Synopsis
The Griswold family's cross-country drive to the Walley World theme park proves to be much more arduous than they ever anticipated.
Scores
Overall Score
91.7
Popularity Percentile (Year)
95.0%
Box Office Percentile (Year)
91.1%
Review Aggregate
85.6
Critic Consensus
Critic reception is largely positive, with 95% of 38 logged reviews marked Fresh. Across reviews, critics repeatedly emphasize funny, family-friendly, christmas. Most critics frame the film as an effective delivery of its core style and intent.
funnyfamily-friendlychristmaslightheartedsatiricalvisually strikingstylized
Cast
| Cast | Year | Reported Salary | Inflation Adjusted | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chevy Chase | 1983 | $978,000 | $3,080,000 | (est) |
| Beverly D'Angelo | 1983 | $602,000 | $1,896,000 | (est) |
| Imogene Coca | 1983 | $453,000 | $1,428,000 | (est) |
| Randy Quaid | 1983 | $371,000 | $1,167,000 | (est) |
| John Candy | 1983 | $317,000 | $998,000 | (est) |
| Christie Brinkley | 1983 | $279,000 | $879,000 | (est) |
Aggregated Reviews
Rotten Tomatoes critic score94.0
RT critic review count50
Rotten Tomatoes audience score85.0
RT audience rating count100,000
IMDb rating7.3
IMDb votes125,636
Box Office ?
| Category | Year | Reported | Inflation Adjusted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic | 1983 | $61,399,552 | $193,383,930 |
| International | 1983 | N/A | N/A |
| Worldwide | 1983 | $61,399,851 | $193,384,872 |
Earnings / Profitability
| Category | Year | Reported | Inflation Adjusted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenues | |||
| Theatrical Net Revenue | 1983 | $30,699,776 | $96,691,965 |
| Digital Rentals ? | 1983 | N/A | N/A |
| Digital Purchases ? | 1983 | N/A | N/A |
| Physical Rentals ? | 1983 | $13,974,000 | $44,012,488 |
| Physical Purchases ? | 1983 | $9,658,000 | $30,418,821 |
| TV & Streaming Revenue | 1983 | $17,191,875 | $54,147,500 |
| Total Revenues | 1983 | $71,523,651 | $225,270,775 |
| Expenses | |||
| Budget ? | 1983 | $15,000,000 | $47,243,976 |
| Print & Advertising (P&A) ? | 1983 | $9,089,000 (est) | $28,626,700 (est) |
| Participations | 1983 | $5,722,000 | $18,022,002 |
| Residuals ? | 1983 | $2,565,000 | $8,078,720 |
| Interest & Overhead | 1983 | $3,000,000 | $9,448,795 |
| Total Expenses | 1983 | $35,376,000 | $111,420,193 |
| Movie Net Profit or Loss | 1983 | $36,147,651 | $113,850,582 |
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![]() | Vacation | 2015 | Shared franchise (1) | 80.3 | $12,340,754 |
![]() | National Lampoon's European Vacation | 1985 | Shared franchise (1) | 80.4 | $36,066,466 |
| National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation | 1989 | Shared franchise (1) | 90.6 | $69,578,360 | |
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