Original Coverage & Source Attribution: www.yahoo.com
Over two decades later, this Christmas classic returned to HBO Max just in time for the holidays.
The 2003 hit film, Elf, became available on the streamer starting Sunday, Nov. 1. The film, directed by Jon Favreau, follows a human who was raised by elves and thinks he is an elf. He decides to search for his biological family and embarks on a journey to New York City. It stars Will Ferrell, James Caan, Zooey Deschanel, Bob Newhart, and Ed Asner.
The Christmas comedy was a huge box office hit. It earned around $233.9 million globally on a $33 million production budget. It was enjoyed by audiences and critics, with an 85% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Brit + Co called Elf one of the best films to watch on HBO Max in November, and IMDB ranked it as the fifth-best Christmas film of all time.
Ferrell reflected on his time working on the classic in a December 2024 interview with People.
“It’s really quite special,” he told the outlet. “I mean, it continues to grow by leaps and bounds, and it continues to kind of entrench itself as kind of a holiday classic for people. I’m so lucky to have a movie like that in my catalog.”
The actor shared how happy he is that Elf “really means so much to so many people.” Ferrell added, “And not only during the holidays, but year-round. I have people come to me saying, ‘We watch Elf on July 4th. We just love it.’ “
“So that’s what’s so great about what I get to do,” the comedian said. “You never really have an idea of what’s going to land with people, and I love the fact that this movie continues to resonate in a way that’s pretty incredible.”
Elf is not available to stream on HBO Max.
This story was originally published by Parade on Nov 4, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
