It's a Wonderful Life

Play trailer

1:42

It's a Wonderful Life

PG

Released Jan 7, 1946

2h 9m

Holiday

Comedy

Drama

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

94%

Tomatometer

98 Reviews

95%

Popcornmeter

100,000+ Ratings

After George Bailey (James Stewart) wishes he had never been born, an angel (Henry Travers) is sent to earth to make George's wish come true. George starts to realize how many lives he has changed and impacted, and how they would be different if he was never there.

Watch on Fandango at Home

Buy Now

Critics Consensus

The holiday classic to define all holiday classics, It's a Wonderful Life is one of a handful of films worth an annual viewing.

Read Critics Reviews

Chris Stuckmann

ChrisStuckmann.com

A movie people will have a good time watching with their families for enduring decades.

Rated: A+

Jan 4, 2019

Full Review

Karen Krizanovich

Little White Lies

There's sex and death here, elation and depression, hope and despair.

Rated: 5/5

Dec 14, 2018

Full Review

Kate Cameron

New York Daily News

While it isn't the best picture to come out of Hollywood this year, nor is it Capra's masterpiece, it tells a good story and its conclusion has a heart-warming effect on the audience.

Rated: 3.5/4

Dec 19, 2016

Full Review

Simon Gallagher

Screen Rant

Frank Capra's classic is a perfect movie, and almost 80 years on, Jimmy Stewart's masterpiece has lost absolutely none of its magic.

Rated: 10/10

Dec 13, 2024

Full Review

Raquel Stecher

The Movie Palace Podcast

"an enduring classic... timeless"

Dec 18, 2023

Full Review

Dennis Harvey

48 Hills

...earned their climactic waterfall of happy tears...

Dec 15, 2023

Full Review

Read all reviews

Susan

Wonderful movie! Easy ticket process!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

12/25/24

Full Review

Jeff S

It was awesome being able to watch this iconic film on the big screen again. Hopefully this will be the start of an annual Christmas Eve tradition.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

12/25/24

Full Review

Milton

Beautiful movie and especially loved how the entire audience got so engaged Full house ovation at the end of the movie. And the trivia game on the way home with the grandkids was just icing on the cake!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

12/24/24

Full Review

Shelley

Seeing it at the theater was so amazing. Because of the big-screen experience, I was able to see things in the film that I have not seen when watching it on TV.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

12/23/24

Full Review

Daniel

Thank you for sharing the best Christmas (or any) movie ever!

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

12/23/24

Full Review

Jeff

Another amazing classic movie. Thank you Flashback Cinema, Village Cinema. and Cinema West for bringing this back to the big screen.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

12/23/24

Full Review

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

POST RATING

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

Frank Capra

Director

James Stewart

George Bailey

Donna Reed

Mary Hatch Bailey

Lionel Barrymore

Mr. Henry F. Potter

Thomas Mitchell

William Bailey

Henry Travers

Clarence Oddbody

It's a Wonderful Life: Official Clip - Every Time a Bell Rings an Angel Gets His Wings

2:11

It's a Wonderful Life: Official Clip - Lasso the Moon

1:44

It's a Wonderful Life: Official Clip - Careful What You Wish For

0:46

It's a Wonderful Life: Official Clip - Back To Life, Back To Reality

1:20

It's a Wonderful Life: Official Clip - Mary The Old Maid

1:17

It's a Wonderful Life: Official Clip - Vanishing Act

1:07

It's a Wonderful Life: Official Clip - Angel Second Class

1:44

It's a Wonderful Life: Official Clip - A Great Gift

1:30

It's a Wonderful Life: Official Clip - Pool Party

1:11

View more videos

The Graduate

87%

90%

The Graduate

Watchlist

TRAILER

for The Graduate

Citizen Kane

99%

90%

Citizen Kane

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Citizen Kane

Christmas Eve

0%

52%

Christmas Eve

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Christmas Eve

Kotch

75%

67%

Kotch

Watchlist

Little Murders

71%

81%

Little Murders

Watchlist

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

Know Your Critic: Alonso Duralde, Film Reviews Editor at TheWrap

Paul Feig’s Five Favorite Christmas Movies

2017 Holiday Viewers’ Guide: TV Episodes, Specials, Marathons, Movies, and More

It's a Wonderful Life: Trailer 1

1:42

View more videos

View more photos

Synopsis

After George Bailey (James Stewart) wishes he had never been born, an angel (Henry Travers) is sent to earth to make George's wish come true. George starts to realize how many lives he has changed and impacted, and how they would be different if he was never there.

Director: Frank Capra
Producer: Frank Capra
Screenwriter: Frances Goodrich, Albert Hackett, Frank Capra, Philip Van Doren Stern, Jo Swerling
Distributor: RKO Radio Pictures
Production Co: Liberty Films, RKO Radio Pictures Inc.
Rating: PG (Some Violence|Smoking|Thematic Elements)
Genre: Holiday, Comedy, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jan 7, 1946, Wide
Rerelease Date (Theaters): Dec 18, 2018
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 30, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $3.3M
Runtime: 2h 9m
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.37:1)

Most Popular at Home Now