Two of the big three Film releases on Christmas Day It doesn't offer much in the way of family-friendly holiday viewing.
“Babygirl” starring Nicole Kidman is a sexy thriller that features Kidman involved in an affair with an intern at her company.
Kidman described the film, which also starred Antonio Banderas and Harris Dickinson as her husband and affair partner, respectively, as “about sex, about desire, about your inner thoughts, about secrets, about marriage, about truth. Power and consent” while in Venice Film Festival 2024.
“This is one woman's story, and I hope it's a very liberating story,” the Oscar winner said. For every variety.
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Nicole Kidman stars in Babygirl, releasing Christmas Day, a film she describes as “liberating.” (A24)
“Nosferatu,” on the other hand, is a dark, horror-filled retelling of the original 1922 silent film based on the story of “Dracula,” with early reviews also describing it as “thrilling” and “seductively macabre.” According to IndieWire.
One of the film's stars, Lily-Rose Depp, admitted the film isn't your typical Christmas story, but joked: “Who doesn't love a good Christmas scare?” In an interview with Entertainment Weekly.
“There are two eggs for Christmas and Easter, so I feel like if you watch it at Christmas, it will feel in harmony, and it will feel like it's the same time you're in,” she continued. “And you know, there's snow! It gets very cold. Who doesn't like to think about death and the world of the dead on Christmas Day?”
There's also a larger strategy behind the decision to release these two films on the biggest holiday of the year.
Lily-Rose Depp joked that the new horror movie “Nosferatu” is a Christmas movie because “you know, there's snow!” (Courtesy of Focus Features/ © 2024 Focus Features LLC)
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“Actually, it has nothing to do with the holiday season,” Travis Knox, an assistant professor at Chapman University, told Fox News Digital. “It's awards season. All those movies you're talking about are being talked about for potential Oscar nominations.”
“In order to qualify for the Academy, you have to be in the theater for seven days,” Knox explained. “So, you look at December 25th and it opens (then), that gives you seven days. The movie ultimately, and maybe not being shown on a large number of screens, makes them all eligible.” For an Oscar.
Both Babygirl and Nosferatu are getting buzz this awards season, and will be Oscar-eligible after their Christmas release dates. (A24/© 2024 Focus Features LLC)
“A lot of them, what they're looking for is to keep them on a limited number of screens into the new year. See what happens with awards season and then go. If you start winning, you leverage that to expand into more and more theaters and that's really what they're playing for.”
The third major release on Christmas Day is the Bob Dylan biopic, “A Complete Unknown,” starring Timothy Chalamet, Which certainly has a broader appeal, in part due to its star, who, Knox noted, is “everyone's No. 1 favorite in their late teens and early 20s” and is likely to appeal to an audience.
Timothée Chalamet stars as Bob Dylan in “A Complete Unknown,” which will be released on Christmas Day. (Image courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. © 2024 Searchlight Pictures)
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The “villain” also makes his first appearance The option of singing it on Christmas Day, giving people the opportunity to warm their hearts with box office success.
“A lot of people want to go and sing, and so far, it's been like, 'Please don't sing while we watch the movie,'” Lara Rosales, a senior writer at Tell-Tale TV, told Fox News Digital. 'But this gives a range of people the opportunity to do it, especially those who have kids and want to do something that day and maybe they've already seen the movie and the kids are as obsessed with that soundtrack as a lot of people, so it's good that they can watch it as well.'
“It actually (has nothing to do with) the holiday season. It's awards season.”
As for new movies associated more specifically with the Christmas season, many of them now reside on streaming and cable services, such as Hallmark, Lifetime, and Netflix.
Rosales speculates that the COVID-19 pandemic led to a shift in what was available in theaters versus what was available at home.
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“People were using these platforms more because even when the cinema reopened, many people were afraid of going to the cinema and being in an enclosed space with many other people so much that they chose streaming services and this type of film became more popular and accessible,” she said. “Easier for people.”
“You don't have to pay for a ticket for each family member,” Rosales continued. “You have a streaming subscription and that's enough for everyone to watch. So I feel like it's become more accessible and more like a family-friendly place.” “Kind of an environment for people to just watch it, too. If you have young kids, you don't have to worry about going to the movies and maybe your kids disturbing everyone else. When it's a Christmas movie, you can just relax and enjoy it with them at home.”
“Wicked” will perform in concert starting on Christmas Day. (Universal Pictures)
Knox noted that plus films like “Wicked,” “Moana 2” and “Mufasa: The Lion King” are already in theaters, so “it's not like there's not family viewing. It's actually a really busy season for movies.” “The big one.” Family studio fare It may also put some people off about trying to release a brand new holiday movie, not based on a piece of intellectual property, at this time of year.
Amazon MGM released an original Christmas movie in theaters in November, the action-comedy “Red One.” Starring Dwayne Johnson And Chris Evans. The film, which had a budget of $250 million, opened to just $32 million in the US to mediocre reviews (the film currently has a 30% critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes).
“Red One,” starring Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans, was released in early November and arrived on streaming services earlier this month. (Karen Neal/Prime)
Last week, when “Red One” arrived on Prime Video, the company announced that it was the most-watched debut film ever on the streaming platform, attracting 50 million viewers worldwide.
“Whether people like it or not, the value of these films varies relative to our business model. If we can show these films in theaters and cover the P&L costs (printing and advertising), why wouldn't we? We're getting a huge marketing campaign that's paid for.” Before the film opens,” Kevin Wilson, head of theatrical distribution for Amazon MGM He told Variety.
“When it comes to a Christmas movie, you can just relax and enjoy them at home.”
Knox finds the claim “questionable” about the film's financial success.
“Beyond paper accounts, they've now lost more than a quarter of a billion dollars before it even goes on the air. And they say 50 million viewers in the first weekend… that's a win. (With) that much money, did you really get Enough new subscribers? It's Amazon, they're already signed up for Prime. I feel like that was a huge mistake, and it was irresponsible to spend that much money on this movie.”
“Red One” was a theatrical flop, but according to Amazon, with 50 million viewers, it is the most watched debut film on Prime Video. (Frank Massey/Prime)
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Rosales feels that the film might have been a greater theatrical success if it had premiered closer to the actual holiday.
“It's likely that a lot of people will be watching this movie, especially now that it's out on the streaming platform, and they'll probably be watching it closer to Christmas and with their family, and maybe that's why it didn't do well in the box office,” she said, “and it may do better.” Now in terms of streaming services.’ “And I think for any Christmas movie to be successful, it has to be close to Christmas Day just to give people some sort of Christmas mood and get into the holiday spirit and the countdown to Christmas and all that stuff.”
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The release of fewer family-friendly or holiday-themed movies on Christmas Day isn't an entirely new phenomenon.
per Box Office Mojo“Sherlock Holmes,” “Django Unchained,” “Les Misérables,” “Unbroken” and “Into the Woods” are currently the top five films released on Christmas Day.
Robert Downey Jr. starred in “Sherlock Holmes,” which topped the list in ticket sales for a movie released on Christmas Day. (Steve Granitz/Film Magic)
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Knox explained these five “I would say they're all really strong films. And yes, it's a Christmas Day release. But again, it's more about the awards.”
“There are a lot of families who will go see a Quentin Tarantino movie (like Django Unchained), Sherlock Holmes, and Les Mis.” “They have built a fan base, so it makes perfect sense to open the doors on Christmas Day.”
As Rosales notes, going to the movies on Christmas Day with family or with friends is a popular activity, so a variety of options are important.
Kidman described “Babygirl” as “it's about sex, it's about desire, it's about your inner thoughts, it's about secrets, it's about marriage, it's about truth, power, and consent.” (A24)
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“They're different genres, different kinds of stories, and they all appeal to people because they're different. If we were going to start premiering Christmas movies like we're doing now in November, by Christmas Day, we would definitely do that,” she said. “I want to watch something different.” “And that's what these movies offer.”
