Mckenna Grace Made Her First Romance Movie with Partner Mason Thames — And Then Watched It With Her Parents

Summary

• Mckenna Grace returns to Collider Ladies Night!
• During her latest Ladies Night conversation with Collider’s Perri Nemiroff, Grace goes into detail on her experience making Regretting You alongside Mason Thames.
• She also takes a moment to tease upcoming releases, The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping and Scream 7.

During her round of Dicey Questions on her second appearance on Collider Ladies Night, Mckenna Grace wound up selecting our “bucket list” category. When I asked for something that still remains on her acting bucket list, she actually veered towards awards shows. She said, “It’s always on my bucket list to attend different award shows.” A lovely answer, but one that included a shocking follow-up. She continued, “I just want to go to the Oscars so bad some day.”

Excuse me? Mckenna Grace has never been invited to attend the Oscars? Not only does Grace have a Critics Choice Award nomination and an Emmy nomination to her name, but she was also in the Academy Award-winning I, Tonya starring Margot Robbie. Perhaps those accolades don’t guarantee a seat at one of the biggest ceremonies in cinema, but they do suggest that that’s the path Grace is heading down, and she’s bound to be in that room one day.

And the run she’s in the midst of right now will likely help in that pursuit. Not only does Grace star in and executive produce Regretting You, which is currently playing in theaters nationwide, but she’s got quite a few biggies coming up. She’s in the highly anticipated Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, which hits screens on December 5, and then in 2026, she’s got two more major film franchises to celebrate. First it’ll be Scream 7, which opens on February 27, and then on November 20, it’s The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping.

In celebration of Regretting You’s big release, Grace returned to Collider Ladies Night to, yes, tease those upcoming releases, but also to go into detail on the experience of making Regretting You, which marked a major first for her. Regretting You is Grace’s very first romance film.

Mckenna Grace & Mason Thames Clicked the Moment They Started Working Together

“Since Mason and I are the same age, we feel like we’re kind of on the same playing field.”

While discussing how her craft has evolved over the years, Grace emphasized the value of always acting as a sponge on set.

“Because I’ve been a child actor so much of my career, I really do find I’ve mostly just been a sponge on all of these sets and just trying to learn from everybody around me. And even still, I feel like such a sponge, just wanting to soak up everything that everybody’s saying and everything that everybody’s doing on these sets.”

This sentiment doesn’t just apply to other actors. She pinpointed a specific director who totally changed her approach to the work.

“Somebody that I find really challenged my approach in acting and changed it, most definitely changed the way that I approach every scene and acting and character is Jason Reitman from Ghostbusters, our director and writer. He just had such a different approach to preparing for a scene and, coming onto set not having said your lines, or wanting to be the first person that hears your lines so that you can mold the scene exactly how he envisioned. It was so different than any way that I’d ever approached something. And I was also so young at the time, like 13, and so it totally flipped everything I thought I knew about acting on its head, and now my entire process is different for it.”

ghostbusters afterlife Finn Wolfhard and McKenna Grace Image via Sony

While it is wonderful to encounter another artist who challenges you to adapt and try new things for the better, so is crossing paths with someone you’re immediately in sync with. Grace found that in Mason Thames.

“Since Mason and I are the same age, we feel like we’re kind of on the same playing field. He is so talented and one of the most talented young actors I’ve gotten to work with. And just getting to watch him do his thing is always incredible. And it was so fun to get to watch him act in front of me. But that was definitely somebody that I was instantly like, ‘Okay. We’re in this together.’ Mason for sure on that front. We were so in sync on this. It was really, really special.”

Mckenna Grace Experienced Some Significant Acting Firsts While Making ‘Regretting You’

“My dad liked to walk around the screening room after, like, ‘They didn’t tell me they kissed in this movie!'”

While Grace and Thames clicked instantly, that doesn’t mean Regretting You was without challenges. The film marks Grace’s first foray into the romance genre. Based on the Colleen Hoover novel, the film stars Grace as Clara, a young woman trying to power through a significant loss alongside her mother, Morgan, played by Allison Williams. While confronting family secrets and attempting to rebuild, Clara starts a relationship with Thames’ character, Miller. While the spark between them is very real, Clara must put in the work to find herself post-tragedy so that she can build a positive relationship with Miller.

One particular thing in Regretting You that sparked some nerves? Grace explained:

“Running and jumping into Mason’s arms, that was so nerve-racking! I don’t know why. I was like, ‘What if he drops me?’ I’ve just never done something like that. That was so nerve-racking, and now I’ve done it, I’m like, I can do that any time.”

That wasn’t the only romance movie staple that had Grace a bit on edge. The film also includes a more intimate scene between the two characters — acting first for both Grace and Thames.

“There’s one scene in this movie between Mason and I that was kind of a first for me, and also for him, if you know what scene I’m talking about. So, that was a really big deal for me going into this, but then it was just kind of funny and like, this is silly and stupid and just fun. It was just so funny, but also very nerve-racking.”

Yet another filmmaking first for Grace? Watching her parents experience such a scene when seeing the finished film.

“I went to this screening with my mom and dad, and Mason is somebody who’s very near and dear in my life, and so sitting with my parents and watching us make out on screen for however long this movie was, was probably the funniest, and something that I’ve never experienced because I’ve never done a romance before. So that was particularly funny. And my dad liked to walk around the screening room after, like, ‘They didn’t tell me they kissed in this movie!’”

It’s an amusing experience for Grace, but it’s also one that truly does add even more variety to the wildly accomplished rising star’s resume, continuing to prove that the possibilities are endless for her.

Regretting You is now playing in theaters nationwide.

Regretting You Official Poster

Release Date

October 24, 2025

Director

Josh Boone

Writers

Susan McMartin, Josh Boone, Colleen Hoover

Producers

Brunson Green, Robert Kulzer