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53-602: Better Watch Out (formerly titled Safe Neighborhood ) is a 2016 Christmas psychological horror film directed by Chris Peckover , from a script he co-wrote with Zack Kahn. It stars Olivia DeJonge , Levi Miller and Ed Oxenbould . The film had its world premiere at Fantastic Fest on September 22, 2016, and was released in the United States on October 6, 2017, by Well Go USA and in Australia on November 23, 2017, by Rialto Distribution. At Christmas time, 17-year-old Ashley

106-454: A Christmas parade at Walt Disney World Resort and along with its sister cable network, ESPN (since they jointly acquired broadcast rights to the league in 2002), NBA games featuring some of the league's best teams and players, broadcasting a doubleheader (or as many as five games between the two networks in certain years); the NBA's Christmas Day games are notable as they historically serve as

159-490: A Phoenix land and cattle baron, ran the newspaper from 1912 until his death in 1929. The paper was then run by two of its top executives, Charles Stauffer and W. Wesley Knorpp, until it was bought by Midwestern newspaper magnate Eugene C. Pulliam in 1946. Stauffer and Knorpp had changed the newspaper's name to The Arizona Republic in 1930, and also had bought the rival Phoenix Evening Gazette and Phoenix Weekly Gazette , later known, respectively, as The Phoenix Gazette and

212-611: A backdrop for the film (though the films themselves are often filmed in British Columbia due to favorable film tax benefits). As of 2020 The Grinch is the highest grossing Christmas film of all time. Green Book was the last movie with a Christmas setting to win the Academy Award for Best Picture . Before 1962, when Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol premiered, true Christmas specials made for TV were either adaptations of stories such as A Christmas Carol (with live actors), or

265-410: A big city person has to go to a small town, in either case deciding that the small town is where they should remain. A main character will also have a Christmas-sounding name (such as "Holly") and/or the small town will (such as "Christmas Valley"). The settings are usually in the northern United States, or in a mountain area (such as Colorado), where snow (and the ensuing "White Christmas") are used as

318-407: A certain type of character, then cheer on that same stock type as he or she defies expectations and refuses to be pummeled into oblivion. [...] When the film ends, we've been traded one set of unchallenging cliches for another" and gave the film a rating of 1 star out of 4. Christmas film It also includes animation, comics, and children's books, including A Charlie Brown Christmas , How

371-1070: A disabled beggar boy living with his (presumably) widowed mother in the Holy Land. They are visited by the Three Wise Men who are on their way to see the Christ Child, and when Amahl offers his crutch as a gift, he is miraculously cured. In 1978, it returned to television, with less success. TV programmes which have had special Christmas episodes in the United Kingdom include Top of the Pops (from 1960s-2006), Morecambe and Wise (1970s), The Two Ronnies (1980s), Stars in Their Eyes , Only Fools and Horses (both 1990s), and more recently, Doctor Who , Top Gear (both 2000s), Downton Abbey (2010s) and The Repair Shop (2020s). The 1982 animated tale The Snowman has been screened for many years during

424-456: A person who has "lost the Christmas spirit" and through "Christmas magic" regains it (commonly by a romantic encounter; frequently one of the two in the romance is a single parent or has lost someone special around a prior Christmas season). Another theme plays on the "big city-small town" dynamic, whereby a lead character has either left a small hometown for the big city (and has had to return), or

477-428: A tree, making the apology look like a suicide note. Garrett has a change of heart and starts to free Ashley, but is killed by Luke. Luke stabs Ashley in the neck and stages the scene to frame Jeremy. Later, he goes to bed and waits for the return of his parents, who contact the police. Ashley survives, having placed duct tape over the stab wound to stop the bleeding. Luke watches from his bedroom window as Ashley gives him

530-594: Is also available in the local sections produced for many of the different cities and suburbs that make up the Phoenix metropolitan area. Central Newspapers was purchased by Gannett in 2000, bringing it into common ownership with USA Today and the local Phoenix NBC television affiliate, KPNX . The Republic and KPNX combine their forces to produce their common local news subscription website, www.azcentral.com; The Republic and KPNX separated in 2015 when Gannett split into separate print and broadcast companies. Also in 2000,

583-433: Is an adorably sinister holiday horror film." On Metacritic , the film has a weighted average score of 67 out of 100 based on 13 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Luke Buckmaster of The Guardian gave the film a rating of 4 stars out of 5 and praised the performances of the actors, saying that, "deranged mind games and faultless performances in Christmas horror". Bill Goodykoontz of AZ Central praised

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636-418: Is babysitting precocious 12-year-old Luke Lerner. Luke has romantic feelings for Ashley and unsuccessfully attempts to seduce her while watching a horror film. Strange happenings outside put Ashley on edge, but it ultimately appears to be just Luke's best friend, Garrett, who has arrived to visit. Hearing a window break upstairs, the trio find a brick inscribed with "U leave and U die." Garrett panics and runs out

689-578: Is known today. Pulliam's holding company, Central Newspapers, Inc., as led by Pulliam's widow and son, assumed operation of the Republic/Gazette family of papers upon the elder Pulliam's death. The Phoenix Gazette was closed in 1997 and its staff merged with that of the Republic . The Arizona Business Gazette is still published to this day. In 1998, a weekly section geared towards college students, " The Rep ", went into circulation. Specialized content

742-430: Is the second-most lucrative season for the industry. In fact, a few films each year open on the actual Christmas Day holiday. Christmas movies generally open no later than Thanksgiving, as their themes are not so popular once the season is over. Likewise, the home video release of these films is typically delayed until the beginning of the next year's Christmas season. American Christmas-themed films are also broadcast on

795-594: Is threatened by Garrett with the shotgun. Luke knocks Ricky out and they tie him up beside Ashley. While Ashley uses a shard of glass to cut herself free, Luke hits Ricky with a paint can, killing him. Horrified, Ashley threatens Luke at gunpoint, before realizing that the gun is empty. She tries to escape to a group of carollers outside, but Luke uses the brick tossed through the upstairs window to knock her out again before she can alert them. Luke calls Ashley's ex-boyfriend, Jeremy, claiming that she wants him to write an apology letter. While Jeremy does so, Luke hangs him from

848-488: The Arizona Business Gazette . Pulliam, who bought the two Gazettes as well as the Republic , ran all three newspapers until his death in 1975 at the age of 86. A strong period of growth came under Pulliam, who imprinted the newspaper with his conservative brand of politics and his drive for civic leadership. Pulliam was considered one of the influential business leaders who created the modern Phoenix area as it

901-740: The Jurassic Park movies, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory , the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies, the DC Extended Universe movies and Peter Jackson 's Middle Earth saga , as well as several animated Disney , DreamWorks , Aardman , Studio Ghibli , Illumination , Laika and Pixar movies. Others have some scenes during the Christmas season, such as the Harry Potter films which are frequently included in

954-599: The 1968 presidential election , the paper declined to endorse either Richard Nixon or Hubert Humphrey , asserting that "all candidates are good candidates." In the paper's 2016 editorial decision to take the further step of actually endorsing a Democratic candidate for the first time, the paper argued that despite Clinton's flaws, it could not support Republican nominee Donald Trump , denouncing him as "not conservative" and "not qualified." The board also argued that Trump had "deep character flaws.... (and) ... stunning lack of human decency, empathy and respect," suggesting that it

1007-409: The 2000 and 2004 presidential elections . On October 25, 2008, the paper endorsed Senator John McCain for president. In local elections, it endorsed in recent years Democratic candidates such as former Arizona governor, former Secretary of Homeland Security, and former University of California president Janet Napolitano ; and former Arizona Congressman Harry Mitchell . On September 27, 2016,

1060-735: The Cincinnati Pops , and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. Many radio stations begin to add Christmas music to their rotation in late November, and often switch to all-Christmas programming for December 25. Some do for part of or all of December 24 as well. A few stations switch to all-Christmas music for the entire season (some beginning as early as mid-November); in Detroit, 100.3 WNIC in 2005 started Christmas music day and night on midnight of October 31 because programmers believed that at least some listeners who are attracted by

1113-465: The Hallmark Channel and its companion channel Hallmark Movies & Mysteries , which during the holiday season generally feature new films along with reruns of favorites from prior years. Actresses Candace Cameron Bure , Lacey Chabert , and Danica McKellar , along with actor Niall Matter , are frequently featured in lead or major roles. The films themselves generally feature a similar theme of

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1166-735: The United Kingdom , during the 2000s ITV usually showed a James Bond and/or a Harry Potter film(s) during the Christmas Holidays whilst the BBC showed the Chronicles of Narnia and/or High School Musical films. And for many years Channel 5 have shown American/Canadian made-for-TV Christmas films during the weeks before Christmas. In North America, the holiday movie season often includes release of studios' most prestigious pictures, in an effort both to capture holiday crowds and to position themselves for Oscar consideration. Next to summer, this

1219-466: The "formal" Republican party nominee for that election cycle. This was shortly after Theodore Roosevelt had lost the Republican convention nomination to William Howard Taft in the controversial, and allegedly rigged, party convention of that year. After Roosevelt's convention loss, and also after the hasty formation of the "made to order" Bull Moose Party , the paper continued to endorse Roosevelt via

1272-482: The 1946 film It's a Wonderful Life , and the similarly themed versions of Dickens' A Christmas Carol , in which the elderly miser Ebenezer Scrooge is visited by ghosts and learns the errors of his ways. By contrast, the hero of the former, George Bailey , is a businessman who sacrificed his dreams to help his community. On Christmas Eve, a guardian angel finds him in despair and prevents him from committing suicide, by supernaturally showing him how much he meant to

1325-422: The Christmas chart has been dominated by the winner of The X Factor and various social media backed records aimed to hijack the charts. As with television, British radio programmes also schedule Christmas specials. These mainly include comedy shows such as I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue and The Now Show . The Music Choice channels have over the past few years have begun playing Christmas music as early as

1378-483: The Christmas music will remain loyal listeners when the station reverts to its standard format on Boxing Day . Radio stations also broadcast traditional Western art music, such as the "Hallelujah" chorus from Handel 's Messiah . Among other pieces inspired by Christmas are Tchaikovsky 's ballet The Nutcracker and the popular suite drawn from it, and Johann Sebastian Bach 's " Christmas Oratorio " (BWV 248). Some radio stations play Christmas music commercial-free

1431-608: The Christmas period (usually Christmas Eve or Christmas Day), and the 1991 short animated film, Father Christmas , by the same artist and company, is usually broadcast around the same time. Adaptations of novels from Charles Dickens are also common around Christmas time. Along with A Christmas Carol (the most popular due to its Christmas season setting, and the message portrayed), these also include Bleak House (2005), Oliver Twist (2007) and Great Expectations (2011), among others. These adaptations usually feature all-star casts. Christmas Day begins at 12 at night with

1484-516: The Grinch Stole Christmas! , and Frosty the Snowman . Many Christmas stories have been adapted to movies and TV specials , and have been broadcast and repeated many times on TV. Since the popularization of home video in the 1980s, their many editions are sold and re-sold every year during the holiday shopping season. Notable examples are the many versions of the ballet The Nutcracker ,

1537-542: The Nativity Story, or episodes of variety shows highlighting Christmas music. They were often hosted by such celebrities as Perry Como , Jane Wyatt , or Florence Henderson . (A notable exception was The Spirit of Christmas in 1950, which, although featuring an appearance by Alexander Scourby , who also narrated, starred the Mabel Beaton Marionettes.) This all changed once variety shows began dying out in

1590-611: The Red-Nosed Reindeer and A Charlie Brown Christmas . Some local affiliates provide the Yule Log , a block of time either on Christmas morning or both during the evening hours of Christmas Eve and Christmas morning showing footage of a fireplace, coupled with popular Christmas music. Some local affiliates that provide the Yule Log simulcast Christmas music from a radio station playing it. Every Christmas Day , ABC (since 1996) airs

1643-561: The Spanish-language publication La Voz was founded. On September 25, 2015, Mi-Ai Parrish was named publisher and president of both the paper and its azcentral.com website, effective October 12. In 2013, The Arizona Republic dropped from the sixteenth largest daily newspaper in the United States to the twenty-first largest, by circulation. In 2020 it had a circulation of about 116,000 for its daily edition, and 337,000 for its Sunday edition. In 1976, an investigative reporter for

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1696-464: The UK are specially commissioned separately to a production season , and many are extended from the usual episode length. For example, the 2007 Doctor Who Christmas special was 71 minutes as opposed to the standard 45 minutes, was broadcast six months after the third series had finished and four months before the fourth series started. UK Christmas specials may or may not feature the holiday itself as part of

1749-861: The Woods , Oz the Great and Powerful , Sam Raimi 's Spider Man trilogy , Paddington , Around the World in Eighty Days , Chitty Chitty Bang Bang , E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial , Robert Downey Jr 's Sherlock Holmes Saga , Fiddler on the Roof , My Fair Lady , Mary Poppins , Enchanted , the Mamma Mia! saga , Bridesmaids , Oliver! , Crocodile Dundee , King Kong , The Railway Children , The Sound of Music , Bedknobs & Broomsticks ,

1802-422: The back door, but is apparently killed by an unknown shooter. Shocked, Ashley and Luke run upstairs and hide in the attic. Ashley almost breaks her neck from a fall but Luke catches her. After they run into Luke's room and hide in his closet, a masked intruder armed with a shotgun walks in. Ashley recognizes the mask as one of Luke's and tells the intruder to take it off, revealing Garrett. Ashley realizes that Luke

1855-462: The battle of the bands and artists to make it to the Christmas No. 1 spot, recognised on the first Sunday before, or on, Christmas Day. Many of these songs are festive, while others are novelty songs that remain but briefly at the top of the chart. Gospel singer Cliff Richard is a fixture of Christmas charts, appearing nearly every year, and subsequently being mocked for doing so. In more recent years

1908-526: The beginning of November, instead of waiting till after Thanksgiving. The Arizona Republic The Arizona Republic is an American daily newspaper published in Phoenix . Circulated throughout Arizona , it is the state's largest newspaper. Since 2000, it has been owned by the Gannett newspaper chain. The newspaper was founded May 19, 1890, under the name The Arizona Republican . Dwight B. Heard ,

1961-588: The day after Christmas while NBC airs a Premier League soccer match that same day. Christmas specials based on classical music have also been well received. Among them, in addition to the previously mentioned Amahl and the Night Visitors , have been the many telecasts of the ballet The Nutcracker , and concert specials featuring musicians such as the Boston Pops , the Mormon Tabernacle Choir ,

2014-492: The entire day on Christmas Day, with only interruptions for Christmas messages from station personnel and personnel from the station's parent company. Others, like 96.5 KOIT in San Francisco do on both part of or all of Christmas Eve and the entire day Christmas Day. Frequently, the first song played on an "all-Christmas" station is the popular tune It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas . The UK music industry features

2067-498: The film theatrically and through video on demand on October 6, 2017. In Australia, it was released in select theaters on November 23, 2017, by Rialto Distribution. The film was released on DVD and Blu-ray by Well Go USA on December 5, 2017. On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes , Better Watch Out has an approval rating of 89% based on 65 reviews, with an average rating of 6.9/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Carried by its charismatic young cast, Better Watch Out

2120-679: The finger before being wheeled into the ambulance. The film was shot in Sydney , Australia, in January and February 2016. It was originally set to be filmed in South Carolina for $ 500,000 when director Chris Peckover was approached by Australian producer Brett Thornquest, who offered a $ 3   million budget to shoot the film in Australia after hearing Peckover's mother was an Australian native. In May 2017, North American distribution rights to Better Watch Out were acquired by Well Go USA , which released

2173-455: The late 1980s and Rankin-Bass began producing more and more Christmas specials. One notable television special usually seen at Christmas was Amahl and the Night Visitors , commissioned by NBC and telecast annually in the U.S. from 1951 to 1966. It was the first opera written especially for television. Composed by Gian-Carlo Menotti with a libretto in English by the composer, the opera told of

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2226-515: The league's first game telecasts on over-the-air network television each season. NBC airs the Vatican Midnight Mass service at St. Peter's Basilica on Christmas Eve night (having broadcast the service annually since 1972, typically in place of the network's regular late-night programming), and usually airs an ice skating special (often on the weekend prior to or of the holiday). Additionally, CBS usually airs college basketball games

2279-494: The narrative. While the season receives almost universal acknowledgement on British TV, some channels and programmes have tried "alternative" or "anti-Christmas" ideas. One example is Channel 4 which has run an Alternative Christmas message since 1993. In 2009, two movie channels renamed themselves for the season; Sky Movies Screen 2 became Sky Movies Christmas Channel and Movies 24 became Christmas 24 . From 2010, changes to Sky Movies line-up meant that Sky Movies Showcase

2332-603: The newly formed party. As a result of Roosevelt's insistence on an independent presidential bid that year, the Republican Party of 1912 was in disarray, yielding that year's presidential election to the Democrats, with the GOP only able to carry a total of eight electoral votes that year. Two of the main planks of Roosevelt's progressive Bull Moose platform had been campaign finance reform and improved governmental accountability . In

2385-536: The newspaper, Don Bolles , was the victim of a car bombing. He had been lured to a meeting in Phoenix in the course of work on a story about corruption in local politics and business and the bomb detonated as he started his car to leave. He died eleven days later. Retaliation against his pursuit of organized crime in Arizona is thought to be a motive in the murder. Historically, The Republic has tilted conservative editorially. It endorsed President George W. Bush in both

2438-426: The paper endorsed Hillary Clinton for the 2016 presidential election , marking the first time in the paper's 126-year history that it had endorsed a Democratic candidate for president. Previously, the paper had only withheld its endorsement from a Republican nominee/candidate twice in its history. During the unusual sequence of events that led up to the 1912 presidential election the paper had opted not to endorse

2491-411: The performances of the actors: "The performances are uniformly good" and concluded his review by saying that, " Better Watch Out is for fans of twisted, unhinged horror" and gave the film a rating of 3.5 stars out of 5. Simon Abrams of RogerEbert.com was not impressed with the film and said that, " Better Watch Out is an infuriating sit because it requires you to invest in the programmatic bullying of

2544-694: The season as part of the holiday programming. The Wizard of Oz , for instance, was always telecast during the Christmas season between 1959 and 1962. Other films often seen around the Christmas period are Singin' in the Rain , Some Like it Hot , Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines , Casablanca , The Golden Compass , Great Expectations , Annie , Grease , The Adventures of Robin Hood , Johnny Depp 's Alice Saga , Sunshine on Leith , The Star Wars Saga , Transformers , The Simpsons Movie , Cinderella , Maleficent , Into

2597-430: The showing of Midnight Mass on the BBC . In addition, the monarch annually broadcasts a 10-minute speech on Christmas Day at 3 p.m. Many long-running British soap operas have Christmas specials, usually involving a dramatic storyline developed over several weeks which culminates at Christmas. Often these stories are tragic, involving a death, divorce, a dramatic revelation or similar event. Most Christmas specials in

2650-478: The viewing rotation. The action film Die Hard is seen by some as a Christmas film, as it takes place on the holiday, and is often viewed during the season, although whether or not Die Hard should be considered a Christmas film has been debated due to its story not being about the holiday itself. Others in this category include Iron Man 3 , Lethal Weapon , Batman Returns , Eyes Wide Shut , Female Trouble , Shazam! and Doctor Zhivago . In

2703-412: The world around him. A few films based on fictionalized versions of true stories have become Christmas specials themselves. The story behind the Christmas carol " Silent Night " and the story of " Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus " are two examples. Sometimes, family films and classics boasting special effects and/or uplifting messages, but having no real relation to Christmas, are telecast during

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2756-428: Was hoping to seduce her by scaring her and staging a rescue. Angered, Ashley berates Luke before Luke knocks her unconscious. Luke binds Ashley with duct tape , forcing her to play truth or dare . Her boyfriend Ricky arrives at the house after receiving a text message sent by Ashley earlier. When Ricky fails to find Ashley, he realizes that something is wrong. Luke tries to knock him out but fails. Attacking Luke, Ricky

2809-540: Was used for Sky Movies Christmas Channel. On 16 November 2012, two music channels renamed themselves; Bliss became Blissmas and Greatest Hits TV was rebranded as Christmas Hits TV . In the United States, many television series (particularly those of a family-oriented nature) produce a Christmas episode, although seldom outside of a season's production block. Stand-alone Christmas specials are also popular, from newly created animated shorts and movies to repeats of those that were popular in previous years, such as Rudolph

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