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Ben Stiller’s comedy “Nutcrackers” has been acquired by Hulu and will stream exclusively on the service in the U.S. starting Nov. 29.

The streamer acquired the worldwide rights to the film, which is directed by David Gordon Green. Green’s lengthy credits as a director include the “Halloween” franchise, “Pineapple Express,” “The Exorcist: Believer,” “Vice Principals” and “The Righteous Gemstones.”

“‘Nutcrackers’ is a heartfelt comedy which follows strait-laced and work-obsessed Mike (Stiller) as he is suddenly thrust into being a caregiver for his rambunctious, orphaned nephews,” the film’s logline teases.

In addition to Stiller, the cast also includes Linda Cardellini, Edi Patterson (“The Righteous Gemstones”), Tim Heidecker (“Us”), and Toby Huss (“Dickinson”). Stiller’s nephews will be played by newcomers and real-life siblings Homer, Ulysses, Atlas and Arlo Janson. “Nutcrackers” was filmed on the Janson family farm in Ohio as well as at their dance studio. Green, a family friend of their mother,...

Exclusive: Nutcrackers opened the Toronto Film Festival and now is poised to become the first splashy acquisition deal on the ground since the festival began. Hulu is in final talks to pay eight figures for the family comedy directed by David Gordon Green and starring Ben Stiller, Linda Cardellini, Edi Patterson, Tim Heidecker and Toby Hussles. Producers are Rivulet’s Rob Paris and Mike Witherill, and Rough House’s Nate Meyer. Hulu will release it for Christmas.

The Leland Douglas-scripted comedy stars Stiller as a work-obsessed city slicker who is forced to move to rural Ohio to take care of his sister’s children after her sudden passing. To his astonishment, these blue-collar kids are skilled ballet dancers, and he finds an outlet for their endless energy. What begins as a short trip to find them foster care turns into a gradual realization that this is where he belongs.

Newcomers and real-life siblings Homer,...

“I’ve never worked with a hog before,” Ben Stiller says. “So when they started making crazy sounds, I’m like, ‘Wait a minute! Am I safe?’” At this, Stiller squeals and snorts like an irate pig, mimicking the scene-stealing sows from his new comedy “Nutcrackers.”

Stiller had to be ready for anything when it came to making the low-budget indie about a workaholic real estate developer who becomes a guardian to his unruly nephews after their parents die. That openness started with his co-stars, Homer, Ulysses, Arlo and Atlas Janson, four brothers who range in age from 5 to 13, who’d never been on a film set. Instead of a Hollywood soundstage, the movie was shot on their family’s Ohio farm, a rural homestead filled with chickens, goats and, yes, hogs. Clearly, Stiller wouldn’t be spending time relaxing in a trailer or enjoying other movie star perks.

“When I called Ben,...