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The Santa Clause (franchise)

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The Santa Clause
Official franchise logo
Starring
Distributed byBuena Vista Pictures Distribution,
Disney+
Release date
1994–present
Running time
294+ minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$99 million[citation needed]
Box office$470 million[1]

The Santa Clause is a media franchise that consists of three American holiday family-comedy theatrical feature films starring Tim Allen, and one limited series in-development for Disney+. Based on an original story by Leo Benvenuti and Steve Rudnick, the plot centers around Scott Calvin's transformation into Santa Claus, and his adventures thereafter.

The Santa Clause was met with mostly positive critical reviews, and was a box office success.[2][3][4] In the years since its release, it has earned its status as a Christmas classic.[5] The sequels experienced diminishing critical and financial reception,[6][7][8][9] but are also now considered holiday cult classics.[10]

The franchise is set to continue with a follow-up limited series, to be released in fall 2022.[11]

Film

Title U.S.
release date 		Director Screenwriters Story by Producers
The Santa Clause November 11, 1994 (1994-11-11) John Pasquin Leo Benvenuti & Steve Rudnick Robert Newmyer, Brian Reilly and Jeffrey Silver
The Santa Clause 2 November 1, 2002 (2002-11-01) Michael Lembeck Don Rhymer
and Cinco Paul & Ken Daurio
and Ed Decter & John J. Strauss 		Leo Benvenuti & Steve Rudnick
The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause November 3, 2006 (2006-11-03) Ed Decter & John J. Strauss

The Santa Clause (1994)

Main article: The Santa Clause

Divorced dad Scott Calvin (Tim Allen) has custody of his son Charlie (Eric Lloyd) on Christmas Eve. After he accidentally causes the death of Santa, they are magically transported to the North Pole, where an elf explains that Scott must take Santa's place before the next Christmas arrives. Scott thinks he's dreaming, but over the next several months he gains weight and grows an inexplicably white beard. Realizing that it wasn't a dream, Scott embraces the new, permanent role he has as Santa Claus.

The Santa Clause 2 (2002)

Main article: The Santa Clause 2

Scott Calvin (Tim Allen) has been in the role of Santa for the past eight years, and his loyal elves consider him the best one ever. But the world of the "Merry Old Soul" turns upside down when he's dealt a double whammy of news: Not only has his son, Charlie (Eric Lloyd), landed on this year's naughty list, but Scott discovers that he must marry by Christmas Eve, or he will stop being Santa Claus forever.

The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause (2006)

Main article: The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause

Christmas cheer turns into holiday chaos when Scott Calvin / Santa Claus (Tim Allen) invites his in-laws (Ann-Margret, Alan Arkin) for a visit and must also contend with Jack Frost's (Martin Short) scheme to take over the North Pole. Scott, his family, and Head Elf Curtis (Spencer Breslin) must join forces to foil the nefarious plot.

Television

Main article: The Santa Clauses

In January 2022, it was announced that a sequel limited series was in development. Jack Burditt will serve as showrunner and executive producer, while Tim Allen and Elizabeth Mitchell will reprise their roles as Scott Calvin / Santa Clause and Carol Newman-Calvin / Mrs. Claus, respectively. Allen, Kevin Hench, Richard Baker and Rick Messina will serve as additional executive producers. The project will be a joint-venture production between Disney Branded Television, 20th Television, Disney Television Studios, and Disney+ Original Series. The show is intended to be released via streaming exclusively on Disney+. Production is scheduled to commence in March 2022 in Los Angeles, California.[11][12] At the beginning of that month, Jason Winer was announced as the director.[13]

The official premise of the series was announced as:

Scott Calvin is on the brink of his 65th birthday and realizing that he can’t be Santa forever. He’s starting to lose a step in his Santa duties, and more importantly, he’s got a family who could benefit from a life in the normal world, especially his two kids who have grown up at the Pole. With a lot of elves, children, and family to please, Scott sets out to find a suitable replacement Santa while preparing his family for a new adventure in a life south of the pole.[14]

In March 2022, Kal Penn was cast in the series as a character named Simon Choski.[15] While Penn's character has not officially been identified as Allen's character's successor, the initials of his character's name are "S.C.", the same as Scott Calvin and Santa Claus.

Main cast and characters

List indicators

This section includes characters who will appear or have appeared in more than two films in the series.

  • An empty, dark grey cell indicates the character was not in the film, or that the character's official presence has not yet been confirmed.
  •  C indicates a cameo role.
  •  V indicates a voice-only role.
Character Films Television
The Santa Clause The Santa Clause 2 The Santa Clause 3:
The Escape Clause 		The Santa Clauses
1994 2002 2006 2022
Scott Calvin / Santa Claus Tim Allen
Comet the Reindeer Frank WelkerV Bob BergenV TBA
Charlie Calvin Eric Lloyd
Neil Miller Judge Reinhold
Laura Miller Wendy Crewson
Mr. Whittle / Father Time Peter Boyle
Bernard the Elf David Krumholtz David Krumholtz
Carol Newman-Calvin / Mrs. Claus Elizabeth Mitchell
Lucy Miller Liliana Mumy TBA
Curtis the Elf Spencer Breslin
Mother Nature Aisha Tyler
Easter Bunny Jay Thomas
Cupid Kevin Pollak
Tooth Fairy Art LaFleur
Sandman Michael Dorn
Jack Frost Martin Short
Buddy "Cal" Calvin Uncredited baby actorC Austin Kane
Bud Newman Alan Arkin TBA
Sylvia Newman Ann-Margret
Simon Choksi Kal Penn
Sandra Calvin Elizabeth Allen-Dick
Grace Choksi Rupali Redd
Noel Devin Bright
La Befana, the Christmas Witch Laura San Giacomo

Additional crew and production details

Title Composer Cinematographer Editor Production
companies 		Distributing
company 		Running time
The Santa Clause Michael Convertino Walt Lloyd Larry Bock Walt Disney Pictures
Hollywood Pictures[16]
Outlaw Productions 		Buena Vista Pictures Distribution[16][17] 97 minutes
The Santa Clause 2 George S. Clinton Adam Greenberg David Finfer Walt Disney Pictures[17][18]
Boxing Cat Films
Outlaw Productions[19][20] 		104 minutes
The Santa Clause 3:
The Escape Clause 		Robbie Greenberg 92 minutes
The Santa Clauses TBA J.P. Wakayama TBA 20th Television Disney Platform Distribution TBA

Reception

Box office performance

Film Revenue Budget Ref.
U.S. and Canada Other territories Worldwide
The Santa Clause $144,833,357 $44,966,643 $189,800,000 $22,000,000 [2]
The Santa Clause 2 $139,225,854 $33,600,000 $172,825,854 $65,000,000 [21]
The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause $84,500,122 $23,000,000 $107,500,122 $12,000,000 [22][23]
Totals $368,559,333 $101,566,643 $470,125,976 $99,000,000 [1]

The Santa Clause 2 on its opening weekend grossed $10 million more than its predecessor. The opening weekend was a personal best to date for Tim Allen. The Hollywood Reporter said its performance "exceeded expectations".[24] The Santa Clause's strongest market outside the United States was Germany, and The Santa Clause 2 had in Germany an opening weekend of $892,000, which was 50% larger than the opening weekend of the original film.[25]

In the United States, The Santa Clause 3 had an opening weekend of $19.5 million, which was less than the $29 million grossed by The Santa Clause 2. Box Office Mojo reported: "More often than not, second sequels in the family genre make significantly less than their predecessors".[26] After 24 days in theaters, the third film had grossed $67.1 million, which Box Office Mojo said was "lagging behind its predecessors by a wide margin".[27]

In the United Kingdom, The Santa Clause 3 had an opening weekend of $2.7 million at 350 locations, which was 40% better than the opening weekend of The Santa Clause 2.[28] In Mexico, The Santa Clause 3 had an opening weekend of $1.4 million at 380 locations, which was three times better than The Santa Clause 2's opening weekend.[29]

Critical and public response

Film Rotten Tomatoes Metacritic Cinemascore[30]
The Santa Clause 71% (56 reviews)[3] 57 (13 reviews)[4] A-
The Santa Clause 2 56% (122 reviews)[6] 48 (26 reviews)[7] A
The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause 17% (66 reviews)[8] 32 (17 reviews)[9] B+

Scott Foundas of Variety called the 1994 film was "a full-on charmer pic". Foundas said the 2002 follow-up had too many writers and executives involved during the long development process, which he said led to "systematically pulverizing most of the original's simple delights". The critic said: "The Santa Clause 2 is a movie conscious, at every waking moment, of trying to out-do its predecessor".[31] Variety's Justin Chang said The Santa Clause 3 was "a much cleaner, more streamlined ride than its overstuffed predecessor". Chang said: "Michael Lembeck directs the action with a surer touch and more consistent tone than he brought to Santa Clause 2, and effortlessly pulls off the pic's sentimental, life-affirming moments without tugging too hard".[32]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "The Santa Clause Movies". The Numbers. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
  2. ^ a b "The Santa Clause (1994)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved April 29, 2013.
  3. ^ a b "The Santa Clause". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved March 24, 2020.
  4. ^ a b "The Santa Clause". Metacritic. Retrieved April 29, 2013.
  5. ^ Walsh, Michael (December 10, 2018). "What Makes 'The Santa Clause' a Christmas Classic?". Nerdist. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
  6. ^ a b "The Santa Clause 2". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved November 27, 2019.
  7. ^ a b "The Santa Clause 2". Metacritic. Retrieved April 29, 2013.
  8. ^ a b "The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved April 29, 2013.
  9. ^ a b "The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause". Metacritic. Retrieved April 29, 2013.
  10. ^ Roberts, Daniel (January 29, 2022). "16 Years Later, 'Santa Clause' Star Will Return With Tim Allen in New Series". Inside the Magic. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
  11. ^ a b Andreeva, Nellie (January 14, 2022). "Tim Allen To Headline 'The Santa Clause' Sequel Series For Disney+ From 'Last Man Standing' Team". Deadline. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
  12. ^ Del Rosario, Alexandra (January 28, 2022). "Elizabeth Mitchell To Return As Mrs. Claus For 'The Santa Clause' Disney+ Limited Series". Deadline. Retrieved January 28, 2022.
  13. ^ Haas, Shawnee (March 1, 2022). "Disney's 'The Santa Clause' Limited Series Taps Jason Winer As Director". Collider. Retrieved March 1, 2022.
  14. ^ "JUST ANNOUNCED: Tim Allen Returns to the Red Suit for the Santa Clause, a Limited Series for Disney+". 14 January 2022.
  15. ^ Maas, Jennifer (March 3, 2022). "'Santa Clause' Series at Disney Plus Adds Kal Penn". Variety. Retrieved March 12, 2022.
  16. ^ a b The Santa Clause at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
  17. ^ a b The Santa Clause at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
  18. ^ "AFI|Catalog". catalog.afi.com.
  19. ^ Lyons, Charles (April 26, 2001). "Duo board 'Santa' sleigh". Variety. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
  20. ^ Chang, Justin (November 2, 2006). "The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause". Variety. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
  21. ^ "The Santa Clause 2". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved April 29, 2013.
  22. ^ "The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved April 29, 2013.
  23. ^ Kristy, Puchko. "19 Fun Facts About Tim Allen's 'The Santa Clause'". Phactual. Retrieved February 8, 2022.[better source needed]
  24. ^ Fuson, Brian (November 4, 2002). "'Santa' delivers early b.o. gift". The Hollywood Reporter.
  25. ^ Groves, Don (November 26, 2002). "World might be enough for Bond franchise". Variety.
  26. ^ Gray, Brandon (November 6, 2006). "'Borat' Bombards the Top Spot". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved April 30, 2013.
  27. ^ Gray, Brandon (November 27, 2006). "'Happy Feet', 'Casino Royale' Top Thanksgiving". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved April 30, 2013.
  28. ^ McNary, Dave (November 27, 2006). "007 goes for the global grab". Variety.
  29. ^ McNary, Dave (December 5, 2006). "Bond holds cards o'seas". Variety.
  30. ^ "CinemaScore". CinemaScore. Archived from the original on April 13, 2022. Retrieved April 14, 2022.
  31. ^ Foundas, Scott (October 31, 2002). "The Santa Clause 2". Variety. Retrieved June 23, 2022.
  32. ^ Chang, Justin (November 2, 2006). "The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause". Variety. Retrieved June 23, 2022.
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