Production Budget Analysis

The production budget for The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special (2022) has not been publicly disclosed.

CAST: Chris Pratt, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper DIRECTOR: James Gunn CINEMATOGRAPHY: Henry Braham MUSIC: John Murphy PRODUCTION: Marvel Studios, Kevin Feige Productions, Troll Court Entertainment

Box Office Performance

Theatrical box office data is not publicly available for The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special (2022). This may indicate a limited release, direct-to-streaming, or a release predating modern box office tracking.

Profitability Assessment

Insufficient publicly available data to assess profitability.

INDUSTRY IMPACT

PRODUCTION NOTES

▸ Writing

Gunn called the Holiday Special "one of my favorite stories ever", with a story "as crazy and fun as can be" that he had "bugged [Feige] endlessly about over the years". Gunn finished the script in April 2021, after initially writing the treatment "years ago". It took Gunn a few hours to write the script, and he noted featuring Kevin Bacon was a quick inclusion once he had figured out the story for the special.

The main cast members of the Guardians films are featured, focusing on Drax the Destroyer and Mantis. Gunn decided to focus on the Drax and Mantis relationship in the special because he felt those characters had been "sidelined" in their appearances outside of the Guardians of the Galaxy films between Vol. 2 and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023). He described the two of them as "kind of like Abbott and Costello, but both are Costellos", adding, "They do not have any of the values that human beings normally have, so they don't have the same boundaries that we have. They're like following an unattended fire hose around." Mantis actress Pom Klementieff called the Holiday Special "very goofy and very funny and cute" while "also very rooted in something much, much deeper and more beautiful and heartfelt".

The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special is set between Thor: Love and Thunder (2022) and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Gunn noted there were parts of the special that would help set up material in Vol. 3, calling the Holiday Special a "Trojan Horse" that allowed him to introduce important elements to Vol. 3 that he then would not need to explain at the beginning of that film. Some of this material includes filling in the Guardians recent history, such as how they now operate out of Knowhere, have a new ship called the Bowie, Cosmo the Spacedog is now a member of the Guardians, and "a couple of bigger pieces of spoiler-y lore". The special has been described by Gunn as the epilogue of Phase Four of the MCU.

▸ Casting

The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special sees Chris Pratt, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff, and Sean Gunn all reprising their MCU roles as Guardians of the Galaxy members Peter Quill / Star-Lord, Drax the Destroyer, Groot, Rocket, Nebula, Mantis, and Kraglin Obfonteri, respectively, along with Michael Rooker as Yondu Udonta. Kevin Bacon was revealed to be starring in the special as a fictionalized version of himself in October 2022, along with Maria Bakalova voicing Cosmo the Spacedog ahead of her role in Vol. 3. Bakalova also provides additional motion capture for Cosmo, who is physically portrayed by dog actor Slate, replacing dog actor Fred from Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) and Vol. 2. The band the Old 97's also appear in the special as the alien band Bzermikitokolok and the Knowheremen, while Bacon's wife Kyra Sedgwick has a voice cameo appearance.

▸ Filming & Locations

Filming for the special had begun by February 2022, at Trilith Studios in Atlanta, Georgia, under the working title Pop Tart. It occurred during the later portion of production of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, which lasted from November 2021 until May 2022, and used the same sets as that film. Henry Braham served as cinematographer, after doing so for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and Vol. 3. Gunn enjoyed being able to switch to filming the special after doing scenes for Vol. 3, given the tonal difference between the two with Vol. 3 being more "emotional", and called the Holiday Special shoot easier than Vol. 3.

The special was originally supposed to be shot during Vol. 3 initial production time in 2019, before several production delays. A day of filming in Los Angeles for the special had been expected by early January 2022, but did not occur due to the COVID-19 Omicron variant. The Old 97's filmed their roles in March 2022. Filming occurred around the Atlanta Country Club in late March, with various Christmas-themed decorations being used, and at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood on April 28, with Bautista and Klementieff. The set featured various Christmas-themed decorations and posters of Kumail Nanjiani's character Kingo from the MCU film Eternals (2021). Filming of the special wrapped by the end of April.

Rooker and Luke Klein filmed the material for the flashback sequences, which was animated by Stoopid Buddy Stoodios through rotoscoping in the style of Ralph Bakshi to emulate the Christmas specials from Rankin/Bass Animated Entertainment. Marvel had received bids from other animations studios for the sequences, but their test sequences had used more traditional animation techniques, compared to Stoopid Buddy's rotoscoping approach, which set them apart and fulfilled the look Gunn and Marvel were looking for.

▸ Post-Production

Greg D'Auria serves as the editor for the special, while Stephane Ceretti serves as the visual effects supervisor. Visual effects for the special were created by Framestore, Rodeo FX, Crafty Apes, Sony Pictures Imageworks, Industrial Light & Magic, Wētā FX, Gradient / Secret Lab, and Perception.

▸ Music & Score

John Murphy, the composer of Vol. 3, was confirmed to score the Holiday Special in January 2022. The special's soundtrack, consisting of Murphy's score and two original songs, was released digitally by Hollywood Records and Marvel Music on November 23, 2022.

Gunn chose the music for the Holiday Special "very early". He wrote the lyrics to the opening song, "I Don't Know What Christmas Is (But Christmastime Is Here)", and approached Rhett Miller from the group the Old 97's to help him compose it. "Here It Is Christmastime", an existing song of the Old 97's, was also used and re-recorded with Bacon for the end of the special. In addition to "I Don't Know What Christmas Is (But Christmastime Is Here)" and "Here It Is Christmastime", other songs featured in the special include: "Fairytale of New York" by the Pogues featuring Kirsty MacColl, "Dead by X-Mas" by Hanoi Rocks, "Christmas Treat" by Julian Casablancas, "Is This Christmas?" by the Wombats, "Just Like Christmas" by Low, "I Want an Alien for Christmas" by Fountains of Wayne, "Christmastime" by the Smashing Pumpkins, "Christmas Wrapping" by the Waitresses, and "Mrs. Claus" by Little Jackie.

▸ Marketing & Release

In August 2022, a Lego advent calendar set for The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special was revealed, which was released on September 1. The official trailer for the special was released on October 25, 2022. Amanda Lamadrid at Screen Rant felt the trailer offered "a wild and heartwarming romp" and "more insight as to the wild storyline". Lamadrid noted how it depicted "one of the series' classic jokes in charming fashion", particularly Peter Quill referring to Kevin Bacon as "the greatest hero on Earth" in Guardians of the Galaxy (2014). By November 2022, smart home company Vivint released a commercial promoting the special and their products. Two episodes of the series Marvel Studios: Legends were released on November 23, 2022 on Disney+, exploring Mantis and Drax using footage from their previous MCU appearances; the episodes were removed shortly after as they revealed plot details relevant to the special.

AWARDS & RECOGNITION

Summary: 4 wins & 7 nominations total

! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | California On Location Awards

! rowspan="7" scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | Children's and Family Emmy Awards

! rowspan="2" scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | Golden Trailer Awards

! rowspan="3" scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | Hollywood Makeup Artist and Hair Stylist Guild Awards

CRITICAL RECEPTION

The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 94% approval rating, with an average score of 7.7/10, based on 62 reviews. The site's critic's consensus states: "More of a stocking stuffer than a fully-rounded parcel, this yuletide excursion is a delightful showcase for Drax, Mantis, and a very game Kevin Bacon." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the special a score of 82 out of 100 based on eight critics, indicating "universal acclaim".

Jordan Moreau of Variety felt the special was "stuffed with funny, feel-good Christmas joy, and it's one of the best pieces of content Marvel Studios has released in years." Moreau praised James Gunn's delivery of his "signature, laugh-out-loud, zany" style in the special with a short runtime, how it "pays homage to the nostalgic tropes of Christmas specials", the depiction of Drax and Mantis, and its soundtracks and songs. Angie Han of The Hollywood Reporter felt that the special was "funny enough to provoke out-loud laughter and poignant enough to elicit that telltale sting behind the eyes, if not quite enough to draw full-on tears. Maybe it lacks the heft of a true Guardians feature or series, but it's exactly the holiday confection you'd want from this motley crew: shiny, fluffy and just odd enough to feel personal" and lauded the "delightfully eclectic" soundtrack. Han also felt that the special became the first Marvel Cinematic Universe entry to have a Christmas-themed story instead of setting it in December to coincide with the holiday, such as Iron Man 3 (2013) and Hawkeye (2021). However, Han noted the special being "as slick a bit of marketing as they come... to remind audiences how much we love these characters, who haven't headlined a big-screen adventure in five years [since Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.