Here's where to watch Elf during the 2023 holiday season
Will Ferrell's Christmas classic turns 20 this year. Where can you catch Buddy's antics?
Depending on who you ask, Will Ferrell and Jon Favreau’s Elf is Hollywood’s last really major addition to the Christmas movie canon. Turning 20 years old this holiday season, the film has taken on a life of its own at this point, powered by the most purely sweet performance in Ferrell’s long career, capable of melting the hearts of Zooeys Deschanel and Jameses Caan alike in its overwhelming, endearingly annoying embrace of Christmas spirit.
Where is Elf streaming right now?
Good news for anyone hoping to get their annual (or more) dose of Buddy The Elf’s endless holiday joy: The film is currently available for streaming on Max—and will also move over to Hulu starting on November 23. (And if you don’t have either streaming service, but do love tossing money toward Amazon or Apple, the film is available for purchase on Prime Video, Apple Video, and other video-on-demand storefronts for $19.99.)
Where else can I watch Elf?
As with most years, Elf will be on regular rotation on cable throughout the winter months; look for it on TBS and TNT in November, and then on AMC as we get closer to Santa’s big day itself. And if you want something a little more communal, the movie is also heading back into theaters to celebrate its big anniversary this year: Fandango is already selling tickets for the event, which will see the movie return to the box office in the U.K. and U.S. starting on November 17.
What if that is still somehow not enough Elf?
Look, we get it: Elf fever is as infectious as caroling “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town” in Central Park. If your urges still aren’t sated, you have a few options left, especially if you’re in New York: The film is doing a big takeover of the Empire State Building (one of its main settings), complete with screenings on December 3, 10, and 17, and a photo op set up on its observation deck starting on November 10. Meanwhile, if you just want to think about Elf while looking at cookies, your friends at Food Network have you covered; the channel is doing a special Elf-based version of its Christmas Cookie Challenge on November 23.