The Nutcracker and the Four Realms

On March 4, 2016, the project was first announced, which stated that Walt Disney Pictures was developing The Nutcracker and the Four Realms, with Lasse Hallström set to direct, continuing its model of developing classic fairy tales. The project is based on The Nutcracker and the Mouse King by E. T. A. Hoffmann, with Ashleigh Powell on board to write the script. The Mark Gordon Company is also on board as co-production company with Mark Gordon is producing with Lindy Goldstein executive producing for the company.[8]

In July 2016, Mackenzie Foy, Misty Copeland, and Morgan Freeman joined the cast.[7][9][10] In August 2016, Keira Knightley and Helen Mirren joined the cast.[11][12] In September 2016, Ellie Bamber joined the cast.[13] In October 2016, Miranda Hart joined the cast,[14] however, her character was later removed from the film. In March 2017, Eugenio Derbez confirmed that he had been cast in the film.[15] Later Jack Whitehall joined the cast.

Filming began in October 2016 in South Kensington and Pinewood Studios in England, and wrapped in late January 2017.[16] In December 2017, it was reported that Joe Johnston would helm 32 days of reshoots, scripted by Tom McCarthy, due to Hallström being unavailable. Hallström would still oversee post-production.[17] It was later revealed that Hallström and Johnston had voluntarily decided to receive a joint directorial credit for the film.[18] The production had a total budget of about $132.9 million, including spending $109.6 million (£85.6 million) in the UK.[3]

The music was adapted in part from Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker Suite from 1892 by James Newton Howard, updating the original and adding new tracks as well.[19] For the recording, Gustavo Dudamel conducted the London Philharmonia Orchestra, while Lang Lang was the piano soloist.[20] Andrea Bocelli and his son Matteo contributed the original duet "Fall on Me" for the film, which premiered on Dancing with the Stars' "Disney Night" on October 22, 2018.[21] The film's soundtrack album was released on October 26, 2018 by Walt Disney Records.[20]

The teaser trailer was released on December 19, 2017.[24] A second trailer was released August 8, 2018.[25] Two days later, on August 10, 2018, a sneak peek for the film aired on Disney Channel during a new episode of Andi Mack and the premiere of Freaky Friday (2018). There was also a trailer that first came out in theaters with showings of Incredibles 2, Ant-Man and the Wasp, and Christopher Robin before going online on September 4 of that year.

The Nutcracker and the Four Realms grossed $54.9 million in the United States and Canada, and $119.1 million in other territories, for a total worldwide gross of $174 million.[4] Deadline Hollywood calculated the film lost the studio $65.8 million, when factoring together all expenses and revenues.[26]

In the United States and Canada, The Nutcracker and the Four Realms was released alongside Nobody's Fool and Bohemian Rhapsody, and was projected to gross $20–24 million from 3,766 theaters in its opening weekend.[27] It made $5.89 million on its first day, including $625,000 from Thursday night previews, the lowest figure for a Disney film released in over 2,000 theaters since The Finest Hours in January 2016. It went on to debut to $20.35 million, finishing second behind Bohemian Rhapsody. It was the third big-budgeted film to post a disappointing opening for Disney in 2018 after A Wrinkle in Time and Solo: A Star Wars Story, although Deadline Hollywood, who blamed the early-November release date and poor reviews, noted Disney's Marvel and Pixar films from 2018 would offset any possible losses the film would suffer.[2] The film fell 53% in its second week to $9.5 million, finishing fourth.[28]

The film was released in 45 other countries alongside the US, grossing $39.2 million. As of December 23, 2018, Its top markets were China ($16.2 million), Italy ($11.1 million), Germany ($9.4 million) and United Kingdom ($7.1 million).[29]

The Nutcracker and the Four Realms was released on DVD and Blu-ray on January 29, 2019 by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment.[30] Blu-ray extras, according to Media Play News, include featurettes, five deleted scenes, and music videos for "Fall on Me" by Andrea Bocelli featuring his son Matteo Bocelli, and Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker Suite performed by Lang Lang.

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 33% based on 199 reviews with an average rating of 5.14/10. The website's critical consensus reads: "Lacking a transporting yuletide story or dazzling dance routines, The Nutcracker and the Four Realms is a hollow holiday confection that's lovely to look at – and easy to forget."[31] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 39 out of 100, based on 38 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".[32] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.[2]

David Ehrlich of IndieWire gave the film a grade of "D+", calling the film "empty but eye-popping."[33] He went on to write, "Watching a visually spectacular but virtually soulless new family movie like The Nutcracker and the Four Realms, it's tempting to wonder if such eye-popping dreck has any hope of sticking with impressionable young audiences. Is there any chance that the kids of today might be nostalgic for this hyper-saturated nonsense tomorrow?"[33] Alonso Duralde of TheWrap also gave the film a negative review, writing "The 'child travels to a magical land and learns things' trope has been the basis of many beloved stories, from The Wizard of Oz to The Phantom Tollbooth to The Chronicles of Narnia. But it's not a foolproof device, particularly when the magical land in question never makes much narrative sense; besides, how can the Four Realms be magical when the London where Clara already lives is so obviously a cartoon? Both the 'real' world and the fake one are ugly, overdone, and lacking any visual connection to gravity let alone reality."[34]