'Happiest Season' With Kristen Stewart And Mackenzie Davis Skipping Theaters And Going To Hulu

Another upcoming film has made the tough-but-understandable decision to forgo theaters and head to streaming. Happiest Season, a holiday rom-com from director Clea DuVall starring Kristen Stewart and Mackenzie Davis, is skipping its planned November 25 theatrical release and will instead arrive on streaming platform Hulu that same day.

Hulu has acquired the rights to Happiest Season and will stream the film starting on November 25. That was originally supposed to be the theatrical release date, but as the fate of movie theaters continues to be in doubt, the film will now skip a theatrical release entirely in the U.S. Deadline adds that Sony and eOne "retain distribution rights in Canada and the rest of the world" and that "overseas plans, which could include theatrical releases, will be finalized later."

In Happiest Season, "Meeting your girlfriend's family for the first time can be tough. Planning to propose at her family's annual Christmas dinner – until you realize that they don't even know she's gay – is even harder. When Abby (Kristen Stewart) learns that Harper (Mackenzie Davis) has kept their relationship a secret from her family, she begins to question the girlfriend she thought she knew. Happiest Season is a holiday romantic comedy that hilariously captures the range of emotions tied to wanting your family's acceptance, being true to yourself, and trying not to ruin Christmas."

In addition to Kristen Stewart and Mackenzie Davis, the film features Alison Brie, Aubrey Plaza, Dan Levy, Victor Garber, and Mary Steenburgen. Director Cea DuVall co-wrote the script with Mary Holland. I saw DuVall's feature directorial debut The Intervention, and enjoyed it for the most part. And I'm definitely looking forward to Happiest Season for the cast alone, which is pretty damn great across the board.

"It's such a human story, and it's humanity we're all confronted with right now. Seeing empathy and compassion modeled [on screen], I've been enjoying it. We all need that kind of embrace," DuVall told EW in a story published earlier this month.

"This holiday season — more than any other — we could all use a little happiness. It was essential to Sony Pictures and to the filmmakers that Clea's marvelous and fresh holiday-themed romantic comedy come out when the lights are on the trees," said Nicole Brown, President of TriStar Pictures. "We are excited that Hulu is geared up to make this happen in the U.S. and grateful that they love the movie as much as we do."