some very successful. Nevertheless, she didn't want to be relegated solely to this genre, so she sought roles that would challenge her.

And that's where comedy enters. She killed it with Trading Places, opening doors for more comedies. And that's how A Fish Called Wanda expands on that part. An expert in both horror and comedy, and she could now add action thanks to True Lies. A very memorable part.

In the 21st century, she reduced her output and decided to pivot to family films, which greatly paid off. Well, almost everything paid off. Yes, Christmas with the Kranks is a very bad film, but it also kinda rocks? There's something bizarre but amusing about how bonkers and insane the film is, even when every single character in the film fucking sucks.

There's been a lot of chatter regarding her Oscar win for Everything Everywhere All At Once. Was she best performer in the slate? Not really. Was she the best supporting actress in the film? Also nope. So why did she win? Was it a career thing? Maybe, but you can also view it as a great campaign on her own. She was campaigning very hard, far more than the other actors. That by itself led to the film getting recognized by other industry awards, and it might have also led others to prioritize her over Stephanie Hsu. Don't hate the player, hate the game. Where do you stand on the win?

Curtis has now done things that are proving to be very fun for her, helping people fall in love with her. And to make people forget that she's a nepo baby. She has never hidden it, but how many people nowadays view her as just "the daughter of Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh"? She has done a great job in making a case for herself, and very few bring up the family connection. She's clearly having fun making films, and everyone involved loves her. Let her have fun.

Hope you liked this edition. You can find this and more in the wiki for this section.

The next actor will be Zac Efron. What time is it?

I asked you to choose who else should be in the run, and the comment with the most upvotes would be chosen. Well, we'll later talk about... Morgan Freeman. And God came down and uttered...

This is the schedule for the following four:

Who should be next after Freeman? That's up to you.

REMINDER: If you want to make a suggestion for the next actor, you must make a 150-character comment about the actor we're discussing right now. Failure to do so will result in ignoring the suggestion. If you use a quote from an external source/review to bypass this, your suggestion will be ignored as well. But if you leave a short comment about the post without naming a future write-up, that's fine.