A Christmas Story (1983)
| Theatrical Performance | ||
| Domestic Box Office | $20,825,395 | Details |
| International Box Office | $72 | Details |
| Worldwide Box Office | $20,825,467 | |
| Domestic Physical Disc Sales | ||
| DVD Sales (estimated) | $68,572,304 | |
| Blu-ray Sales (estimated) | $14,316,593 | |
| Total | $82,888,897 | |
| OpusData ID: 25910100 More info... | ||
| Further financial details... | ||
Synopsis
Ralphie is a nine-year-old who has only one thing on his Christmas list: a Red Ryder Carbine-Action 200-Shot Air Rifle. With his parents unwilling to buy him the gun because he might “shoot his eye out,” Ralphie decides to mount a full-scale, hint-dropping, Santa-begging campaign. He also endures a slew of calamities from snowsuit paralysis to the dreaded tongue-on-a-frozen-flagpole gambit.
Metrics
| Opening Weekend: | $2,071,473 (9.9% of total gross) |
| Legs: | 5.29 (domestic box office/biggest weekend) |
| Domestic Share: | 100.0% (domestic box office/worldwide) |
| Production Budget: | $3,250,000 (worldwide box office is 6.4 times production budget) |
| Theater counts: | 886 opening theaters/938 max. theaters, 6.6 weeks average run per theater |
| Infl. Adj. Dom. BO | $64,806,571 |
Movie Details
| Domestic Releases: | November 18th, 1983 (Wide) by MGM December 10th, 2023 (Special Engagement) by Fathom Events (40th Anniversary) |
| International Releases: | December 15th, 2022 (Limited) (New Zealand)
December 12th, 2024 (Limited) (New Zealand) |
| Video Release: | November 28th, 1984 by MGM Video |
| MPA Rating: | PG For mild thematic elements and brief smoking |
| Running Time: | 94 minutes |
| Cast, crew, or production detail: | Voiceover/Narration |
| Release detail: | Christmas in November |
| Social setting: | Christmas |
| Subgenre: | Family Comedy |
| Time period setting: | 1940s |
| Source: | Based on Fiction Book/Short Story |
| Genre: | Comedy |
| Production Method: | Live Action |
| Creative Type: | Historical Fiction |
| Production/Financing Companies: | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures |
| Production Countries: | United States |
| Languages: | English |
Weekend Box Office Performance
| Date | Rank | Gross | % Change | Theaters | Per Theater | Total Gross | Week |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 18, 1983 | 3 | $2,071,473 | 886 | $2,338 | $2,071,473 | 1 | |
| Nov 25, 1983 | 1 | $3,935,944 | +90% | 938 | $4,196 | $7,291,703 | 2 |
| Dec 2, 1983 | 2 | $2,659,752 | -32% | 924 | $2,879 | $10,519,497 | 3 |
| Dec 9, 1983 | 6 | $1,773,767 | -33% | 854 | $2,077 | $12,800,362 | 4 |
| Dec 16, 1983 | 16 | $580,589 | -67% | 552 | $1,052 | $13,823,559 | 5 |
| Dec 23, 1983 | 16 | $690,925 | +19% | 796 | $868 | $14,908,185 | 6 |
| Dec 30, 1983 | 17 | $838,120 | +21% | 642 | $1,305 | $16,244,056 | 7 |
| Jan 6, 1984 | 19 | $372,669 | -56% | 493 | $756 | $16,743,818 | 8 |
| Dec 25, 2020 | 15 | $35,000 | 150 | $233 | $20,640,209 | 1,937 |
Weekly Box Office Performance
| Date | Rank | Gross | % Change | Theaters | Per Theater | Total Gross | Week |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 18, 1983 | 3 | $3,355,759 | 886 | $3,788 | $3,355,759 | 1 | |
| Nov 25, 1983 | 2 | $4,503,986 | +34% | 938 | $4,802 | $7,859,745 | 2 |
| Dec 2, 1983 | 2 | $3,166,850 | -30% | 924 | $3,427 | $11,026,595 | 3 |
| Dec 9, 1983 | 6 | $2,216,375 | -30% | 854 | $2,595 | $13,242,970 | 4 |
| Dec 16, 1983 | 16 | $974,290 | -56% | 552 | $1,765 | $14,217,260 | 5 |
| Dec 23, 1983 | 16 | $1,188,676 | +22% | 796 | $1,493 | $15,405,936 | 6 |
| Dec 30, 1983 | 16 | $965,213 | -19% | 642 | $1,503 | $16,371,149 | 7 |
Top International Territories
Box Office Summary Per Territory
| Territory | Release Date |
Opening Weekend |
Opening Weekend Screens/Theaters |
Maximum Screens/Theaters |
Theatrical Engagements |
Total Box Office |
Report Date |
|||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Zealand | 12/15/2022 | $0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | $72 | 12/16/2024 | |||
| International Total | $72 | 12/16/2024 | ||||||||
Note: Territories vary in whether they report screens or theaters. Full details on international box office data are available via our OpusData service.
Leading
| Melinda Dillon | Mrs. Parker | |
| Darren McGavin | The Old Man - Mr. Parker | |
| Peter Billingsley | Ralphie Parker |
Supporting
| Zack Ward | Scut Farkus | |
| Ian Petrella | Randy Parker | |
| Scott Schwartz | Flick | |
| R.D. Robb | Schwartz | |
| Yano Anaya | Grover Dill | |
| Tedde Moore | Miss Shields | |
| Jeff Gillen | Santa Claus |
Production and Technical Credits
| Bob Clark | Director | |
| Rene Dupont | Producer | |
| Bob Clark | Producer | |
| Jean Shepherd | Screenwriter | |
| Leigh Brown | Screenwriter | |
| Bob Clark | Screenwriter | |
| Jean Shepherd | Story Based on the Novel “In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash” by |
Cast and crew with above-the-line roles are marked in bold. The line marks the division between above-the-line and below-the-line roles.
Synopsis
Ralphie is a nine-year-old who has only one thing on his Christmas list: a Red Ryder Carbine-Action 200-Shot Air Rifle. With his parents unwilling to buy him the gun because he might “shoot his eye out,” Ralphie decides to mount a full-scale, hint-dropping, Santa-begging campaign. He also endures a slew of calamities from snowsuit paralysis to the dreaded tongue-on-a-frozen-flagpole gambit.
Metrics
| Opening Weekend: | $2,071,473 (9.9% of total gross) |
| Legs: | 5.29 (domestic box office/biggest weekend) |
| Domestic Share: | 100.0% (domestic box office/worldwide) |
| Production Budget: | $3,250,000 (worldwide box office is 6.4 times production budget) |
| Theater counts: | 886 opening theaters/938 max. theaters, 6.6 weeks average run per theater |
| Infl. Adj. Dom. BO | $64,806,571 |
Movie Details
| Domestic Releases: | November 18th, 1983 (Wide) by MGM December 10th, 2023 (Special Engagement) by Fathom Events (40th Anniversary) |
| International Releases: | December 15th, 2022 (Limited) (New Zealand)
December 12th, 2024 (Limited) (New Zealand) |
| Video Release: | November 28th, 1984 by MGM Video |
| MPA Rating: | PG For mild thematic elements and brief smoking |
| Running Time: | 94 minutes |
| Cast, crew, or production detail: | Voiceover/Narration |
| Release detail: | Christmas in November |
| Social setting: | Christmas |
| Subgenre: | Family Comedy |
| Time period setting: | 1940s |
| Source: | Based on Fiction Book/Short Story |
| Genre: | Comedy |
| Production Method: | Live Action |
| Creative Type: | Historical Fiction |
| Production/Financing Companies: | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures |
| Production Countries: | United States |
| Languages: | English |
Weekend Box Office Performance
| Date | Rank | Gross | % Change | Theaters | Per Theater | Total Gross | Week |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 18, 1983 | 3 | $2,071,473 | 886 | $2,338 | $2,071,473 | 1 | |
| Nov 25, 1983 | 1 | $3,935,944 | +90% | 938 | $4,196 | $7,291,703 | 2 |
| Dec 2, 1983 | 2 | $2,659,752 | -32% | 924 | $2,879 | $10,519,497 | 3 |
| Dec 9, 1983 | 6 | $1,773,767 | -33% | 854 | $2,077 | $12,800,362 | 4 |
| Dec 16, 1983 | 16 | $580,589 | -67% | 552 | $1,052 | $13,823,559 | 5 |
| Dec 23, 1983 | 16 | $690,925 | +19% | 796 | $868 | $14,908,185 | 6 |
| Dec 30, 1983 | 17 | $838,120 | +21% | 642 | $1,305 | $16,244,056 | 7 |
| Jan 6, 1984 | 19 | $372,669 | -56% | 493 | $756 | $16,743,818 | 8 |
| Dec 25, 2020 | 15 | $35,000 | 150 | $233 | $20,640,209 | 1,937 |
Weekly Box Office Performance
| Date | Rank | Gross | % Change | Theaters | Per Theater | Total Gross | Week |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 18, 1983 | 3 | $3,355,759 | 886 | $3,788 | $3,355,759 | 1 | |
| Nov 25, 1983 | 2 | $4,503,986 | +34% | 938 | $4,802 | $7,859,745 | 2 |
| Dec 2, 1983 | 2 | $3,166,850 | -30% | 924 | $3,427 | $11,026,595 | 3 |
| Dec 9, 1983 | 6 | $2,216,375 | -30% | 854 | $2,595 | $13,242,970 | 4 |
| Dec 16, 1983 | 16 | $974,290 | -56% | 552 | $1,765 | $14,217,260 | 5 |
| Dec 23, 1983 | 16 | $1,188,676 | +22% | 796 | $1,493 | $15,405,936 | 6 |
| Dec 30, 1983 | 16 | $965,213 | -19% | 642 | $1,503 | $16,371,149 | 7 |
Top International Territories
Box Office Summary Per Territory
| Territory | Release Date |
Opening Weekend |
Opening Weekend Screens/Theaters |
Maximum Screens/Theaters |
Theatrical Engagements |
Total Box Office |
Report Date |
|||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Zealand | 12/15/2022 | $0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | $72 | 12/16/2024 | |||
| International Total | $72 | 12/16/2024 | ||||||||
Note: Territories vary in whether they report screens or theaters. Full details on international box office data are available via our OpusData service.
Leading
| Melinda Dillon | Mrs. Parker | |
| Darren McGavin | The Old Man - Mr. Parker | |
| Peter Billingsley | Ralphie Parker |
Supporting
| Zack Ward | Scut Farkus | |
| Ian Petrella | Randy Parker | |
| Scott Schwartz | Flick | |
| R.D. Robb | Schwartz | |
| Yano Anaya | Grover Dill | |
| Tedde Moore | Miss Shields | |
| Jeff Gillen | Santa Claus |
Production and Technical Credits
| Bob Clark | Director | |
| Rene Dupont | Producer | |
| Bob Clark | Producer | |
| Jean Shepherd | Screenwriter | |
| Leigh Brown | Screenwriter | |
| Bob Clark | Screenwriter | |
| Jean Shepherd | Story Based on the Novel “In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash” by |
Cast and crew with above-the-line roles are marked in bold. The line marks the division between above-the-line and below-the-line roles.