The Nightmare Before Christmas(1993)

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

1h 16m

Release Date: Oct 23, 2009

95%
92%
B+
7.9

Jack Skellington, king of Halloween Town, discovers Christmas Town, but his attempts to bring Christmas to his home causes confusion.

Official Website

Release Details

Original Release | Oct 15, 1993 | Wide

2000 Re-release | Oct 27, 2000 | Limited

2006 3D Release | Oct 20, 2006 | Limited

2008 3D Release | Oct 19, 2007 | Moderate

2009 3D Release | Oct 24, 2008 | Limited

2009 3D Release | Oct 23, 2009 | Limited

2020 Re-release | Oct 16, 2020 | Wide

30th Anniversary Re-Release | Oct 20, 2023 | Wide

2024 Re-release | Oct 11, 2024 | Wide

2025 Re-Release | Oct 17, 2025 | Wide

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Box Office Results

All Releases (10)
Total US & Canada:
$94,707,435
Total International
$14,044,691
Total Worldwide:
$108,775,631

Total US & Canada:
$45,999,830
Total International
$30,826
Total Worldwide:
$46,030,656

Current Showtimes

orround

Thu Sep 3
Fri Sep 4
Sat Sep 5
Sun Sep 6
Mon Sep 7
Tue Sep 8
Wed Sep 9

Director & Top Cast

Henry Selick
Director

Danny Elfman
Jack Skellington - Singing Voice

Chris Sarandon
Jack Skellington

Catherine O’Hara
Sally

Technical Specifications

Sound Mix: Dolby Stereo,DTS

Other Details

Country of Origin: United States

Language: English

Summaries

Plot Summary

Pumpkin king Jack Skellington (speaking voice Chris Sarandon, singing Danny Elfman), an elegantly attenuated skeleton, has delivered another scary Halloween. But he receives the adulation of Halloweentown with no enthusiasm -- something is missing from Jack's life and he's tired of doing the same old Halloween thing year after year. The missing something might well be Sally (Catherine O'Hara), an animated rag doll who yearns for Jack, but he doesn't notice. (Sally was created by Halloweentown's evil scientist (William Hickey), who keeps her locked up except when she knocks him out by slipping deadly nightshade in his soup.)After pondering his ennui in a cemetery (disturbing Sally, who's replenishing her supply of deadly nightshade), Jack takes his ghostly dog Zero for a walk in the woods. They come upon a strange circle of trees, each with a door representing a holiday. Jack opens the Christmas door and they're sucked in, landing in Christmastown. Jack is curious about everything he sees there, but finds it all delightful and wants to be part of it.Back in Halloweentown Jack calls a town meeting, where he describes what he saw in Christmastown. His people don't seem very impressed, so to draw them in, he makes some elements of Christmas -- including "Sandy Claws" (Edward Ivory) -- sound scary. Then he announces that they're taking over Christmas and starts assigning jobs. The evil scientist must whip up some reindeer, Halloweentown's top trick-or-treaters are to kidnap Sandy Claws, and Sally's task is to make Jack a red Santa suit. She tries to tell him that co-opting Christmas is a terrible idea, but he's too wrapped up in his enthusiasm to listen.The three trick-or-treaters return triumphantly with the Easter Bunny; Jack sends them back and eventually they bring him Sandy Claws (who surprises Jack by having hands rather than claws). Jack directs the trick-or-treaters to take Sandy Claws away and make him comfortable, but they give him to Oogie Boogie (Ken Page) instead.Meanwhile, Sally has produced a red suit (without a hat, so Jack steals Sandy's) and the evil scientist's skeletal reindeer are hitched to a sleigh full of creepy toys. Sally tries to sabotage his Christmas Eve delivery by adding fog juice to the town well, and it almost works. But the spectral dog Zero, who happens to have a glowing nose, comes to the rescue. Sally deduces that only Sandy Claws will be able to help Jack now, and sneaks into Oogie Boogie's lair in an effort to free him.Jack sets off in his sleigh, but he doesn't really get Christmas -- his idea of a keen gift for a small child is a shrunken head or a toy duck with sharp teeth that chases its owner -- so he spreads terror and mayhem at every house he visits. He ends up being blown up out of the sky by the terrified populace. Realizing both his mistake and his desire to be the best pumpkin king he can be, he goes back to Halloweentown to find Sandy Claws and set Christmas right.He surprises Oogie Boogie, frees Sally and Sandy Claws, and unravels Oogie Boogie in a decisive final showdown. Santa Claus scolds Jack about trying to take over a holiday that isn't his, and then sets about magically saving Christmas. Jack and Sally return to town just as Santa Claus flies over and offers the Halloweentownsfolk a bit of Christmas magic: their first snowfall. Jack and Sally share a tender moment in the cemetery, realizing they were always meant to be together.

Storyline

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 -- but alas, they can't get it quite right. — Jon Reeves Jack Skellington is in a dark Halloween Town all of the time and wants something a little more cheery to balance his life experience. He stumbles upon Christmas town and this is just what the doctor ordered. He is so elated with his new feelings that he tries to share them with his Halloween Town citizens. But the atmosphere is not conducive to Jack's newfound sensibility. — Jason Columbia Tired of his crown, Jack Skellington, Halloween Town's beloved Pumpkin King and celebrity master of fright, would give it all up for something different. So, convinced there's more to life than spooky tricks and mischief, the gangly Bone Man wanders away from his perpetually grey and miserable home, only to stumble upon the vibrant Christmas Town. As a result, dazzled by the colourful community's festive euphoria, Jack embarks on a challenging mission to explain to his ghoulish compatriots what they've been missing out on life. Suddenly, Halloween is very passé. Now, Christmas is all the rage. But as the well-meaning Bone Daddy misunderstands the true meaning of Noel, horrible mistakes threaten to blemish the Pumpkin King's take on Christmas Eve. After all, no one has ever told Jack that nobody does it better than Santa. — Nick Riganas

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