This 96% Rotten Tomatoes Christmas Classic Will Bring a Miracle to Paramount+ in December

There’s a miracle coming to Paramount+ this Christmas, and it won’t just be confined to the streets of Manhattan. Starting December 1, subscribers will be able to stream the 1947 holiday classic Miracle on 34th Street written and directed by George Seatonbased on a story by Valentine Davies that was also turned into a book. The movie, though occasionally hard to find, has been a staple of the season for many years, becoming one of the first black-and-white films to ever be colorized and getting multiple remakes, including a film helmed by Les Mayfield and co-written by John Hughes. Nothing has quite managed to match the original though, which boasts a 96% score from critics and an 87% score from audiences on Rotten Tomatoes.

Miracle on 34th Street centers on an old man by the name of Kris Kringle who finds himself the center of attention in Manhattan after filling in for an intoxicated Santa Claus in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. So beloved is he, that the retail chain hires him to appear regularly at its main location in the borough. All the positive publicity is in jeopardy, however, when Kris begins insisting to customers and employees that he’s the real Santa. His claims trigger a high-stakes court case to determine his mental health and decide once and for all, if he’s the real deal.

Seaton and Davies’ all-time classic is also one of the most decorated Christmas films ever released. At the Academy Awards, Miracle on 34th Street scored three Oscars, including a Best Supporting Actor win for Edmund Gwenn as Kris Kringle, along with writing wins for Seaton and Davies in the screenplay and original story categories. It also received a nomination for Best Picture, ultimately losing out to Laurence Olivier‘s Hamlet adaptation. While Gwenn earned the highest honors, the film also featured the talents of Maureen O’Hara, John Payne, and a young Natalie Wood in her first film role.

‘Miracle on 34th Street’ Isn’t the Only Christmas Classic Coming to Paramount+

Beyond the confines of 34th Street, Paramount+ is lining up a festive slate to celebrate the holidays. Among the new titles coming to the platform is the George C. Scott-led A Christmas Carol from 1984, which will also join the platform at the beginning of December alongside the unconventional 2011 animated favorite Arthur Christmas starring James McAvoy and Hugh Laurie. The streaming service is also hoping they’ll have a modern classic on their hands with Dear Santa, a new streaming original starring Jack Black as Satan. The comedic flick directed by Bobby Farrelly follows a young boy who mistakenly addresses his Christmas list to the lord of Hell instead of jolly old St. Nick, causing hijinks aplenty. It’s set to premiere a bit earlier on November 25.

Miracle on 34th Street will stream on Paramount+ on December 1. Stay tuned here at Collider for more on other Christmas classics coming to streaming throughout the holidays.

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