The Best Christmas Pageant Ever (film) explained

Director:Dallas Jenkins
Cinematography:C. Kim Miles
Editing:John Quinn
Studio:Kingdom Story Company
Lumenas Studios
Media Capital Technologies
Fletchet Entertainment
Distributor:Lionsgate
Runtime:95 minutes[1]
Country:United States
Language:English
Budget:$10 million
Gross:$32.3 million[2] [3]

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever is a 2024 American Christmas comedy-drama film directed by Dallas Jenkins, based on the 1972 novel by Barbara Robinson. Starring Judy Greer, Pete Holmes, Molly Belle Wright, and Lauren Graham, the plot centers around the Herdmans, a group of juvenile delinquent siblings who have inadvertently found themselves starring in their small town's Christmas pageant.

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever premiered at the Los Angeles Film Festival on November 2, 2024, and was released theatrically by Lionsgate on November 8, 2024. It received generally positive reviews from critics.

Premise

The Herdmans are six siblings who have a reputation for being the worst kids in the world. However, when they take over the local church pageant during the holidays, they just might teach a shocked community the true meaning of Christmas.[4]

Production

In November 2023, it was reported that an adaptation of the 1972 children's novel was in the works at Lionsgate, with Dallas Jenkins directing the film.[5] Principal photography began on December 6, 2023 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada and wrapped on January 27, 2024.[6] [7]

Release

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever premiered in Los Angeles on November 2, 2024, and was released in the United States on November 8, 2024.[8] It was previously scheduled for November 15, 2024 before moving forward a week earlier to avoid competition with another Christmas film, Red One.[9]

Reception

Box office

In the United States and Canada, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever was released alongside Heretic, Elevation, Weekend in Taipei, and the wide expansion of Anora, and was projected to gross $6–8 million from 3,020 theaters in its opening weekend, with some projections going as high as $10 million.[10] The film made $5 million on its first day, which included $2.3 million and $500,000 from Sunday and Thursday night previews, respectively, for a total preview gross of $2.8 million.[11] It went on to debut to $10.8 million, finishing in third behind holdover and Heretic.[12] The film made $5.3 million in its second weekend (a drop of 51.3%) and then $3.5 million in its third, finishing in third and sixth place, respectively.[13] [14]

Critical response

Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale, while those polled by PostTrak gave it an 88% overall positive score.[11]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: November 26, 2024. The Best Christmas Pageant Ever (PG) . November 28, 2024 . British Board of Film Classification.
  2. Web site: The Best Christmas Pageant Ever . Box Office Mojo . December 3, 2024.
  3. Web site: The Best Christmas Pageant Ever – Financial Information . The Numbers . December 3, 2024.
  4. Web site: Lionsgate & Kingdom Story Company Team With 'The Chosen' Creator Dallas Jenkins For 'The Best Christmas Pageant Ever', 2024 Theatrical Release Planned . . D'Alessandro . Anthony . November 10, 2023 . December 20, 2023 . November 26, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231126220208/https://deadline.com/2023/11/best-christmas-pageant-ever-movie-lionsgate-the-chosen-1235599443/ . live.
  5. Web site: Lionsgate & Kingdom Story Company Team With 'The Chosen' Creator Dallas Jenkins For 'The Best Christmas Pageant Ever', 2024 Theatrical Release Planned . . D'Alessandro . Anthony . November 10, 2023 . December 20, 2023 . November 26, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231126220208/https://deadline.com/2023/11/best-christmas-pageant-ever-movie-lionsgate-the-chosen-1235599443/ . live.
  6. Web site: What's Filming . January 28, 2024 . ACTRA Manitoba . https://web.archive.org/web/20240121201252/https://actramanitoba.ca/whats-filming/ . January 21, 2024 . live.
  7. Web site: Boyle . Gavin . Dallas Jenkins’ THE BEST CHRISTMAS PAGEANT EVER Begins Production . Movieguide The Family Guide to Movies & Entertainment . 5 September 2024 . 19 December 2023.
  8. Web site: D'Alessandro . Anthony . 2024-04-09 . 'The Crow' Flies To August, Halle Berry Pic 'Never Let Go' Sets Fall, 'Saw XI' To Slice 2025, 'Best Christmas Pageant Ever' Earlier – Lionsgate Release Date Changes . 2024-04-10 . Deadline . en-US.
  9. Web site: Dwayne Johnson & Chris Evans Seven Bucks Amazon MGM Movie 'Red One' To Jingle In Theaters Next Year . D'Alessandro . Anthony . . December 20, 2023 . December 20, 2023.
  10. Web site: Hugh Grant's 'Heretic' Could Scare Off 'Venom 3' This Weekend; Curtains Lift On 'The Best Christmas Pageant Ever' – Box Office Preview. November 8, 2024 . November 8, 2024 . Deadline Hollywood.
  11. Web site: ‘Venom: The Last Dance’ $18M+, ‘Christmas Pageant’ & ‘Heretic’ Remain In Dead Heat For No. 2 With $12M+ Apiece – Veterans Day Box Office . November 12, 2024 . November 12, 2024 . Deadline Hollywood.
  12. Web site: D'Alessandro . Anthony . November 10, 2024 . 'Venom: The Last Dance' $16M, 'Christmas Pageant' & 'Heretic' In Fierce Battle For No. 2 With $11M+ Apiece — Veterans Day Box Office . November 10, 2024 . Deadline . en-US.
  13. Web site: D'Alessandro . Anthony . November 17, 2024 . Dwayne Johnson & Chris Evans’ $200M+ Christmas Action Movie ‘Red One’ Opening To $34M: Is It A Bomb Or A Streamer’s Rounding Error? — Saturday AM Box Office . Deadline . en-US . November 17, 2024.
  14. Web site: ‘Wicked’ & ‘Gladiator II’ AKA ‘Glicked’ Fuel $205M Combined Weekend, Best Pre-Thanksgiving Frame In 11 Years — Sunday AM Box Office Update. November 24, 2024 . Anthony . D'Alessandro . Deadline Hollywood. November 24, 2024.

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