Scrooged (1988)

Scrooged is a 1988 American Christmas fantasy black comedy film directed by Richard Donner and written by Mitch Glazer and Michael O'Donoghue. Inspired by Charles Dickens' 1843 novella A Christmas Carol, the film is a metafictional modern retelling that follows Bill Murray as Frank Cross, a cynical and selfish television executive who, while prepping for a live broadcast adaptation of A Christmas Carol, is visited on Christmas Eve by a succession of ghosts intent on helping him regain his Christmas spirit. The supporting cast includes Karen Allen, John Forsythe, Bobcat Goldthwait, Carol Kane, Robert Mitchum, Michael J. Pollard, and Alfre Woodard.

Scrooged was filmed on a $32 million budget over three months in New York City and Hollywood from December 1987 to March 1988. Murray returned to acting for the film after taking a four-year hiatus following the success of Ghostbusters, which he found overwhelming. Murray worked with Glazer and O'Donoghue on reworking the script before agreeing to join the project. The production was tumultuous, as Murray and Donner had different visions for the film. Murray described his time on the film as "misery", while Donner called Murray "superbly creative but occasionally difficult". Along with Murray's three brothers, Brian, John and Joel, Scrooged features numerous celebrity cameos.

The film's marketing capitalized on Murray's Ghostbusters role, referring to his encounters with ghosts in both films. Scrooged was released by Paramount Pictures on November 23, 1988, and grossed $100.3 million worldwide against a $32 million budget. The film received a positive response from test audiences, but was met with a mixed response upon its release from critics who found the film either too mean-spirited or too sentimental. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Makeup, but lost to the fantasy-comedy film Beetlejuice.

Since its release, Scrooged has become a regular television Christmastime feature, with some critics calling it an alternative to traditional Christmas films, and others arguing that Scrooged was ahead of its time, making it relevant in the modern day. It has appeared on various lists of the best Christmas films.