America has many Christmas traditions: drinking eggnog that may or may not be spiked with alcohol, singing outdated carols to random strangers, avoiding weird relatives during dinner, and listening to Mariah Carey endlessly proclaim that all she wants for Christmas is you. But it wouldn’t be the holidays without at least one viewing — and usually many more than that — of A Christmas Story, the nostalgic 1983 movie that introduced the world to Ralphie Parker and the immortal phrase, “You’ll shoot your eye out, kid.”
Almost 40 years later, the classic film is getting a sequel (yes, another one; there have been many throughout the years). A Christmas Story Christmas sees an adult Ralphie return to his hometown with his own wife and children in tow. Unlike its predecessor, this film won’t screen in theaters as it’s debuting exclusively on a streaming service. But which one?
Where is A Christmas Story Christmas streaming?
If you want to follow the exploits of Ralphie and his family, including another encounter with ginger-haired bully Scut Farkus and a reunion with childhood friends Flick and Schwartz, we’ve got you covered. A Christmas Story Christmas will stream on HBO Max. You don’t have to wear a pink rabbit costume while watching it, but it couldn’t hurt.
When does it stream for subscribers?
A Christmas Story Christmas will stream exclusively for subscribers on November 17, just in time for the holiday season to kick into high gear.
How much does it cost to subscribe?
If you’re not a current HBO Max subscriber, but you’re interested in watching A Christmas Story Christmas, there are a couple of different rates you can pay for access to the service. The cheapest rate includes ads, and starts at $10 a month, or $100 for a full year. If you want an ad-free experience, you can pay $15 a month or $150 for a full year.
This makes HBO Max one of the pricier streaming services out there, but it also gives you access to a pretty broad array of titles. including all of the HBO original programming that has ever been made. We’re talking such classic series as The Sopranos, Game of Thrones, Sex and the City, and The Wire, as well as current hits like The Staircase, Irma Vep, and House of the Dragon.
HBO Max also has many selections from the Warner Bros. library like The Batman and Don’t Worry Darling and anime classics from Studio Ghibli and Crunchyroll. In short, it’s a lot of great stuff.
Is it worth watching A Christmas Story Christmas?
Well, we haven’t seen it yet, but if you’re a fan of the original, there’s plenty of promise here. Peter Billingsley returns to the role of Ralphie, and looks to bring the same wry charm he brought to the role as a child four decades ago. Also returning is Ian Petrella as Randy, Ralphie’s brother, as well as R.D. Robb and Scottie Schwartz as Ralphie’s pals, and Zack Ward as everyone’s favorite scowling childhood bully. Vince Vaughn serves as the film’s narrator, taking over from Jean Shepherd, who wrote the novel In God We Trust: All Others Pay Cash, on which A Christmas Story was based.
A Christmas Story Christmas currently has a score of 57% on the Tomatometer.