Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas

Play trailer

1:25

Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas

PG

1993

1h 15m

Kids & Family

Holiday

Fantasy

Comedy

Animation

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

95%

Tomatometer

104 Reviews

92%

Popcornmeter

250,000+ Ratings

The film follows the misadventures of Jack Skellington, Halloweentown's beloved pumpkin king, who has become bored with the same annual routine of frightening people in the "real world." When Jack accidentally stumbles on Christmastown, all bright colors and warm spirits, he gets a new lease on life -- he plots to bring Christmas under his control by kidnapping Santa Claus and taking over the role. But Jack soon discovers even the best-laid plans of mice and skeleton men can go seriously awry.

Watch on Fandango

Stream Now

Critics Consensus

The Nightmare Before Christmas is a stunningly original and visually delightful work of stop-motion animation.

Read Critics Reviews

Chris Stuckmann

ChrisStuckmann.com

Apr 13, 2018

A

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.

Go to Full Review

Kenneth Turan

Los Angeles Times

Dec 3, 2013

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.

Go to Full Review

Anthony Lane

The New Yorker

Dec 3, 2013

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.

Go to Full Review

Charlotte Simmons

The Treatment (Substack)

Nov 24, 2025

The Nightmare Before Christmas is a robustly metamodernist examination of the intersections between Christianity, paganism, scientific thought, and mythopoeic thought (and what that all means for the human condition)

Go to Full Review

Kristy Strouse

Wonderfully Weird and Horrifying

Nov 14, 2023

The Nightmare Before Christmas is unique and timeless, a magical adventure that’ll delight the senses and steal your heart.

Go to Full Review

Lauren Veneziani

DC Film Girl

Oct 30, 2023

5/5

One of the best films of all-time, the gorgeous stop-motion animation and story of Jack Skellington longing for something more leaves us breathless, happy and fulfilled.

Go to Full Review

Read all reviews

calvin

23 hrs ago

Happy Halloweenmas

See more

Alexandra T

1 day ago

Loved watching it on a big screen. One of my all time favorite movies!

See more

Melanie A

3 days ago

This movie Will continue to be one of the best Disney movies.

See more

Pinky B

4 days ago

I love the movie and Tim Burton and Disney.

See more

Jacob Villa

5 days ago

3D was worth it!!! Not expensive either.

See more

Dan

Oct 20, 2026

The Nightmare Before Christmas is still an amazing stop motion animated film worth seeing in the big screen along with the music with very good 3D effects.

See more

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

POST RATING

Henry Selick

Director

Danny Elfman

Jack Skellington

Chris Sarandon

Jack

Catherine O'Hara

Sally

William Hickey

Evil Scientist

Glenn Shadix

Mayor

Ernest Saves Christmas

40%

44%

Ernest Saves Christmas

Watchlist

Hocus Pocus

42%

72%

Hocus Pocus

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Hocus Pocus

Ernest Scared Stupid

27%

52%

Ernest Scared Stupid

Watchlist

3 Ninjas

36%

53%

3 Ninjas

Watchlist

Christmas Carol: The Movie

13%

48%

Christmas Carol: The Movie

Watchlist

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

Weekend Box Office Results: Taylor Swift Continues Her Reign

The 10 Scariest Animated Children’s Movies

Halloween TV 2019: Scary Streaming and Television Series, Episodes, Specials, Movies, and Marathons

Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas: Trailer 1

1:25

Now Playing

View more videos

View more photos

Synopsis

The film follows the misadventures of Jack Skellington, Halloweentown's beloved pumpkin king, who has become bored with the same annual routine of frightening people in the "real world." When Jack accidentally stumbles on Christmastown, all bright colors and warm spirits, he gets a new lease on life -- he plots to bring Christmas under his control by kidnapping Santa Claus and taking over the role. But Jack soon discovers even the best-laid plans of mice and skeleton men can go seriously awry.

Director: Henry Selick
Producer: Tim Burton, Denise Di Novi, Kathleen Gavin
Screenwriter: Michael McDowell, Caroline Thompson
Distributor: Touchstone Pictures
Production Co: Touchstone Pictures, Skellington Productions
Rating: PG (Some Scary Images)
Genre: Kids & Family, Holiday, Fantasy, Comedy, Animation
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 29, 1993, Wide
Rerelease Date (Theaters): Oct 22, 2025
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 1, 2014
Box Office (Gross USA): $6.1M
Runtime: 1h 15m
Sound Mix: Dolby Stereo, Dolby Digital, Surround, Dolby SR
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

Join The Newsletter

Join The Newsletter

Cookie Settings