The Best Christmas Pageant Ever: release date, trailer, cast and everything we know about the Christmas movie
Barbara Robinson's classic book gets a new adaptation.

Movie fans can get into the spirit this year with The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, a new adaptation of the Barbara Robinson book from the creator of The Chosen and the studio behind Ordinary Angels.
While Hallmark Channel and Lifetime have become a hub for holiday movies, there is still plenty of holiday cheer at the movie theaters with this slate of 2024 new movies, including the Dwayne Johnson movie Red One; though that is definitely going to be a bit different from The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.
Find out everything you need to know about The Best Christmas Pageant Ever right here.
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever release date
Christmas comes early to movie theaters as The Best Christmas Pageant Ever is now playing exclusively in movie theaters in the US.
At this time we're not able to confirm if/when the movie is going to be released in the UK or anywhere else outside of the US.
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever cast
Judy Greer and Pete Holmes star in The Best Christmas Pageant Ever as Grace and Bob. Greer is best known for her roles in Arrested Development, Archer, Reboot and 13 Going on 30. Holmes, meanwhile, is a stand-up comic that has starred in his own HBO series Crashing as well as Home Sweet Home Alone and Family Switch.
Also starring in the movie is Molly Belle Wright (Troppo) as Beth, Sebastian Billingsley-Rodriguez (Peter Pan & Wendy) as Charlie, Beatrice Schneider (The Lost Symbol) as Imogene Herdman, Kynlee Heiman as Gladys Herdman, Matthew Lamb (Smile) as Claude Herdman, Mason Nelligan as Ralph Herdman, Ewan Wood (Chucky) as Leroy Herdman, Essek Moore as Ollie Herdman and Lauren Graham (Gilmore Girls) as the narrator.
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever plot
Here is the official synopsis for the movie from Lionsgate:
"Based on the beloved book, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever centers on the Herdmans — absolutely the worst kids in the history of the world. But this Christmas, they’re taking over their local church Pageant — and they just might unwittingly teach a shocked community the true meaning of Christmas."
The script was written Platte F. Clark & Darin McDaniel, Ryan Swanson and Dallas Jenkins.
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever trailer
Watch the official trailer for The Best Christmas Pageant Ever right here:

Dallas Jenkins movies
Dallas Jenkins directs The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. He is best known for creating, writing and directing the hit series The Chosen, but he also directed a number of movies over his career. Here is a full look at his feature directing resume:
- Midnight Clear (2006)
- What If… (2010)
- The Resurrection of Gavin Stone (2017)
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Michael Balderston is What to Watch’s assistant managing editor and lead movie writer, covering movies coming to theaters, writing movie reviews and highlighting new and classic movies on streaming services; he also covers a range of TV shows, including those in the Taylor Sheridan universe, Slow Horses, Only Murders in the Building, Jeopardy!, Saturday Night Live and more, as well as the best ways to watch some major US sporting events.
Based outside of Washington, D.C., Michael's previous experience includes writing for Awards Circuit, TV Technology and The Wrap.
Michael’s favorite movie of all time is Casablanca, while his favorite TV show is Seinfeld. Some 2025 favorites include One of Them Days and Black Bag for movies, and The Pitt on TV. Follow on Letterboxd to keep up with what I'm watching.