The Santa Clause

''The Santa Clause'' is a 1994 American Christmas comedy film directed by John Pasquin and written by Leo Benvenuti and Steve Rudnick. The first installment in ''The Santa Clause'' franchise, it stars Tim Allen as Scott Calvin, an ordinary man who accidentally causes Santa Claus (played by Tim Allen's actual stunt double, Steve Lucescu) to fall from his roof to his supposed death on Christmas Eve. When he and his young son, Charlie, finish the late St. Nick's trip and deliveries, they go to the North Pole where Scott learns that he must become the new Santa and convince those he loves that he is indeed Santa Claus.

The film was released on November 11, 1994, and grossed $190 million. It received mixed-to-positive reviews from critics and it has since become a Christmas-time staple among viewers. Its success led to two sequels, ''The Santa Clause 2'' (2002) and ''The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause'' (2006), which were both financially successful despite the former's mixed and the latter's negative reception. The franchise continues with a follow-up series, ''The Santa Clauses'', which premiered November 16, 2022 on Disney+.

The film was originally going to be released under the Hollywood Pictures banner, but following positive test screenings among children, it was transferred to the Walt Disney Pictures banner. Provided by Wikipedia