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A crumpled gold paper ticket, karaoke microphone and steaming cup sit on a bar counter beneath fairy lights, with a city Christmas tree through the window.

Christmas-adjacent · 2015

The Night Before

54/100Festive FactorWhy it scores 54 ↓
UK certificate 15101 min
Comedy

A stoner comedy that happens to fall on Christmas Eve, and it turns out fonder of the season than its…

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Plan this film night ↓Can the kids watch? ↓
Explore this film 10 sections

The CineClaus Christmas score

Festive Factor

Christmas in good measure.

Two paper elves inspect an open-front miniature bar with a gold ticket, microphone and cup on its counter, and a lit city Christmas tree in the window.

A little magic in the making.

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

Christmas in the storyChristmas drives it, but another occasion could stand in.20/30

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: partly.10/20

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 traditionNiche at Christmas (under 25,000).3/15

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

72/100

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

United KingdomChecked

Apple TV

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Sky Store

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The Night Before · Rental and purchase cost extra, separately from membership.

Christmas on telly? Channel 5 showed it at 11pm on Christmas Eve 2018 (one source); no more recent UK free-to-air slot found. No broadcast date is confirmed here; a past tradition isn’t tonight’s TV listing.

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

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 The Night Before

Three lifelong friends have spent every Christmas Eve together for years, ever since one of them lost his parents, but with one about to become a father and another newly famous, this year's reunion looks like the last. Armed with tickets to a legendary invitation-only Christmas party they have chased for a decade, they spend one long night careering around the city, fuelled by drugs and old grudges, and have to work out what their friendship looks like once they grow up.

The CineClaus verdict

A stoner comedy that happens to fall on Christmas Eve, and it turns out fonder of the season than its opening hour suggests. Gordon-Levitt, Rogen and Mackie are easy company as three old friends facing the end of a yearly ritual, and Rogen's drug-addled unravelling earns the biggest laughs.

The gags are scattershot and the middle sags. Still, the Run-DMC karaoke turn is a proper festive moment and the ending lands with real affection. Best for fans of Rogen's cruder work who want one with tinsel on.

The family desk

Can the kids watch?

15

Our take: rated 15 for very strong language, drug use, strong nudity and sex references, so keep it well away from the children.

Content advice & accessibility
Our age guidance
Editorial, separate from the official 15 certificate, and never looser than it.
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 of a smiling man with short dark hair and dark-rimmed glasses, wearing a grey jumper over a blue patterned collar, in front of a conference backdrop.Joseph Gordon-Levittas Ethan
Close portrait of a bearded man with curly brown hair and clear-framed glasses, wearing a dark purple shirt, speaking against a red and blue backdrop.Seth Rogenas Isaac
Portrait of a smiling man with short dark hair and a goatee, wearing a pale blue-grey overshirt over a light blue shirt, seated in a softly lit room.Anthony Mackie
Portrait of a smiling woman with a shoulder-length dark bob and amber aviator glasses, wearing a grey-green top with a red collar and a gold necklace.Lizzy Caplanas Diana

Behind the camera

Directed by
Jonathan Levine
Original score
Close portrait of a man with swept-back grey hair and black-framed glasses, wearing a grey shirt and a lanyard, seated at a microphone at a convention panel.Marco Beltrami
Writing & production credits
Writers
Jonathan Levine
Evan Goldberg
Producer
Evan Goldberg
Photo credits

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

Joseph Gordon-Levitt · TechCrunch · Source image (opens in a new tab) · CC BY 2.0 (opens in a new tab).

Seth Rogen · Stephen McCarthy/Collision via Sportsfile - Collision Conf from Toronto, Canada · Source image (opens in a new tab) · CC BY 2.0 (opens in a new tab).

Anthony Mackie · NASA · Source image (opens in a new tab) · Public domain.

Lizzy Caplan · Montclair Film · Source image (opens in a new tab) · CC BY 4.0 (opens in a new tab).

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

Step into the story

Filming locations

The real places behind The Night Before. Choose one to explore.

Find it on the mapSt. Bartholomew's Church

© OpenStreetMap contributors (opens in a new tab)

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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.

St. Bartholomew's Church · Chris06 · Source image (opens in a new tab) · CC BY-SA 4.0 (opens in a new tab) · onthesetofnewyork.com (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 The Night Before

Film facts &
behind the scenes

For the fans who stay after the credits.

Movie magic

A Christmas Eve film shot in a September heat wave

Production wrapped most of its New York shoot in late summer, so the crew had to manufacture winter. The production designer described the heat as the main headache of recreating a December night, and the team returned in January for exterior shots of the city and the big tree.

Read the story

Source: MovieWeb set visit ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Movie magic

The snow was cotton and Epsom salts

The effects team made its own snow from cotton and Epsom salts and spread it by hand with shovels, using roughly 25,000 pounds across the shoot. Snow scenes were filmed at night, with visual effects adding more flakes afterwards.

Read the story
On your next watchLook at how the snow behaves at street level against the sky.

Source: MovieWeb set visit ↗ (opens in a new tab)

On set

Shot at a Brooklyn studio on a 35-day schedule

A visitor to Steiner Studios on the Brooklyn waterfront found the crew on day 34 of a 35-day shoot, on Sound Stage Ten. The mix of stage work and New York street shooting gave the film its storybook version of the city.

Read the story

Source: MovieWeb set visit ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Bloopers & near misses

Half script, half improvisation

Anthony Mackie put the cast's approach at about fifty-fifty: one take close to the script, then a loose one where they ran with new ideas. Writer Evan Goldberg was on set to supply extra jokes.

Read the story

Source: MovieWeb set visit ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Music & sound

The toy-shop piano scene became a dance break

The set recreated the giant floor piano from the 1988 comedy Big, but the scene grew into a dance number for Seth Rogen and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, with tape on the keys to mark the footwork. A green-screen backdrop of downtown New York was added in post-production.

Read the story

Source: MovieWeb set visit ↗ (opens in a new tab)

And at a glance

The Christmas in it
Snow on screen. Set on 24 December. The story runs across one Christmas Eve night in New York, with snow made on set from cotton and Epsom salts.
Releases and certificates
: In cinemas, rated 15. UK cinema release.
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.

Good to know

Questions about The Night Before

When was The Night Before released in UK cinemas?

It opened in UK cinemas on 4 December 2015, and the BBFC rated it 15.

Who directed The Night Before and who wrote the music?

Jonathan Levine directed it and co-wrote it with Evan Goldberg. Marco Beltrami composed the score.

Where was The Night Before filmed?

It was shot in New York, including St. Bartholomew's Church on Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan.

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