New R-Rated Action Horror Movie Debuts To Rare 0% Rotten Tomatoes Score

Published Oct 30, 2026, 10:10 AM EDT Brennan Klein (he/him) is a senior news writer at Screen Rant, host of the Attack of the Queerwolf podcast, and contributor at Alternate Ending and Horror Press. He has been writing and podcasting about pop culture (especially horror movies) for over a decade at platforms including Blumhouse, Fangoria, Dread Central, The Backlot, and Arrow in the Head. Christmas at the Kringles has not instilled critics with holiday cheer. The new release is the final horror movie of October 2026 and the only major release in the genre to debut over Halloween weekend. Christmas at the Kringles, which was directed by Kevin Lewis (Willy's Wonderland) from a screenplay by Zack Imbrogno (Slayers) is an action-comedy about a suburban family who realize that their Christmas-obsessed new neighbors have sinister intentions. The movie features a star-studded ensemble cast that includes Ron Livingston, Rachel Bilson, Beverly D'Angelo, Donald Faison, Rob Riggle, Arden Myrin, David Wain, and Thomas Lennon. On the movie's opening day, Rotten Tomatoes has aggregated enough critics' reviews to give it an official score on the Tomatometer. While the score could fluctuate as more reviews are added, at the time of writing, the movie has received 19 negative reviews from different critics, giving it a rare 0% score. The movie's average rating is 3.1 out of 10, indicating that these reviews are strongly negative as opposed to simply mixed, leaning negative. Critics' individual reviews have sunk as low as D- (from Adam Courtliff of InSession Film) and 0 out of 5 (from Russ Simmons of KKFI-FM Kansas City), with many hovering just slightly above that range. The highest scores that it has received so far are a trio of 2 out of 5 scores and a pair of 4 out of 10 scores (one of which was given by ScreenRant's own Alex Harrison). In Harrison's Christmas at the Kringles review, he says that while the film shows promise, the comedy of the first act is painful while the tension that the filmmakers attempt to ratchet up later is so dialed-up that it barely functions. Read an excerpt from his review below: The film's worldbuilding is haphazard (and in the case of Riggle's character, nonsensical), and though it may seem like we learn more as we go, we actually get the full picture relatively early. If properly nurtured, this aspect of the story could have made Christmas at the Kringles feel more expansive than it really was, but the effect is ultimately the opposite. The clearer it becomes that the movie has no intention of shifting into another gear, the less it was able to hold my attention. While Christmas at the Kringles is already playing in theaters, the movie has not yet garnered enough reviews from verified ticket buyers to earn an official score on Rotten Tomatoes' Popcornmeter. However, if audiences respond similarly poorly, this could damage the movie's already tenuous box office prospects. Even though it is the only new horror movie to arrive over Halloween weekend, which is a time when audiences generally feel inclined to seek out horror titles, there are several major reasons why no other horror tentpoles have debuted over the weekend. The first is that horror titles tend to drop off immediately in the wake of Halloween, so come November 1 it could see a huge dip in ticket sales. The second is that Halloween is on a Saturday, meaning that the spike in horror viewership will end halfway through the weekend. ​​​​​​​Also, its Christmas themes may not make it feel like an ideal Halloween watch in the first place. Choose the movie with the higher Rotten Tomatoes score. Additionally, Christmas at the Kringles is already facing some major competition at the box office, from genre films and non-genre films alike. It arrives during the sophomore weekend of the DC Studios body horror movie Clayface, which has much better reviews (a Certified Fresh 77% from critics and a Verified Hot 94% from audiences), and the record-breaking smash hit documentary You Can See Everything, which has downright spectacular reviews (a Certified Fresh 97% from critics and a Verified Hot 96% from audiences). Release Date October 30, 2026 Runtime 98 minutes Director Kevin Lewis Cast Ron Livingston Mark Severson Arden Myrin Carol Kringle Writers Zack Imbrogno Producers Jordan Dykstra, Kevin Lewis, Tom Ortenberg, Andrew Ortenberg, Liam Finn