A Christmas Story (1983)
89%RT Audience Score: 88%
Awards & Nominations: 3 wins & 11 nominations
Both warmly nostalgic and darkly humorous, A Christmas Story deserves its status as a holiday perennial.
A Christmas Story is a classic holiday movie that will make you laugh, cry, and feel all the warm and fuzzy feelings of the season. With its hilarious narration, slapstick humor, and heartwarming story of a family’s love for each other, it’s no wonder this movie has become a beloved tradition for so many. And who can forget the iconic leg lamp and the infamous tongue-stuck-to-the-flagpole scene? It’s a must-watch for anyone who wants to get into the holiday spirit and relive the magic of childhood Christmases.
Production Company(ies)
Red Box Films, Passion Pictures, Canfield Pictures,
Distributor
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
3159 W. 11th Street, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
MPAA / Certificate
PG
Year of Release
1983
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Mono
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:1h 33m
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Nov 18, 1983 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 4, 2008
Genre(s)
Holiday/Comedy
Keyword(s)
starring Peter Billingsley, Darren McGavin, Melinda Dillon, Ian Petrella, Scotty Schwartz, R D Robb, Zack Ward, directed by Bob Clark, written by Leigh Brown, Bob Clark, Jean Shepherd, produced by Bob Clark, René Dupont, holiday, comedy, PG, box office gross $20.7M, reviewed by Rita Kempley, Michael Wilmington, J R Jones, Nell Minow, James Berardinelli, Don Peretta, David Gonzalez, Matt Brunson, Rachel Wagner, Eve Tushnet, Dorothy Woodend, David Keyes, Peter Billingsley as Ralph ‘Ralphie’ Parker, Darren McGavin as Mr Parker, Melinda Dillon as Mrs Parker, Ian Petrella as Randy Parker, Scotty Schwartz as Flick, R D Robb as Schwartz
Worldwide gross: $20,791,649
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $63,621,566
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,228
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 6,938,012
US/Canada gross: $20,778,141
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $63,580,232
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 965
US/Canada opening weekend: $2,072,473
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $6,341,680
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,056
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $3,300,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $10,097,860
Production budget ranking: 1,665
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $5,437,698
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $48,086,008
ROI to date (est.): 310%
ROI ranking: 448
Darren McGavin – Mr. Parker
Melinda Dillon – Mrs. Parker
Ian Petrella – Randy Parker
Scotty Schwartz – Flick
R. D. Robb – Schwartz
Director(s)
Bob Clark
Writer(s)
Leigh Brown, Bob Clark, Jean Shepherd, Jean Shepherd
Producer(s)
Bob Clark, René Dupont
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
3 wins & 11 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (59) | Top Critics (10) | Fresh (53) | Rotten (6)
It’s a nostalgic comedy featuring a family of eccentrics who lovingly celebrate the holidays and life itself in Midwestern America in the 1940s.
November 30, 2015
Rita Kempley
Washington Post
TOP CRITIC
[A] richly remembered tale of Christmas past.
December 4, 2013 | Rating: 3.5/4
Michael Wilmington
Chicago Tribune
TOP CRITIC
Shepherd provides the voice-over of the grown hero narrating, and his prominence on the sound track forces Clark to focus on visual humor, resulting in some wild Our Gang-style slapstick.
December 5, 2012
J. R. Jones
Chicago Reader
TOP CRITIC
Wonderful antidote to saccharine holiday tales.
December 21, 2010 | Rating: 5/5
Nell Minow
Common Sense Media
TOP CRITIC
If you’re a fan of Christmas movies or films that use nostalgia as a driver, A Christmas Story cannot be missed. Then again, if you’re in either category, you have probably already seen it.
June 10, 2008 | Rating: 3.5/4
James Berardinelli
ReelViews
TOP CRITIC
Delightfully entertaining, with a wryly amusing narration to keep the adults in the audience smirking.
June 24, 2006
Don Peretta
Time Out
TOP CRITIC
For old timers like myself, the final scene of Ralphie sleeping with his Christmas prize will always hold true to me and brings back yearly memories of one of the easiest times of anyones life, their childhood.
February 14, 2022 | Rating: 4/4
David Gonzalez
Reel Talk Inc.
An uproarious adaptation of Jean Shepherd’s book In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash.
December 4, 2021 | Rating: 3.5/4
Matt Brunson
Film Frenzy
I think it is one of the best portrayals of childhood ever in the movies.
May 2, 2019 | Rating: A+
Rachel Wagner
rachelsreviews.net
Just a tour de force of holiday agony, outrageous and hilarious.
January 3, 2019
Eve Tushnet
Patheos
Kids and guns, you can’t go wrong with that combination. It adds up to a film that is sweet and sappy, yet still entertaining.
August 24, 2017
Dorothy Woodend
The Tyee (British Columbia)
It takes pause to recognize the collective good nature we owe to one another all year round, and pays that knowledge forward with charm and wistfulness.
December 30, 2013 | Rating: 4/4
David Keyes
Cinemaphile.org…
Plot
Christmas is approaching and 9 year-old Ralphie wants only one thing: a Red Ryder Range 200 Shot BB gun. When he mentions it at the dinner table, his mother’s immediate reaction is that he’ll shoot his eye out. He then decides on a perfect theme for his teacher but her reaction is like his. He fantasizes about what it would be like to be Red Ryder and catch the bad guys. When the big day arrives he gets lots of present under the tree including a lovely gift from his aunt that his mother just adores. But what about the BB gun?
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
There is no goofy or funny or odd comment about the film A Christmas Story on Fresh Kernels.
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