Julianne Moore takes community theater very, very seriously in the new trailer for The Debut, Jesse Eisenberg's follow-up to A Real Pain. A24 unveiled the trailer Tuesday ahead of the film's December release, The Playlist reported.
Moore plays Mona Friedman, a shy New Jersey housewife with no acting experience who lands a small part in a local musical. The role becomes an escape from a neglected home life, then an obsession. Determined to protect the artistic integrity of her part, Mona commits to method acting with alarming intensity, which sets her on a collision course with the production's domineering director, Jerry, played by Paul Giamatti.
Release date and cast
The Debut opens in limited release in U.S. theaters Dec. 11, 2026, before expanding nationwide on Christmas Day. Lionsgate releases it in the U.K. on Jan. 15, 2027.
Eisenberg wrote and directed the film and also appears in it. A24 bills Moore, Giamatti, Halle Bailey and Eisenberg as its principal cast. Emma Stone, Dave McCary, Ali Herting and Eisenberg serve as producers.
Bailey's billing puts her at the top of an Eisenberg ensemble alongside Moore and Giamatti in a film already drawing festival attention.
The comedy has been building momentum on the circuit, including a slot as the opening film of the Marrakech International Film Festival, which Cup of Soul reported when the lineup was announced. Cup of Soul also covered the film's cast, including Bailey's role alongside Moore and Giamatti.
With a mid-December limited bow and a Christmas expansion, A24 is positioning The Debut squarely in the holiday moviegoing window.
