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24 October · 62 days to ChristmasThe advent calendar opens 1 December →
A cruise brochure and sun-lotion bottle sit on snowy steps of a pale blue house without festive decorations. Nearby homes glow with lights, and a ham rests inside the kitchen.

Essential Christmas · 2004

Christmas with the Kranks

81/100Festive FactorWhy it scores 81 ↓
UK certificate Parental Guidance99 min
Comedy · Family

A film about skipping Christmas that cannot wait to get back to it, and that is both the charm and the…

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Plan this film night ↓Can the kids watch? ↓
Explore this film 13 sections

The CineClaus Christmas score

Festive Factor

Christmas, right to its heart.

Two paper elves examine a model street with a bare blue house between glowing decorated neighbours. A tiny brochure and bottle sit on its porch, with a ham in its window.

A little magic in the making.

Five ingredients make the Festive Factor.
Open an ingredient to find out more.

Christmas in the storyIt can't exist without Christmas.30/30

What we ask: Take Christmas out. Does the plot survive? Worth up to 30 of the 100 points.

A world dressed for ChristmasVisibly Christmas for most of it.15/20

What we ask: How much of the running time is visibly Christmas? Worth up to 20 of the 100 points.

The little seasonal details5 of the 10 kinds of Christmas icon we count turn up on screen.8/15

What we ask: How many kinds of Christmas icon turn up on screen: trees, lights, snow, carols and the rest? Worth up to 15 of the 100 points.

A Christmas heartHow far the ending rests on goodwill, family and belief: entirely.20/20

What we ask: Does the ending depend on what Christmas means: goodwill, family, redemption, belief? Worth up to 20 of the 100 points.

A returning traditionA big December film (80,000+).8/15

What we ask: Is it actually watched at Christmas in the UK? Worth up to 15 of the 100 points.

77/100

Cosiness Rating Rating

Mostly warm in tone. Mild threat. A happy ending.

How we score →
What do these scores mean?

Festive Factor measures how Christmassy a film is. Five ingredients add up to 100: story (30), setting (20), seasonal details (15), emotional heart (20) and returning tradition (15).

Cosiness is a separate score for warmth of tone, sense of safety, visual comfort, a reassuring ending and how easily you can settle into it.

How the Festive Factor works →
Your next film night

Where to watch

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Streaming changes constantly and we cannot promise it is still right - check the service before you settle in. Streaming availability information provided by Streaming Availability API by Movie of the Night (opens in a new tab). Sky and Rakuten TV data by JustWatch.

The story

About Christmas with the Kranks

With their grown-up daughter volunteering abroad for the year, a suburban couple decide to skip Christmas entirely and spend the money on a winter cruise. Their neighbours take the street's shared festive display very seriously and turn on them. Then, on Christmas Eve morning, their daughter rings to say she is coming home after all and expects the usual celebration, and the couple have to scramble.

The CineClaus verdict

A film about skipping Christmas that cannot wait to get back to it, and that is both the charm and the problem.

The premise is sound: a couple fancy a cruise instead, and their street treats it as treason. Allen and Curtis commit hard once the daughter rings on Christmas Eve and the scramble starts.

But the neighbours are bullies for most of the running time, and the film asks us to find that warm. It is at its best when everyone is panic-buying a ham.

The family desk

Can the kids watch?

PG

Our take: rated PG. Slapstick pratfalls and a street full of neighbours behaving badly, but no real threat. Fine for most sevens and up.

BBFC advice: Contains mild language and comic violence.

Content advice & accessibility
Where the advice comes from
The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC).
Our age guidance
Editorial, separate from the official PG certificate, and never looser than it.

Other versions of this story

Other versions of Christmas with the Kranks

One story · 2 screen versions

  • 2001

    Another version

    Skipping Christmas

    2001

    Adapted from the 2001 novel by John Grisham.

    Not in our catalogue yet
  • 2004

    You’re here

    Christmas with the Kranks

    2004

    You’re on this film’s page
The people behind the film

Cast and crew

The faces in front of the camera, and the people who brought the story to life.

Main cast

In billing order
Close colour photograph of a smiling woman with short silver hair and thin metal-framed glasses, wearing a floral blouse, in front of a dark festival backdrop.Jamie Lee Curtisas Nora Krank
Close colour photograph of a smiling man with dark swept hair, wearing a black shirt and a black leather jacket against a warm orange background.Dan Aykroydas Vic Frohmeyer
A smiling elderly man with tufts of grey hair, in a navy cardigan and a yellow striped shirt, in front of a festival backdrop.M. Emmet Walshas Walt Scheel
Elizabeth Franzas Bev Scheel
Erik Per Sullivanas Spike Frohmeyer
An older man in a red knitted beanie and a denim jacket, looking off to one side under purple lighting.Cheech Marinas Officer Salino
A blond man in a cream and maroon ringer T-shirt with a convention lanyard, speaking at a panel table beside a microphone.Jake Buseyas Officer Treen

Behind the camera

Directed by
Joe Roth
Original score
Man with short fair hair and light stubble speaking at a convention panel table, with a microphone and a water bottle in front of him.John Debney
Writing & production credits
Producers
Chris Columbus
Michael Barnathan
Photo credits

Portraits via Wikimedia Commons, each under its own licence, approved for this page by a person. Sources and full photographer credits:

Tim Allen · MingleMediaTVNetwork · Source image (opens in a new tab) · CC BY-SA 2.0 (opens in a new tab).

Jamie Lee Curtis · Gabriel Hutchinson · Source image (opens in a new tab) · CC BY-SA 4.0 (opens in a new tab).

Dan Aykroyd · Rnunezart · Source image (opens in a new tab) · CC BY-SA 4.0 (opens in a new tab).

M. Emmet Walsh · David Shankbone · Source image (opens in a new tab) · CC BY 3.0 (opens in a new tab).

Cheech Marin · Theizard · Source image (opens in a new tab) · CC BY-SA 4.0 (opens in a new tab).

Jake Busey · Gage Skidmore · Source image (opens in a new tab) · CC BY-SA 3.0 (opens in a new tab).

Joe Roth · SounderBruce · Source image (opens in a new tab) · CC BY-SA 4.0 (opens in a new tab).

John Debney · Floatjon · Source image (opens in a new tab) · CC BY-SA 3.0 (opens in a new tab).

Keep the Christmas feeling

Music & soundtrack

That tune you recognised. That score you loved. Take a little of the film into the rest of your Christmas.

Every track on the soundtrack album, in album order.

Behind the music. John Debney composed the score.

About this music list

These are the songs and soundtrack we hold for the film, not a complete cue sheet, and they give no scene timings. Album track lists and durations come from MusicBrainz. Spotify and Apple Music links open the matched recordings; links marked Search open a search on that service.

Wikidata composer ↗ (opens in a new tab) MusicBrainz ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Step into the story

Filming locations

The real places behind Christmas with the Kranks. Choose one to explore.

Find it on the mapDowney Studios, Downey, California

© OpenStreetMap contributors (opens in a new tab)

Open larger map ↗ (OpenStreetMap, opens in a new tab)

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Photographs of the real places

There’s more behind the film.
Explore the next place.

Photo credits & location sources

These are photographs of the places, not film stills. Dates vary; photographs do not show current conditions or guarantee access.

Downey Studios, Downey, California · I Am Not A Stalker (opens in a new tab)

Universal Studios Hollywood, Los Angeles, California · Patrick Pelletier · Source image (opens in a new tab) · CC BY-SA 3.0 (opens in a new tab) · I Am Not A Stalker (opens in a new tab)

Map pins mark the place, not a camera position or a route. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), including any pin positions read from OpenStreetMap.

A little more Christmas with the Kranks

Film facts &
behind the scenes

For the fans who stay after the credits.

Movie magic

A whole suburban street built from scratch

Producers could not find a suitable real neighbourhood near Chicago, so the street was built at a California studio. The build took about twelve weeks and roughly five million dollars for sixteen Midwest-style houses.

Read the story
On your next watchThe row of identical-looking houses: every front door is a set.

Source: I Am Not A Stalker ↗ (opens in a new tab)

On set

The set outlived the film, then was flattened

The street stayed standing after filming and was reused for other productions. When the studio closed in 2012 the set was demolished.

Read the story

Source: I Am Not A Stalker ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Movie magic

Shopping trips on the New York backlot

The town-centre shopping scenes were shot on the New York Street backlot at Universal Studios Hollywood, with shop fronts dressed for the film. Some of those facades were destroyed in a 2008 fire at the studio.

Read the story

Source: I Am Not A Stalker ↗ (opens in a new tab)

And at a glance

Releases and certificates
: In cinemas (US). US cinema release, the day before Thanksgiving.
Sources & a note on these facts

Each production story is linked to its source, in our own words. Ending details stay behind a spoiler reveal.

From page to screen

The book behind the film

The book

Skipping Christmas: Christmas with The Kranks

At Amazon.co.uk
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Gifts for film lovers · Christmas with the Kranks

Something for the Christmas with the Kranks fan

Little gifts for someone whose Christmas always includes Christmas with the Kranks.

As an Amazon Associate, Cine Claus earns from qualifying purchases. Buying through a link helps pay for the site - it never changes a score.

For the fan who watches it every Christmas.Sold by the linked retailer
Good to know

Questions about Christmas with the Kranks

Is Christmas with the Kranks a Christmas film?

Yes. We class it as an essential Christmas film: the whole story is about a couple trying to skip the holiday, and it comes to a head on Christmas Eve.

What age rating is Christmas with the Kranks?

PG. The BBFC advice reads: contains mild language and comic violence.

Who is in Christmas with the Kranks?

Tim Allen and Jamie Lee Curtis lead, with Dan Aykroyd, M. Emmet Walsh, Elizabeth Franz and Cheech Marin. Joe Roth directed from a script by Chris Columbus.

Where was Christmas with the Kranks filmed?

The street was a backlot set built at Downey Studios in California, and the shopping scenes used the New York Street backlot at Universal Studios Hollywood.

How long is Christmas with the Kranks?

About 99 minutes.

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Collections, stories & Christmas memories

Elsewhere on CineClaus

More places to find Christmas with the Kranks, and a few good reasons to keep exploring.

In this collection

Best family Christmas films

Christmas with the Kranks is in this collection

Explore the collection
Stay for another story.All collections · The Christmas Edit