Jingle All the Way

For other uses, see Jingle All the Way (disambiguation).

Jingle All the Way
Arnold Schwarzenegger (as Howard Langston) attempts to grab a Turbo-Man action figure in front of a rushing mob of people (with Myron Larabee also seen trying to grab the toy as well). The film's title has the words "All The" in red along with the rest of the words in green. The film's tag line reads "Two Days, One Toy, No Prisoners".
Theatrical release poster
Directed byBrian Levant
Written byRandy Kornfield
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyVictor J. Kemper
Edited by
Music byDavid Newman
Production
companies
Distributed by20th Century Fox
Release dates
  • November 16, 1996 (1996-11-16) (Mall of America)
  • November 22, 1996 (1996-11-22) (United States)
Running time
89 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$60–75 million[2][3][4]
Box office$129.8 million[2]

Jingle All the Way is a 1996 American Christmas family comedy film[2] directed by Brian Levant. The films stars Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sinbad as two rival fathers, mattress salesman Howard Langston and postal worker Myron Larabee, both desperately trying to purchase a fictional Turbo-Man action figure for their respective sons on a last-minute shopping spree on Christmas Eve. The film's title is borrowed from the lyrics of the popular Christmas song "Jingle Bells".

Inspired by real-life Christmas toy sell-outs for such items as Cabbage Patch Kids, the film was written by Randy Kornfield. Producer Chris Columbus rewrote the script, adding in elements of satire about the commercialization of Christmas, and the project was picked up by 20th Century Fox. Delays to Fox's reboot of Planet of the Apes allowed Schwarzenegger to come on board the film, while Columbus opted to cast Sinbad instead of Joe Pesci as Myron. Jingle All the Way was set and filmed in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul at a variety of locations, including the Mall of America. After five weeks filming, production moved to California where scenes such as the end parade were shot. The film's swift production meant merchandising was limited to a replica of the Turbo-Man action figure used in the film.

Upon release, Jingle All the Way grossed $129.8 million worldwide but received generally negative reviews from critics, though the humor and Sinbad and Schwarzenegger's performances received some praise. In 2001, Fox was ordered to pay $19 million to Murray Hill Publishing for stealing the idea for the film; the verdict was overturned three years later. Jingle All the Way is the third and final collaboration between Sinbad and Phil Hartman after Coneheads (1993) and Houseguest (1995), and the last film featuring Hartman to be released during his lifetime before his death in 1998. In 2014, the film was followed by a sequel in name only, Jingle All the Way 2, starring Larry the Cable Guy.

  1. ^ Petrikin, Chris (February 18, 1998). "Fox renamed that toon". Variety. Archived from the original on April 2, 2019. Retrieved March 31, 2018.
  2. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference mojo was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference prem was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference toys was invoked but never defined (see the help page).