What’s this? Thirty years after initial release, Tim Burton classic “The Nightmare Before Christmas” has passed $100 million in global ticket sales.
First released in 1993 under Touchstone Pictures – a Disney subsidiary where the film giant used to shove its more mature and dark productions – the movie has remained in culture consciousness with its instantly-recognizable visual style, darkly charming stop motion characters, and a soundtrack I still play every Halloween night
The late milestone comes from the film’s 30th anniversary theatrical re-release, which brought in an extra $9.8 million. And speaking of the soundtrack, “This is Halloween,” by the film’s composer Danny Elfman, reached the Billboard Hot 100 for the first time simultaneous with the re-release, debuting at No. 41 from Oct. 27 – Nov. 2.
It’s not the first big anniversary moment for the soundtrack. For the film’s 25th anniversary in 2018, Elfman began performing live concerts in full Jack Skellington garb, alongside cast members Catherine O’Hara as Sally and Ken Page as Oogie Boogie.
“It came and went pretty quickly and didn’t do very well,” Elfman said of the film’s initial performance in a Billboard interview that year. “Nobody understood what it was or how to market it. I put so much into this project, including so much of my own personality, that it really hurt.”
However, Elfman cited Disney’s decision to capitalize on the cult following as brightening his perspective. “I remember being with Tim in Tokyo, and we were seeing ‘Nightmare’ merchandise all over. There was even a club in Tokyo dedicated to ‘Nightmare.’ We thought it was amazing and it was a good sense of this thing still surviving.”
