| Office Christmas Party | |
| Music: | Theodore Shapiro |
| Cinematography: | Jeff Cutter |
| Distributor: | Paramount Pictures |
| Runtime: | 105 minutes[1] |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
| Budget: | $45 million |
| Gross: | $114.5 million[2] |
Office Christmas Party is a 2016 American Christmas comedy film directed by Will Speck and Josh Gordon and written by Justin Malen and Laura Solon, based on a story by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore. The film stars an ensemble cast, including Jason Bateman, Olivia Munn, T.J. Miller, Jillian Bell, Vanessa Bayer, Courtney B. Vance, Rob Corddry, Kate McKinnon, and Jennifer Aniston.
The film was released on December 9, 2016, by Paramount Pictures. It grossed $114 million worldwide.
Josh Parker, Chief Technology Officer of Zenotek in Chicago, finalizes his divorce and goes to work. The interim CEO Carol Vanstone arrives to notify Josh and branch manager Clay Vanstone that the company has failed to meet its new quarterly quota. She threatens to lay off 40% of their employees, cut bonuses, and cancel the annual Christmas party. Carol and Clay are siblings having recently lost their father, the former CEO. Clay is desperate to keep his staff and to pay out employee bonuses; however, Carol, resenting Clay as their father's favorite, threatens to shut down the branch.
Josh, Clay, and Tracey Hughes, chief of Research and Development, inform Carol that they have a meeting with financial giant Walter Davis later in the day, and will attempt to acquire a $14 million contract with Walter's company, Data City. Carol says that if they can land that contract, she will agree not to make cuts at the company. At the meeting, Walter says he likes Zenotek's product, but has concerns about its corporate culture and how it treats its employees. Clay invites him to the Christmas party, hoping to show him their company has a healthy employee environment. On the way to the airport, Carol stops by Josh's apartment to offer him a position working for her at the New York headquarters at twice his current salary.
Clay funds an exorbitant Christmas party, vexing Mary, head of Human Resources. The party struggles to pick up even with Chicago Bulls player Jimmy Butler present. However, when cocaine belonging to Savannah, a prostitute hired by Nate to pose as his girlfriend to impress his subordinates, is mistakenly placed in a snow-blowing machine, employees are doused with the substance, as is Walter. They become rowdier, resulting in nudity, orgies in the restroom, and damage to the company's property. Clay's assistant and single mom Allison unsuccessfully tries to start a romance with Fred. Jeremy dances uninhibitedly with Mary, whom he previously despised. As Clay wins over Walter, Josh and Tracey nearly kiss on the roof.
Carol's flight is cancelled due to weather, and she rushes back when she learns about the party. After Walter is hospitalized attempting to swing off a balcony, Josh and the others learn that Walter was fired from his firm earlier, upon which Carol decides to immediately shut down the branch.
Carol then loudly mentions her job offer to Josh to everyone, especially Clay. Despite stating he didn't accept it, he is angrily confronted by Tracey for not having explicitly turned Carol down as Tracey did when Carol made her a similar offer. Feeling betrayed, Clay rushes off with Savannah's gun-toting pimp, Trina, who wants to rob his personal safe. Josh, Tracey, Mary, and Carol race to save him.
Hearing the branch is being terminated instigates a riot, resulting in more property damage. Josh authorizes security guard Carla to shut down the party. Clay races Trina's car towards an opening drawbridge, attempting to jump the gap, a feat he'd earlier mentioned to Josh. Driving Mary's minivan alongside him, Josh tries to convince Clay not to jump, but the despondent Clay still wants to jump, dead or alive. Carol takes the wheel, and runs Clay's car into an internet hub, disconnecting the entire city.
Trina and Savannah are arrested, while Clay is taken to the hospital. The internet blackout inspires Tracey to implement an innovation combining internet Wi-Fi with wire connections through the power grid, which had previously failed. They race back to the destroyed office to set up her tech, which successfully restores internet access to the city, saving the branch.
Clay apologizes to Carol for how his father treated her. Walter, in the same hospital, agrees to join the team. Josh and Tracey kiss amidst the ruins of the office. Jeremy opens up to Mary, and Nate and Allison agree to go on a date. Everyone meets Carol and Clay at the hospital, and they all go out for breakfast, driving recklessly on the way.
In 2010, Guymon Casady approached Will Speck and Josh Gordon with an original idea of his, to make a movie about a holiday office party. They subsequently set the concept up at DreamWorks Pictures, and it was later rewritten by Lee Eisenberg, Gene Stupnitsky, and Laura Solon.[3] On February 19, 2016, it was announced that Speck and Gordon would also direct the film to be distributed by Paramount Pictures, which would star Jennifer Aniston, Jason Bateman, T.J. Miller, and Kate McKinnon.[4] On March 8, 2016, Randall Park joined the film,[5] and Olivia Munn was cast on March 17.[6] On April 4, 2016, Abbey Lee Kershaw joined the cast.[7] Karan Soni, Da'Vine Joy Randolph, and Jamie Chung were added on April 5, 2016,[8] and on April 6, 2016, Rob Corddry, Andrew Leeds, and Oliver Cooper were cast as well.[9]
Principal photography on the film began late March 2016 in Atlanta, Georgia.[10] In early April, filming took place in Chicago, Illinois,[11] and after that production moved to Hiram, Georgia, where it shot from April 19 to June 1, 2016.[12]
On casting Aniston in the film, Gordon stated, "We created this character for Jennifer because she's absolutely fearless when it comes to playing somewhat unlikeable characters in comedies. For her, the more daring the role, the better."[13]
Office Christmas Party was released in the United States on December 9, 2016, by Paramount Pictures. Paramount also distributed it internationally, except in several territories: EMEA, where Mister Smith Entertainment handled sales, India, where Reliance Entertainment distributed the film, and the United Kingdom, Benelux, Australia and New Zealand, where Entertainment One distributed the film.
Office Christmas Party grossed $54.8 million in the United States and Canada and $59.7 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $114.5 million, against a production budget of $45 million.
Office Christmas Party was released alongside The Bounce Back and the wide expansions of Miss Sloane and Nocturnal Animals, and was expected to gross $13–15 million from 3,210 theaters in its opening weekend.[14] It went on to make $16.9 million in its opening weekend, finishing second at the box office and on par with recent R-rated comedies like How to Be Single and Sisters. The opening weekend audience was 56% male, and 83% was over the age of 25.[15]
Office Christmas Party received mixed reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of based on reviews and an average rating of . The site's critical consensus reads, "Its cast of gifted comics is good for a handful of laughs, but Office Christmas Partys overstuffed plot ultimately proves roughly as disappointing as its clichéd gags and forced sentimentality."[16] On Metacritic, the film had a weighted average score of 42 out of 100 based on 35 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[17] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale.[18] Vanity Fair critic Jordan Hoffman gave the film a positive review, highlighting several comedic performances by the ensemble cast.[19]
The film was released on Digital HD on March 21, 2017,[20] before being released on DVD and Blu-ray on April 4, 2017.[21] [22]
In Germany the title was changed for the home release, with the film named Dirty Office Party.[23]