The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
92%RT Audience Score: 91%
Awards & Nominations: Nominated for 1 Oscar
6 wins & 17 nominations total
The Nightmare Before Christmas is a stunningly original and visually delightful work of stop-motion animation.
The Nightmare Before Christmas is a spooky and delightful holiday movie that will have you singing along to its catchy tunes. The stop-motion animation is a true work of art, with every scene constructed with care and attention to detail. It’s a perfect blend of humor and darkness, making it a great choice for both kids and adults. Plus, who doesn’t love a good musical number about Halloween and Christmas? It’s a classic that will continue to entertain for years to come.
Production Company(ies)
Distributor
Touchstone Pictures
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Skellington Productions – 375 7th Street, San Francisco, California, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Rated PG for some scary images
Year of Release
1993
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby
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Aspect ratio:NA
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Runtime:1h 15m
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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): Oct 29, 1993 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 3, 2000
Genre(s)
Holiday/Fantasy
Keyword(s)
starring Danny Elfman, Chris Sarandon, Catherine O’Hara, William Hickey, Glenn Shadix, Paul Reubens, directed by Henry Selick, written by Michael McDowell, Caroline Thompson, holiday, fantasy, comedy, box office gross, PG rating, reviewed by Chris Stuckmann, Kenneth Turan, Anthony Lane, Jay Boyar, John Hartl, Desmond Ryan, David Reddish, Brandon Collins, Tatiana Albandos, Justin Brown, Tim Burton, Denise Di Novi, Kathleen Gavin, Touchstone Pictures, Dolby Stereo, Dolby Digital, Surround, Dolby SR, Flat (1.85:1), Jack Skellington, Sally, Santa Claus, stop-motion animation, misadventures, Halloweentown, Christmastown, kidnapping, pumpkin king, evil scientist, mayor, lock, barrel, shock, some scary images, original language, English, runtime 1h 15m, distributor Touchstone Pictures
Worldwide gross: $91,221,845
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $189,491,050
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 728
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 20,664,237
US/Canada gross: $77,368,668
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $160,714,467
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 484
US/Canada opening weekend: $191,232
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $397,238
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,460
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $18,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $37,390,593
Production budget ranking: 1,005
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $20,134,834
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $131,965,623
ROI to date (est.): 229%
ROI ranking: 575
Chris Sarandon – Jack – Voice
Catherine O’Hara – Sally, Shock – Voice
William Hickey – Evil Scientist – Voice
Glenn Shadix – Mayor – Voice
Paul Reubens – Lock – Voice
Director(s)
Henry Selick
Writer(s)
Michael McDowell, Caroline Thompson
Producer(s)
Tim Burton, Denise Di Novi, Kathleen Gavin
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
Nominated for 1 Oscar
6 wins & 17 nominations total
Academy Awards
Oscar Nominees
All Critics (100) | Top Critics (30) | Fresh (95) | Rotten (5)
I’m blown away by just the construction of the scenes, and by all of the effects that have been incorporated to make everything move fluidly; and there’s also this charming imperfection to the animation that just makes it so gorgeous.
April 13, 2018 | Rating: A
Chris Stuckmann
ChrisStuckmann.com
TOP CRITIC
Part avant-garde art film, part amusing but morbid fairy tale, it is a delightfully ghoulish holiday musical that displays more inventiveness in its brief 75 minutes than some studios can manage in an entire year.
December 3, 2013
Kenneth Turan
Los Angeles Times
TOP CRITIC
This full-length animated movie was shot in stop motion, with all the febrile, twittery fascination that the medium exerts; it has a magic-toy shop feeling, with unexpected objects stuttering into life.
December 3, 2013
Anthony Lane
New Yorker
TOP CRITIC
Burton and his collaborators present a movie musical that’s like nothing you’ve ever seen.
December 3, 2013 | Rating: 4/5
Jay Boyar
Orlando Sentinel
TOP CRITIC
Visually a macabre knockout, this 75-minute fantasy boasts some of the wittiest, most vigorous stop-motion animation effects in the history of the process.
December 3, 2013 | Rating: 3/4
John Hartl
Seattle Times
TOP CRITIC
Burton, the man who gave us Batman, Beetlejuice and Edward Scissorhands, is incapable of a conventional idea. His take on the holiday fairy tale is delightfully off the wall.
December 3, 2013
Desmond Ryan
Philadelphia Inquirer
TOP CRITIC
Films dont get more imaginative or original than this. The Nightmare Before Christmas is not just a good movieits everything we go to the movies for in the first place.
March 20, 2022 | Rating: 4/4
David Reddish
Queerty
This is a timeless classic that still entertains. I love this film.
October 22, 2021 | Rating: 5/5
Brandon Collins
Medium Popcorn
This in an incredible film. One of my favorite films without question.
October 22, 2021 | Rating: 5/5
Tatiana Albandos
Medium Popcorn
This was fun, the music is great and the animation is fascinating given all of the work that goes into it.
October 22, 2021 | Rating: 4/5
Justin Brown
Medium Popcorn
The Nightmare Before Christmas is one of those rare holiday films that seems to transcend generations…
April 14, 2021
Jim Rohner
Battleship Pretension
On a visual level, the movie qualifies as poetry in stop-motion.
January 24, 2021 | Rating: 3.5/4
Matt Brunson
Film Frenzy…
Plot
Jack Skellington, the pumpkin king of Halloween Town, is bored with doing the same thing every year for Halloween. One day he stumbles into Christmas Town, and is so taken with the idea of Christmas that he tries to get the resident bats, ghouls, and goblins of Halloween Town to help him put on Christmas instead of Halloween
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
There is no goofy or funny or odd comment about the film on Fresh Kernels.
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