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An empty paper office is strewn with cups and copier sheets beneath tinsel and falling snow, beside a melting star sculpture and punch bowl.

Christmas-adjacent · 2016

Office Christmas Party

47/100Festive FactorWhy it scores 47 ↓
UK certificate 15105 min
Comedy

Christmas here is a deadline rather than a feeling: save the branch before the holidays or everyone is out.

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Plan this film night ↓Can the kids watch? ↓
Explore this film 12 sections

The CineClaus Christmas score

Festive Factor

Christmas in good measure.

Two paper elves inspect a snowy office miniature with tinsel, a snow machine, punch bowl, blue star sculpture and overturned photocopier.

A little magic in the making.

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

Christmas in the storyChristmas is the deadline.15/30

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 details4 of the 10 kinds of Christmas icon we count turn up on screen.6/15

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: incidentally.5/20

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 December regular (25,000+).6/15

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

59/100

Cosiness Rating Rating

Mixed in tone. Moderate 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 Office Christmas Party

When the chief executive of a struggling tech firm threatens to shut down her brother's branch days before Christmas, he and his staff throw an enormous after-hours holiday party to win over a big prospective client. The night spirals from awkward office mixer into full-scale chaos, with the staff scrambling to salvage both the deal and their jobs.

The CineClaus verdict

Christmas here is a deadline rather than a feeling: save the branch before the holidays or everyone is out.

What follows is one very long night of set pieces, some properly funny and plenty just loud, while the plot waits in the corridor until it is needed. Jason Bateman plays his dependable straight man, Kate McKinnon steals every scene she wanders into, and T.J.

Miller and Jennifer Aniston commit fully to the mess. Shapeless and crude, but fitfully very funny. Best watched with a few colleagues in the week you finish for the break.

The family desk

Can the kids watch?

15

Our take: not one for the family sofa: it is a 15, with drug-fuelled comedy, frequent sex references and some nudity throughout the party.

Content advice & accessibility
Our age guidance
Editorial, separate from the official 15 certificate, and never looser than it.
Subtitles
Check your chosen service and edition for supported tracks.
A first look

Watch the trailer

Official trailer from Paramount Pictures.

A deserted paper office is strewn with cups and snow, with a faceted reindeer sculpture beside a punch bowl and a toppled photocopier.

Trailer

Office Christmas Party

Watch on YouTube (opens in a new tab)Nothing from YouTube loads until you press play.
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
Portrait photograph of a smiling man with wavy brown hair, a short beard and tortoiseshell glasses, wearing a tan linen overshirt, in front of a festival backdrop.Jason Batemanas Josh Parker
Portrait photograph of a smiling woman with long dark wavy hair, wearing a dark sleeveless top, with a microphone at the lower edge and a convention backdrop behind her.Olivia Munnas Tracey Hughes
Portrait photograph of a man with curly auburn hair and light stubble speaking into a microphone, wearing a dark jacket over a purple shirt at a convention panel.T. J. Milleras Clay Vanstone
Close portrait photograph of a smiling woman with long, wavy honey-blonde hair and blue eyes, taken indoors against a cream wall.Jennifer Anistonas Carol Vanstone
A woman with wavy blonde hair and red lipstick, in a black blazer over a white top, glancing to one side during an interview.Kate McKinnonas Mary
A man with short dark hair and a grey goatee in a brown striped shirt, looking to the side in front of bookshelves at a bookshop event.Courtney B. Vanceas Walter Davis
A smiling bald man with light stubble in a red and blue plaid shirt and an orange lanyard, seated behind a microphone at a convention panel.Rob Corddryas Jeremy

Behind the camera

Directed by
Josh GordonWill Speck
Original score
Theodore Shapiro
Writing & production credits
Writers
Laura Solon
Dan Mazer
Photo credits

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

Jason Bateman · Colleen Sturtevant · Source image (opens in a new tab) · CC BY-SA 4.0 (opens in a new tab).

Olivia Munn · Gage Skidmore · Source image (opens in a new tab) · CC BY 2.0 (opens in a new tab).

T. J. Miller · Gage Skidmore · Source image (opens in a new tab) · CC BY-SA 3.0 (opens in a new tab).

Jennifer Aniston · Andres Useche from Los Angeles, CA, U.S.A. · Source image (opens in a new tab) · CC BY-SA 2.0 (opens in a new tab).

Kate McKinnon · ColliderVideo · Source image (opens in a new tab) · CC BY 3.0 (opens in a new tab).

Courtney B. Vance · David Shankbone · Source image (opens in a new tab) · CC BY 2.5 (opens in a new tab).

Rob Corddry · Gage Skidmore · 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. Theodore Shapiro 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. Album covers are each release's own, from the Cover Art Archive, credited under the cover.

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

Step into the story

Filming locations

The real places behind Office Christmas Party. Choose one to explore.

Find it on the mapAtlanta, Georgia

© OpenStreetMap contributors (opens in a new tab)

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Photographs of the real places

There’s more behind the film.
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Photo credits & location sources

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

Atlanta, Georgia · Marc Merlin · Source image (opens in a new tab) · CC BY-SA 4.0 (opens in a new tab) · Atlanta Journal-Constitution (opens in a new tab)

Chicago, Illinois · Ken Lund from Reno, Nevada, USA · Source image (opens in a new tab) · CC BY-SA 2.0 (opens in a new tab) · Loop North News (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 Office Christmas Party

Film facts &
behind the scenes

For the fans who stay after the credits.

On set

Three hundred and fifty extras kept the party going

The directors say about 350 extras were on set for the whole shoot, partying for roughly twelve hours a day. The production also ran HR-style seminars on appropriate behaviour, which the filmmakers joked turned the set into an office of its own.

Read the story

Source: Screen Rant interview with the directors ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Movie magic

A big set built to be wrecked

One of the main sets was designed from the start so it could be destroyed for the all-out mayhem of the party. The wrecking was filmed in Atlanta, in a few extra days after the main cast had gone.

Read the story

Source: Reel Honest Reviews interview ↗ (opens in a new tab)

On set

The ride-share scene was written the day it was shot

The scene with the chatty driver was written on the day of filming. Fortune Feimster, in her first on-screen role, made up much of her material on the spot, and Kate McKinnon's stage performance was largely her own improvisation.

Read the story
On your next watchHow much of the dialogue in the car and on stage feels loose and unscripted.

Source: Reel Honest Reviews interview ↗ (opens in a new tab)

On set

Real snow fell twice on the Chicago shoot

The Chicago exterior shoot ran into late winter and spring, yet snow fell on two of the days, which the crew saw as a rare piece of luck. It shows in the first-act bridge-crossing sequence.

Read the story

Source: Reel Honest Reviews interview ↗ (opens in a new tab)

On set

The 3D-printed props kept disappearing

The art department had 3D-printed some of the film's cheekier props, and crew members kept taking them home as souvenirs. Replacements had to be made more than once. The directors say nothing was cut from the film for being too extreme.

Read the story

Source: Screen Rant interview with the directors ↗ (opens in a new tab)

And at a glance

The Christmas in it
Snow on screen. Real snow falls in the opening act during a bridge crossing in the city, and the party itself is an office Christmas do held on the company's last working evening before the holiday.
Releases and certificates
: In cinemas (US). Wide US cinema release. A UK cinema date was not confirmed by a source we can cite.
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.

Gifts for film lovers · Office Christmas Party

Something for the Office Christmas Party fan

Little gifts for someone whose Christmas always includes Office Christmas Party.

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 Office Christmas Party

Who directed Office Christmas Party?

Will Speck and Josh Gordon directed it. The screenplay is credited to Dan Mazer and Laura Solon, with Justin Malen also on the writing credit.

Who is in the cast of Office Christmas Party?

Jason Bateman, Olivia Munn, T. J. Miller and Jennifer Aniston lead the cast, with Kate McKinnon, Courtney B. Vance, Jillian Bell and Rob Corddry among the supporting players.

When did Office Christmas Party come out?

It reached US cinemas on 9 December 2016. We have not confirmed a UK cinema date from a source we can cite.

Is there a soundtrack album for Office Christmas Party?

Yes. An official soundtrack album from Interscope Records came out in 2016 and lists 23 tracks, including a Christmas standard and original party tracks.

Where was Office Christmas Party filmed?

Most of it was shot around Atlanta, which stood in for Chicago, with a smaller unit filming in Chicago itself in spring 2016.

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