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Christmas 2014 at the Movies

Christmas 2014 at the Movies

It’s Christmas morning. The presents have been torn open, and the piles of discarded wrapping paper have been cleaned up. Leftovers from a festive Christmas Eve have been put away, and the remnants of Christmas brunch, mimosas and all, are left lazily on the table while folks gather and chat about plans for the rest of the day. Whether or not children are involved, many people have reached their celebratory peak by 11am on Christmas Day, and suddenly need something to do, whether to just get out of the house or to entertain sugared-up kids and out-of-town visitors.

A simple solution? The movies! For decades, the idea of heading to the silver screen on Christmas Day was frequently attributed to Jewish families who had no connection to December 25 other than enjoying recent releases with no lines. In recent decades, however, many people head to the theater, and by evening on the 25th, movie theater parking lots are packed. Studios producing these movies finally caught on to this and while in the past, Christmas Day releases were fewer and more rare (like 1962’s “To Kill a Mockingbird”), they have since stepped up their holiday game. In fact, in the ’90s and early 2000s, some years saw as many as eight new movies open on Christmas Day. Some memorable films having a holiday-tastic opening include “Grumpy Old Men” (1992), “Evita” (1996), “As Good As It Gets” (1997), “The Producers” (2005), “Dreamgirls” (2006), as well “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (2008), “Django Unchained” (2012), and last year’s “The Secret life of Walter Mitty” and “The Wolf of Wall Street.” Clearly, studios have realized that Christmas Day openings can be a total gold mine and have changed their release schedules accordingly.

So what movies are opening on Christmas Day this year?

The much-anticipated big-screen version of the popular musical “Into the Woods” will be released on Christmas day this year. With a high-powered group of actors including Meryl Streep, Johnny Depp, Anna Kendrick, Chris Pine, Emily Blunt, and more in an ensemble cast, this film helps to retell the stories of many popular fairies tales from a whole new angle. Sets look beautiful, and while musicals have done fabulously on Christmas Day (“Dreamgirls”) and poorly (“Nine”), it seems as though “Into the Woods” will be a home run.

The dude-bro centered action comedy “The Interview” is looking forward to a December 25 release. Created, written, and directed by Seth Rogen, the basic plot is that two celebrity journalists with little experience in world politics land an interview with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un. They are subsequently asked by the CIA to use this opportunity to assassinate this leader. “The Interview” also stars Mr. Rogen alongside James Franco, Lizzy Caplan, and several cameos by well-known celebrities.

Finally, “Unbroken” is a drama directed by Angelina Jolie that follows the true story of Louis “Louie” Zamperini (played by Jack O’Connell), a former Olympic track star whose plane crashes in the Pacific. Zamperini and two crew members survive, only to be captured by Japanese soldiers and held as prisoners of war during WWII. Cast includes Domhnall Gleeson (Bill Weasley in the Harry Potter films), Garrett Hedlund, and Finn Wittrock.

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