The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
A holiday film for the whole family... except yours.
Tired of scaring humans every October 31 with the same old bag of tricks, Jack Skellington, the spindly king of Halloween Town, kidnaps Santa Claus and plans to deliver shrunken heads and other ghoulish gifts to children on Christmas morning. But as Christmas approaches, Jack's rag-doll girlfriend, Sally, tries to foil his misguided plans.
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| Type | Movie |
|---|---|
| Released | 9 October 1993 |
| Genre | Fantasy, Animation, Family |
| Director | Henry Selick |
| Starring | Danny Elfman, Chris Sarandon and Catherine O'Hara |
| Runtime | 76 min |
| Rated | PG |
| Scores | Rotten Tomatoes (average) 8.2/10 · Rotten Tomatoes 95% · Metacritic 82/100 · TMDB users 7.8/10 |
| Budget | $24 million |
| Box office | $91 million worldwide |
Where to watch The Nightmare Before Christmas
The Nightmare Before Christmas is streaming on Disney+ ($21.49 a month) in the US. It is also on Fubo. If that is the only reason to subscribe, one month of Disney+ is $21.49 at list price.
We check availability daily. Page last updated 28 October 2026. Prices are standard monthly plans and change often, so check with the service before you sign up.
Rent or buy
You can rent or buy The Nightmare Before Christmas on Apple TV, Prime Video, Google Play, YouTube and Fandango at Home.
Where to watch The Nightmare Before Christmas in 58 other countries
| Country | Streaming on (price a month) |
|---|---|
| Argentina | Disney+ $15599 ARS |
| Australia | Disney+ $17.99 AUD |
| Austria | Disney+ €10.99 |
| Belgium | Disney+ €10.99 |
| Belize | Disney+ |
| Bolivia | Disney+ |
| Brazil | Disney+ R$49.90 |
| Bulgaria | Disney+ €9.99 |
| Canada | Disney+ $15.99 CAD |
| Chile | Disney+ $10990 CLP |
| Colombia | Disney+ $36900 COP |
| Costa Rica | Disney+ |
| Croatia | Disney+ €9.99 |
| Czechia | Disney+ 219 Kč |
| Denmark | Disney+ 119 kr DKK |
| Dominican Republic | Disney+ |
| Ecuador | Disney+ $11.49 |
| El Salvador | Disney+ |
| Finland | Disney+ €11.99 |
| France | Disney+ €10.99 |
| Germany | Disney+ €10.99 |
| Greece | Disney+ €10.99 |
| Guatemala | Disney+ |
| Honduras | Disney+ |
| Hong Kong | Disney+ HK$88 |
| Hungary | Disney+ 2990 Ft |
| India | Jiohotstar |
| Ireland | Disney+ €11.99 |
| Italy | Disney+ €10.99 |
| Jamaica | Disney+ |
| Japan | Disney+ ¥1250 JPY |
| Liechtenstein | Disney+ |
| Luxembourg | Disney+ €10.99 |
| Mexico | Disney+ $259 MXN |
| Netherlands | Disney+ €10.99 |
| New Zealand | Disney+ $18.99 NZD |
| Nicaragua | Disney+ |
| Norway | Disney+ 129 kr NOK |
| Panama | Disney+ $12.49 |
| Paraguay | Disney+ |
| Peru | Disney+ S/49.90 |
| Poland | Disney+ 34.99 zł |
| Portugal | Disney+ €10.99 |
| Romania | Disney+ 34.99 lei |
| San Marino | Disney+ |
| Singapore | Disney+ $18.98 SGD |
| Slovakia | Disney+ €9.99 |
| South Korea | Disney+ ₩9900 |
| Spain | Disney+ €10.99 |
| St. Lucia | Disney+ |
| Sweden | Disney+ 129 kr SEK |
| Switzerland | Disney+ CHF16.90 |
| Taiwan | Disney+ NT$285 |
| Trinidad & Tobago | Disney+ |
| Türkiye | Disney+ ₺449.90 |
| United Kingdom | Disney+ £11.99 GBP |
| Uruguay | Disney+ about $U521 |
| Venezuela | Disney+ |
Subscription, free and ad-supported services we track; prices where Binge Boss has a price list for the country. "About" marks a price the service bills in another currency, converted at the day's rate. All countries as data.
What kind of watch this is
Henry Selick directs this 1993 animated fantasy, running 76 minutes. The tagline promises a holiday film for the whole family, except yours. That caveat does the heavy lifting, since the story leans into the eerie rather than the cozy. It is a tonal mismatch that works precisely because the animation is so meticulously crafted. The dry humor lands in the gaps between the scares.
What the critics said
Critics agreed the film worked, which is a high bar for a movie that swaps Santa for Jack Skellington. Rotten Tomatoes reports a 95% approval rating as of July 2024, backed by an average score of 8.4 out of 10. Metacritic settles on 82 out of 100 as of July 2025, a metric they label universal acclaim. Roger Ebert noted the landscape is "completely new," comparing its visual richness to Metropolis. Peter Travers called it a restoration of "originality and daring" to the Halloween genre. The consensus leans toward delight rather than debate.
How it did with audiences
The $24 million budget was a fraction of a Disney blockbuster, so the studio didn't need Aladdin-sized grosses to call it a win. It earned $77 million in the United States and $91 million worldwide. On TMDB, users rate it 7.8 out of 10. The numbers suggest the audience liked it enough to keep returning, even if the initial run was quiet.
What came next for the cast
Catherine O’Hara moved from the Home Alone sequels to Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events and Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. William Hickey stepped away from The Name of the Rose and Christmas Vacation toward MouseHunt and Major Payne. The credits list these shifts, but they do not prove the 1993 film caused them. Careers drift in directions a single title cannot command.
If you liked this
TMDB's recommendations for people who watched The Nightmare Before Christmas.
Sources
- The Nightmare Before Christmas on TMDB — synopsis, cast, ratings and recommendations
- Wikidata Q322328 — review scores, box office and awards (CC0)
- “The Nightmare Before Christmas” on Wikipedia, by its contributors (history) — reception, audience figures and legacy, summarised and adapted here under CC BY-SA 4.0
- Where to watch and prices: Binge Boss, from TMDB watch-provider data (powered by JustWatch) and our own provider list
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