What is the iRankMovies score for The Nightmare Before Christmas?

Name: The Nightmare Before Christmas
Director: Henry Selick
Genre: animation, family, fantasy
Released: 1993
Duration: 1 h 16 min
Rating: 7.9

The Nightmare Before Christmas has an iRankMovies score of 83.8/100, based on a weighted combination of IMDb (×3.0), Rotten Tomatoes (×2.0), Metacritic (×1.5), and TMDb (×1.0).

The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

Release:1993

Runtime:1h 16m

Country:United States

Director:Henry Selick

Language:English

Genre

AnimationFamilyFantasy

See the best animation movies →

Keywords

SkeletonFiremagicHolidaySanta ClausHalloween villain musical

iRank84

The Nightmare Before Christmas rating: IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic

IMDb7.9/10· 410K votes

Rotten Tomatoes95%

Metacritic82%

TMDb7.83/10· 10K votes

With 95% on Rotten Tomatoes, backed by 7.9/10 on IMDb and 82/100 on Metacritic, critical reception of this film has been very positive.

About The Nightmare Before Christmas

Tired of scaring humans every October 31 with the same old bag of tricks, Jack Skellington, the spindly king of Halloween Town, kidnaps Santa Claus and plans to deliver shrunken heads and other ghoulish gifts to children on Christmas morning. But as Christmas approaches, Jack's rag-doll girlfriend, Sally, tries to foil his misguided plans.

Cast of The Nightmare Before Christmas

Danny Elfman
as Jack Skellington (singing) / Barrel / Clown with the Tear away Face (voice)
Chris Sarandon
as Jack Skellington (voice)
Catherine O'Hara
as Sally / Shock (voice)
William Hickey
as Dr. Finkelstein (voice)
Glenn Shadix
as Mayor (voice)
Paul Reubens
as Lock (voice)
Ken Page
as Oogie Boogie (voice)
E
Edward Ivory
as Santa Claus (voice)
S
Susan McBride
as Big Witch / WWD. (voice)
Debi Durst
as Corpse Kid / Corpse Mom / Small Witch (voice)
Greg Proops
as Harlequin Demon / Devil / Sax Player (voice)
Kerry Katz
as Man Under Stairs / Vampire / Corpse Dad (voice)

The Nightmare Before Christmas facts

Budget: $18M
Box office: $75.6M

Our take on The Nightmare Before Christmas

Henry Selick's stop-motion fantasy follows Jack Skellington, the bored king of Halloween Town, who stumbles onto Christmas and decides to run it himself, swapping cheer for ghoulish gifts while his devoted rag-doll love Sally senses disaster. Its handcrafted animation, macabre-yet-tender design, and songbook give it a singular texture that sits between children's fantasy and gothic fable. The film suits viewers who like their whimsy dark and their holiday stories a little strange, and it plays equally well for families comfortable with spookiness and for older fans of Tim Burton's sensibility. A crafted, musical oddity that has earned its dual claim on Halloween and Christmas alike.

Ranked by the iRankMovies editorial teamUpdated August 2026Methodology Data sources