Victoria, a young white cat, is abandoned by her owner in the streets of London in the middle of the night. Witnessing this, a group of alley cats introduce themselves to her as the "Jellicles". Mr. Mistoffelees, Munkustrap, Cassandra, and Demeter take Victoria under their wing and show her the world of the Jellicles as they prepare for the Jellicle Ball, an annual ceremony where cats must compete to be chosen to go to the Heaviside Layer and be granted a new life.

Most of the Jellicle Ball competitors are introduced and sing about themselves: Jennyanydots, a domestic tabby who sleeps during the day and by night boosts the productivity of mice and roaches; the Rum Tum Tugger, an extravagant yet indecisive cat who riles up the others; Bustopher Jones, a bourgeois cat who boasts about his weight and shares food scraps from the garbage; Skimbleshanks, a tidy ginger cat who tap dances and supervises the operation of a train; and Gus, an aged theatrical cat who has played some of the biggest roles in history.

Victoria also happens to meet the mischievous twins, Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer, who enjoy causing trouble and messing with things in the house of their human family. They convince Victoria to join in the fun, but leave her tangled up in some necklaces when the family dog is alerted to their presence. Luckily, Mr. Mistoffelees comes to rescue Victoria, distracting the dog and escaping with her. They return to the group just in time for the arrival of the tribe's wise and beloved matriarch, Old Deuteronomy. The Jellicle Ball commences inside the abandoned Egyptian Theatre. Victoria dances a ballet solo in the moonlight but is distracted by Cassandra harassing Grizabella, a former glamour cat who was banished from the tribe for, among other things, her past allegiance with Macavity, a notorious criminal and con artist capable of teleportation. Victoria relates to Grizabella's feelings of abandonment. As Grizabella slinks away into the streets, Old Deuteronomy witnesses their quiet camaraderie and assures Victoria that she can become a Jellicle herself in time.

A seductive femme fatale named Bombalurina interrupts the ball, distracting the Jellicles present with a song and dance number praising Macavity and simultaneously incapacitating them with catnip. When Macavity arrives and demands to be made the Jellicle Choice, Old Deuteronomy deems him unworthy and is subsequently kidnapped and placed with most of the other contestants that he has kidnapped. As the Jellicles recuperate, distraught over their leader's disappearance, Victoria suggests that Mr. Mistoffelees use his powers to conjure Old Deuteronomy back. He tries several times, eventually making Old Deuteronomy reappear. The cats rejoice and praise Mr. Mistoffelees, and he and Victoria dance together. Meanwhile, a thwarted Macavity and Bombalurina teleport away from his victims, who begin to free themselves via Jennyanydots' costume change. Macavity leaves his lackey, Growltiger, to walk the plank defenseless against the emancipated cats.

Grizabella returns to the Egyptian Theatre. Victoria vouches for her and urges her to sing her true feelings. Grizabella sings a passionate ballad about her mistakes, her former glory, and her beauty, sentiments that touch the hearts of the Jellicles. Old Deuteronomy names Grizabella the Jellicle Choice and send…

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• Francesca Hayward as Victoria the White Cat
• Judi Dench as Old Deuteronomy
• Idris Elba as Macavity
• Jennifer Hudson as Grizabella
• Laurie Davidson as Mr. Mistoffelees
• Robbie Fairchild as Munkustrap
• Rebel Wilson as Jennyanydots
• James Corden as Bustopher Jones
• Jason Derulo as Rum Tum Tugger
• Ian McKellen as Gus the Theatre Cat
• Taylor Swift as Bombalurina
• Steven McRae as Skimbleshanks
• Danny Collins as Mungojerrie
• Naoimh Morgan as Rumpleteazer
• Ray Winstone as Growltiger
• Mette Towley as Cassandra
• Daniela Norman as Demeter
• Les Twins as Plato and Socrates
• Jaih Betote as Coricopat
• Jonadette Carpio as Jemima
• Bluey Robinson as Alonzo
• Freya Rowley as Jellylorum
• Ida Saki as Electra
• Zizi Strallen as Tantomile
• Eric Underwood as Admetus
• Cory English as Maître D'

The film premiered at Alice Tully Hall at the Lincoln Center in New York City on 16 December 2019 and was theatrically released in the United Kingdom and United States on 20 December 2019.
On 6 April 2019, Hudson performed "Memory" at the Las Vegas CinemaCon, along with a behind-the-scenes look with the film's cast and crew. On 17 July 2019, Universal released a behind-the-scenes featurette detailing the various aspects of production and featuring interviews with the cast and crew.

The first trailer was released on 18 July 2019, and received overwhelmingly negative reactions from viewers. Many viewers were unsettled by the mix of CGI and live-action used to portray the cats, and cited the effects as an example of the uncanny valley, with some comparing it unfavourably to the design of Sonic in the first trailer of the then-upcoming film Sonic the Hedgehog, which sparked similar criticism that ultimately resulted in the character being redesigned and the film being delayed. The studio spent about $115 million on global promotions and advertisements.
Cats was released online on 17 March 2020, and on Blu-ray and DVD on 7 April in the United States. The film was released on 29 April 2020 in Australia and on 1 June 2020 in the United Kingdom.
The film's original release contained numerous CGI errors and glitches, such as one scene in which Judi Dench's human hand, complete with her wedding ring, appears instead of Old Deuteronomy's cat paw. After poor reviews, Universal notified cinemas on opening day that an updated Digital Cinema Package with "some improved visual effects" would be available for download on 22 December, urging them to replace the current print as soon as possible. Studio executives and cinema owners said that the decision to release a modified version of a film already in wide release was "unheard of".