film's director, having previously worked with Blum on his Into the Dark series for Hulu, while Imogen Poots, Aleyse Shannon, Brittany O'Grady, Lily Donoghue, and Caleb Eberhardt were cast in the starring roles. Also that month, Cary Elwes was added to the cast. Director Takal worked extensively to make this vision of Black Christmas as feminist as she could, stating in an interview: "I wanted to make a movie where instead of feeling objectified or watched from a distance, the audience felt seen". It is the first Black Christmas film in which Bob Clark was not involved in the production process, as Clark had died in 2007. Bob Clark had produced and directed the original Black Christmas (1974), and had been an executive producer on the 2006 remake of the same name. Unlike the previous two versions of Black Christmas, the remake was rated PG-13 by the MPAA, a rating Takal sought in hopes of making it accessible to new audiences, especially young women who were interested in horror, and opening up discussions on major issues like sexual assault, although she was ready to fully commit to utilizing the higher R rating if the ratings board would not grant it. However, she would not use the PG-13 rating to water down the film's violence to a large degree, making it only slightly less violent than the original film. Production began in New Zealand on June 23, 2019. Principal photography occurred for 27 days around Dunedin and Oamaru, with the University of Otago providing the setting. Filming concluded on July 31. Release In the United States and Canada, Black Christmas was theatrically released by Universal Pictures on December 13, 2019, coinciding with Friday the 13th. The film was also released on digital on March 3, 2020 and on DVD and Blu-ray on March 17. Reception Box office Black Christmas grossed $10.4 million in the United States and Canada, and $8.1 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $18.5 million. In the United States, the film was released alongside Jumanji: The Next Level, and Richard Jewell, and was initially projected to gross $10–12 million from 2,100 theaters in its opening weekend. However, after making $1.4 million on its first day (including $230,000 from Thursday night previews), estimates for the film were lowered to $4.5 million. It ended up debuting to just $4.2 million, finishing fifth at the box office. The