‘Regretting You’ movie: Mason Thames joins McKenna Grace in a big-screen take on Colleen Hoover’s mother-daughter drama

Regretting You is now playing in theaters, bringing one of Colleen Hoover’s most emotionally tangled novels to the big screen with a cast led by Allison Williams, McKenna Grace, Dave Franco, and Mason Thames. The adaptation arrives amid a wave of Hoover projects and aims squarely at fans of contemporary romance and tear-stained family sagas—only this time the story’s center of gravity is the volatile, tender bond between a mother and her teen daughter.

What ‘Regretting You’ is about

The film tracks Morgan Grant (Allison Williams), a young mom whose carefully planned life detonates after a sudden tragedy exposes a devastating secret. Her daughter Clara (McKenna Grace) is angry, grieving, and determined to write her own rules—especially once she falls for Miller (Mason Thames), a local dreamer with more grit than luck. Long-buried histories tangle with new love as Morgan reconnects with Jonah (Dave Franco), a friend tied to the family’s past, forcing everyone to decide which truths they can live with.

Running 116 minutes, the movie blends coming-of-age beats with adult second-chance romance, toggling between Clara’s messy firsts and Morgan’s reckoning with choices that won’t stay in the rearview.

The ‘Regretting You’ cast: heavy hitters across generations

• Allison Williams as Morgan Grant — a protective mother scrambling to rebuild trust after betrayal.

• McKenna Grace as Clara Grant — independent, impulsive, and suddenly negotiating grief and first love at once.

• Mason Thames as Miller Adams — Clara’s quietly determined love interest, chasing a future that seems just out of reach.

• Dave Franco as Jonah Sullivan — tethered to the family’s deepest wounds and an uneasy path forward.

• Scott Eastwood, Willa Fitzgerald, and Clancy Brown round out the pivotal roles that shape the Grants’ past and present.

Grace and Thames shoulder much of the film’s heartbeat; their scenes together favor earnest, small-scale moments—shared playlists, hallway whispers, and the kind of awkward sincerity that sells young love. Williams brings a steely, knotted resilience to Morgan, while Franco plays Jonah with watchful restraint.

Who made it and when it released

Directed by Josh Boone (from a screenplay by Susan McMartin), Regretting You was filmed primarily in Georgia earlier this year, then fast-tracked for a United States theatrical release on October 24, 2025 (following a European premiere in mid-October). The score is by Nathaniel Walcott, whose melodic, low-flame cues lean on pianos and strings to keep emotions front-and-center without drowning the quieter scenes.

Mason Thames’ moment

Fresh off breakout turns in genre and adventure projects, Mason Thames takes a different lane here—grounded romance. His Miller isn’t a swaggering lead; he’s careful, kind, and stubborn about his dreams, a choice that lets the film live at eye level with Clara. Off-screen, Thames has leaned into fan engagement during the rollout, helping the movie find a Gen Z audience that came for the book and stayed for the chemistry.

How the movie plays for Hoover readers

The adaptation holds to the novel’s twin-track structure—alternating perspectives and letting explosive revelations arrive without soapy slow-motion. Not every subplot survives the jump to two hours, but the core themes do: how secrets calcify inside families, how love can be both rescue and risk, and how forgiveness often starts long before anyone says the word. Readers will recognize several dialogue beats almost intact; newcomers won’t feel lost.

The theatrical push

The release strategy leans into in-theater experiences—fan screenings, cast Q&As, and social campaigns spotlighting first-love confessions and mother-daughter watch nights. Tie-ins and brand placements are visible, a calculated bet that the moviegoing ritual itself—friends, snacks, big emotions—can be part of the pitch for a title built on feelings rather than spectacle.

Early temperature: what’s landing

• Performances: Williams anchors the adult storyline with measured control; Grace balances vulnerability with bite; Thames brings a steady, unshowy warmth.

• Tone: Melodrama without mockery. The film respects teenage intensity and lets adult regret be complicated, not cruel.

• Craft: Sun-dappled cinematography, intimate framings, and a score that stays out of the actors’ way.

Some viewers may wish for a shaggier cut that lets the mother-daughter conflict breathe longer; others will appreciate the propulsive pacing that keeps the secrets from curdling.

Quick guide: ‘Regretting You’ (2025)

• Source: Novel by Colleen Hoover

• Director: Josh Boone

• Screenplay: Susan McMartin

• Cast highlights: Allison Williams, McKenna Grace, Mason Thames, Dave Franco, Scott Eastwood, Willa Fitzgerald, Clancy Brown

• Runtime / Rating: 116 minutes / (rating as posted by local listings)

• In U.S. theaters: October 24, 2025

• Why watch: A sincere mother-daughter drama with a tender young-love thread, positioned as the most theatrical Hoover adaptation to date.

If you’re curious about the Regretting You movie—or you’re here for Mason Thames—this is the adaptation that bets on close-up emotion, not plot pyrotechnics. It’s built to be felt in a crowded auditorium, where sniffles, side-glances, and shared gasps become part of the story.