Cineverse Acquires Holiday Thriller ‘Ralph’s Perfekt Christmas’ for Screambox and VOD Release
Cineverse is adding a darker alternative to its holiday programming with the acquisition of North American VOD and streaming rights to Ralph’s Perfekt Christmas, a genre-bending Christmas film from Next Chapter Entertainment.
The company plans to release the film on demand and through its Screambox streaming service in November.
Tom McLaren stars as Ralph, a family man whose obsession with creating the perfect Christmas begins damaging his marriage. Determined to win his wife back, Ralph develops a plan that involves kidnapping the former child star of his favorite Christmas movie.
His attempt to manufacture the holiday celebration he wants soon takes increasingly dark and unexpected turns.
The film also stars Charlie Schlatter (Diagnosis: Murder), Jill Schoelen (The Stepfather), Casey Burke (The Middle), Landon Gimenez (Resurrection) and Lynda Day George (Roots).
Ralph’s Perfekt Christmas marks the debut feature from Next Chapter Entertainment, the production banner founded by Mary McLaren and Tom McLaren.
The pair produced the film and served as supervising directors, with Matthew Bellamy serving as director of physical production. Jeremy Padow and Tom McLaren wrote the screenplay.
Mary McLaren previously served as Chief Operating Officer of International Theatrical and Worldwide Home Entertainment at Twentieth Century Fox.
Cineverse Vice President of Acquisitions Dan Fisher described the film as a fit for both the company’s broader audience and Screambox’s genre-focused subscribers.
“Ralph’s Perfekt Christmas is exactly the kind of smart, distinctive, genre-bending film that resonates with Cineverse and Screambox audiences,” Fisher said, also pointing to the film’s twists and McLaren’s performance as Ralph.
Mary McLaren said the filmmakers approached the project with audiences looking for Christmas entertainment outside the traditional holiday formula in mind.
“We set out to target everyone who considers Die Hard a ‘Christmas Movie’ and Cineverse is an ideal distribution partner for reaching that audience seeking alternate holiday content,” she said.
The acquisition gives Screambox another holiday-season genre release built around Christmas imagery while moving away from the conventional family comedy and romantic formulas associated with much of the season’s programming.
Cineverse holds North American rights to Ralph’s Perfekt Christmas, with the film scheduled to arrive on VOD and Screambox in November.
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