Talk about Christmas chaos! ‘Jingle All The Way’ debuted on Nov. 22, 1996, offering up a high-energy holiday romp starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sinbad. The pair play two rival fathers — mattress salesman Howard Langston and postal worker Myron Larabee — as they battle for a coveted Turbo-Man action figure during a frantic Christmas Eve shopping spree in Minneapolis, Minnesota. ‘Jingle All The Way’ was inspired by the frenzy over toys like the Cabbage Patch Kids and Power Rangers in the 90s. Also starring Phil Hartman, ‘Jingle All The Way’ was his last film released before the comic’s death in 1998.
‘Jingle All The Way’ earned lukewarm reviews, but has since become a holiday cult classic. It was a relative box office success, taking in $129.8 million from a $75 million budget. A direct-to-video sequel starring Larry The Cable Guy was released in 2014. The original is currently available to stream on Disney+.
“D*** the critics; I make films for audiences,” director Brian Levant told Tucson Weekly in Dec. 2021. “It was the fact that it didn’t perform the way you believed it would, and you question your choices, your abilities, and your confidence.”
Click through to see the cast of ‘Jingle All The Way’ from the film to today, 25 years since the holiday hustle’s release!