Dear Santa (2024) is a Paramount+ Christmas fantasy-comedy directed by Bobby Farrelly. It follows Liam Turner, a dyslexic sixth-grader who accidentally addresses his Christmas letter to Satan instead of Santa. Jack Black’s demonic visitor then offers Liam three wishes—but the film is much darker and cruder than its child protagonist and holiday premise suggest.
It premiered on Paramount+ and digital platforms on November 25, 2024. The movie is best suited to older teens and adults who enjoy Jack Black’s energetic comedy, irreverent Christmas stories and sentimental themes mixed with grief, bullying, supernatural menace and jokes that earned it a PG-13 rating. This guide covers the spoiler-free premise, cast, availability, content warnings, critical reception and the ending.
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What is Dear Santa (2024) about?
Liam Turner is a sixth-grader dealing with dyslexia, the death of his younger brother Spencer and the growing strain in his parents’ marriage. When he writes a Christmas wish list, a spelling error changes Santa to Satan. Instead of receiving a visit from the traditional red-suited gift giver, Liam summons Jack Black’s demonic character.
The visitor offers Liam three wishes. At first, the arrangement appears to be a supernatural bargain for Liam’s soul. But Liam’s wishes gradually become less about getting what he wants and more about helping the people around him. The resulting story combines broad Farrelly-style comedy with family grief, school bullying, romantic embarrassment, disability-related humor and a redemption plot involving Hell’s bureaucracy.
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#1 Best Overall
That combination is also the film’s central risk. Dear Santa is not a conventional children’s Christmas adventure. It repeatedly switches between sentimental family drama, crude jokes and satanic fantasy, so whether it works depends heavily on the viewer’s tolerance for those tonal changes.
Paramount+’s official listing describes the film as a 2024 PG-13 comedy with a listed runtime of 1 hour and 47 minutes.
Cast and characters
| Actor | Character |
|---|---|
| Jack Black | Satan, later identified as Asmodeus |
| Robert Timothy Smith | Liam Turner |
| Jaden Carson Baker | Gibby |
| Kai Cech | Emma |
| Brianne Howey | Molly Turner |
| Hayes MacArthur | Bill Turner |
| Keegan-Michael Key | Dr. Finkleman |
| P.J. Byrne | Mr. Charles |
| Gavin Munn | Aidan |
| Post Malone, credited as Austin Post | Himself |
| Kyle Gass | Science teacher |
| Ben Stiller | Lucifer, uncredited; spoiler |
Jack Black is publicly billed as Satan, which is the film’s initial shorthand for the character. The story later reveals that the apparent Satan is actually Asmodeus, a lower-ranking half-demon impersonating Lucifer’s chief identity. That identity change is central to the ending and is explained in the spoiler section below.
The film also gives Robert Timothy Smith, Jaden Carson Baker and Kai Cech important parts in the school and friendship story. Black supplies the most overtly manic performance, while Smith’s Liam carries the more serious material involving bereavement, his parents’ relationship and his anxiety about being accepted.
Director, writers and production
- Director: Bobby Farrelly
- Screenplay: Ricky Blitt and Peter Farrelly
- Story: Ricky Blitt, Peter Farrelly and Dan Ewen
- Producers: Bobby Farrelly, Peter Farrelly and Jeremy Kramer
- Cinematography: C. Kim Miles
- Editing: Julie Garcés
- Music: Rupert Gregson-Williams
Some databases incorrectly list the director as Robert Farrelly. The professional credit is Bobby Farrelly, as reflected in the film’s major cast-and-crew listings from Rotten Tomatoes, Apple TV and the BBFC.
Dear Santa reunited Jack Black with Bobby and Peter Farrelly after Shallow Hal (2001). Principal photography began around Atlanta and Decatur, Georgia, in March 2023, and production was affected by the 2023 actors’ strike. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported on the Farrelly brothers’ return to the area for the comedy.
Where to watch Dear Santa
Dear Santa had a streaming and digital premiere rather than a conventional theatrical launch. Paramount announced a November 25, 2024 release on Paramount+ and digital platforms through its release information and official trailer.
Availability changes by country, subscription package and date. The following reflects the regional listings available as of August 10, 2026; prices, channel bundles and territories can change.
Rank #2
United States
The US JustWatch listing for Dear Santa (2024) reports the film on:
- Paramount+
- Paramount+ Amazon Channel
- Paramount+ Roku Premium Channel
- fuboTV
- YouTube TV
Digital rental and purchase listings include Amazon Video, Apple TV, Fandango at Home and JustWatch TV. A Paramount+ subscription or a qualifying channel package may be required, and a listing does not necessarily mean that the film is included at no additional cost in every plan.
United Kingdom
The UK JustWatch listing reports Dear Santa on Paramount+ and Paramount+ Amazon Channel, with digital rental and purchase options also available.
Do not assume that a generic search result applies to this movie. There is also an unrelated Dear Santa documentary listing on JustWatch; the correct US page for the Jack Black film is the title-specific 2024 listing. The availability information above also does not establish that the movie is on Netflix or Hulu, or that it is free to watch, in every country.
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Runtime: why listings disagree
The safest description is that the US version is approximately 107 to 108 minutes long:
| Source or edition | Listed runtime |
|---|---|
| Paramount+ | 1 hour 47 minutes |
| IMDb | 107 minutes |
| Rotten Tomatoes | 1 hour 48 minutes |
| UK BBFC-certified version | 103 minutes and 8 seconds |
| Paramount Global Content page | 120 minutes |
The IMDb listing, Rotten Tomatoes and Paramount+ generally point to a 107–108-minute US presentation. The BBFC figure is specifically for the UK-certified version. The 120-minute entry on the Paramount Global Content page appears to be loose or inconsistent catalog metadata rather than the runtime most viewers will encounter.
Rating and parents’ guide
In the United States, Dear Santa is rated PG-13 for some language and suggestive material. That rating understates how unsuitable the film may be for younger children who are attracted by its Christmas premise.
Content to know before watching
- Crude and suggestive humor: The film includes bathroom jokes, flatulence humor and jokes involving child sexual abuse and bestiality.
- Language: There is mild profanity and irreverent dialogue.
- Bullying and violence: Liam is bullied, and there is a punch to the face.
- Grief and death: The story directly involves the death of a child and the emotional effect of that loss on a family.
- Dyslexia-related humor: Liam’s dyslexia is the setup for the central Santa/Satan spelling error and is also used for humor. Viewers may find that treatment insensitive or uncomfortable.
- Supernatural and religious imagery: Satanic imagery, demons, Hell-related mythology and supernatural threats are recurring elements.
- Other references: There are brief drug references and a beer-pong scene without apparent alcohol consumption.
- Visual effects: The BBFC notes flashing or flickering images.
The BBFC content advice and Common Sense Media parents’ guide are more useful than the PG-13 label alone when deciding whether to watch with a child.
Rank #3
- Movie dvd
Practical verdict for families: This is mainly a movie for teens and adults who are comfortable with crude, irreverent holiday comedy. It is not a good choice for young children simply because Liam is a child or because the story is framed around Christmas.
Is Dear Santa worth watching?
Watch it if you like Jack Black’s broad comic energy, unconventional Christmas stories, supernatural reversals and sentimental plots that do not mind being interrupted by crude jokes. Older teens may enjoy it if a parent or guardian has reviewed the warnings first.
Skip it if you want a traditional Santa story, a polished family adventure or a tightly explained supernatural mythology. The film’s treatment of grief and dyslexia may also be a poor fit for viewers sensitive to those subjects.
The strongest argument for watching is the unusual premise and Jack Black’s performance. The weakest is the movie’s uneven balance between emotional family drama and deliberately tasteless comedy. The story asks viewers to care about Liam’s grief and his parents’ marriage, then frequently pivots to jokes that can make the emotional material feel undercut.
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Useful comparisons
| If you are looking for… | You may prefer… | How it differs |
|---|---|---|
| An adult, profane inversion of Christmas mythology | Bad Santa | More adult and cynical, with a different comic premise |
| A sentimental Christmas comedy | Elf | More straightforwardly family-friendly and traditional |
| Darker holiday supernaturalism | Krampus | More horror-oriented and ominous |
| A polished modern fantasy musical | Spirited | More elaborate and performance-driven in musical form |
| A direct family Christmas adventure | The Christmas Chronicles | Less crude and more conventionally aimed at families |
These are tone and audience comparisons, not claims that the movies share continuity or the same mythology.
Reception and critical consensus
Reception has been broadly negative, although the film has not been rejected by every viewer. The available aggregate scores are snapshots and can change as more ratings and reviews are added:
- Rotten Tomatoes: 24% from 21 critics and a 39% audience score from more than 500 ratings.
- Metacritic: 34 out of 100 from five critics, with a user score of 3.4 out of 10 from 46 ratings.
- IMDb: 5.4 out of 10 from approximately 22,000 ratings.
Those numbers indicate how a group of reviewers or users responded; they do not explain why the film works or fails for a particular viewer. The recurring positive points are Jack Black’s energetic performance, the child actors and the novelty of the spelling-error premise. The recurring criticisms are abrupt shifts between crude comedy and grief, an inconsistent supernatural rule system, underdeveloped family dynamics and uncertainty about whether the film is really intended for children or adults.
Dear Santa ending explained: what happens to Liam’s wishes?
Spoilers from this point onward. The film’s ending turns the Christmas wish story into a failed demonic contract. Liam believes he has summoned Satan, but the apparent devil has his own reason for accepting the letter.
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The three wishes
- Liam wishes that Emma will give him a chance. This is the most personally motivated wish. Liam wants Emma to see him differently and become more open to him.
- Liam uses his second wish to help Gibby with his insecurity about his teeth. Unlike the first wish, this is driven by concern for his friend rather than by Liam’s own romantic hopes.
- Liam wishes that his parents will stay together. He wants Bill and Molly to overcome the conflict that has intensified after Spencer’s death.
The distinction matters because Asmodeus is attempting to obtain Liam’s soul through a contract that depends on selfish wishes. Liam’s wishes begin with a personal desire but increasingly become acts of concern for other people.
Who is Jack Black’s character really?
The demon is not the all-powerful Satan he claims to be. He is Asmodeus, a half-demon trying to qualify as a full demon. He has been impersonating Lucifer and is attempting to secure Liam’s soul by encouraging or granting selfish wishes.
The film’s internal explanation is that the soul contract requires the wishes to be selfish. Because Liam’s later wishes are selfless, the contract becomes invalid. Lucifer discovers the deception and punishes Asmodeus. Ben Stiller appears as Lucifer in an uncredited cameo, a detail that is easy to miss unless viewers remain alert during the spoiler material and credits.
This mythology is functional rather than fully developed. The movie establishes the contract’s condition late in the story, and it does not offer a comprehensive set of rules for how demons, wishes or souls operate.
Why does Liam’s dead brother Spencer return?
Asmodeus tells Liam that the third wish was no longer necessary: Bill and Molly reconciled without supernatural intervention. Since that wish did not need to be used for its stated purpose, Asmodeus applies the remaining obligation from Liam’s original letter to restore Spencer.
Spencer is therefore alive again at the end of the film. Liam’s parents also appear to have no ordinary memory of the grief and circumstances that previously divided them. The film presents this as a reality-changing miracle, but it does not carefully explain its consequences or establish a detailed time-travel or reality-rewrite system.
That omission creates a significant emotional and continuity question. Spencer’s return is comforting on the surface, but it also appears to erase or alter the family’s experience of losing him. The story treats the change primarily as a comic Christmas resolution rather than exploring what it means for Liam, his parents or anyone else who knew what happened.
What does the final phone call mean?
Gibby tells Liam that he convinced Emma to reconsider Liam by explaining Spencer’s death. Liam is then left panicking: Spencer is suddenly alive, yet Gibby has just described Spencer as dead. Liam has no simple explanation for the contradiction.
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The phone call is intended as an unresolved comic button. It confirms that the reality change has created a problem rather than neatly repairing every consequence of the wishes. The film ends before showing how Liam explains Spencer’s return or whether anyone else notices the altered reality.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Does Dear Santa have a mid-credits scene?
Yes. Continue watching into the credits for a mid-credits scene involving the supporting storylines of Mr. Charles and the crossing guard. The scene provides a concluding coda for those characters.
Credit information is inconsistent across movie databases: some listings say that the film has no end-credit scenes. Because of that conflict, the safest advice is to let the credits continue rather than leaving immediately. The existence of the mid-credits material is also noted by Common Sense Media, while IMDb’s full-credit information identifies the relevant characters.
Two common identification mistakes
It is Bobby Farrelly, not Robert Farrelly
Several listings use the incorrect name Robert Farrelly for the director. The correct professional credit is Bobby Farrelly. This matters because the movie is part of Bobby and Peter Farrelly’s filmmaking connection with Jack Black, including their earlier collaboration on Shallow Hal.
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Repair common Windows errors and clear accumulated junk for a smoother, more stable PC - no reinstall needed.Free scan · no reinstallIt is not the separate Philippine project sometimes titled Dear Santa
The Paramount film should not be merged with a separate Philippine project that was originally titled Dear Satan and later renamed Dear Santa. The two projects have a similar title and broad premise but are not the same production. The Paramount movie’s credited story belongs to Ricky Blitt, Peter Farrelly and Dan Ewen, as listed by Metacritic and Paramount’s production information. The title confusion is discussed by Philstar Life.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Dear Santa a children’s movie?
Not in the usual family-film sense. It stars a child and uses a Christmas premise, but it is rated PG-13 and includes crude humor, suggestive material, jokes involving child sexual abuse and bestiality, bullying, grief, satanic imagery and dyslexia-related humor. It is better suited to older teens and adults who have reviewed the content warnings.
Is Dear Santa on Netflix or Hulu?
The US availability listing checked on August 10, 2026 reports Paramount+, Paramount+ channel bundles, fuboTV and YouTube TV, with digital rental and purchase options. Availability varies by country and date, so viewers should check their local listing rather than assume it is on Netflix, Hulu or free to watch.
What is the US runtime of Dear Santa?
Most US listings report 107 or 108 minutes. The UK BBFC-certified version is listed as 103 minutes and 8 seconds, while one Paramount catalog entry says 120 minutes. The edition and source should therefore be specified when quoting the runtime.
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He is initially presented and billed as Satan, but the film later reveals that the character is Asmodeus, a half-demon impersonating Lucifer and trying to obtain Liam’s soul.
Should I watch past the credits?
Yes. The film has a mid-credits scene involving Mr. Charles and the crossing guard, although some databases incorrectly or inconsistently report that there are no credit scenes.
The Bottom Line
Bottom line: Dear Santa is worth trying for viewers who want an unconventional, Jack Black-led Christmas comedy and can tolerate crude jokes alongside grief and supernatural fantasy. It is a poor choice for young children, traditional holiday-film fans or anyone expecting a carefully developed demon mythology. The ending provides a comic miracle—Spencer returns and Asmodeus loses the soul contract—but leaves the consequences of that reality change deliberately, and somewhat awkwardly, unresolved.
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