The Holdovers

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2:30

The Holdovers

R,

2023,

2h 13m,

Holiday/

Comedy/

Drama/

Crime/

History

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Watchlist

97%

364 Reviews

Tomatometer

91%

1,000+ Verified Ratings

Popcornmeter

97%

Tomatometer

364 Reviews

91%

Popcornmeter

1,000+ Verified Ratings

From acclaimed director Alexander Payne, THE HOLDOVERS follows a curmudgeonly instructor (Paul Giamatti) at a New England prep school who is forced to remain on campus during Christmas break to babysit the handful of students with nowhere to go. Eventually he forms an unlikely bond with one of them -- a damaged, brainy troublemaker (newcomer Dominic Sessa) -- and with the school's head cook, who has just lost a son in Vietnam (Da'Vine Joy Randolph).

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Critics Consensus

Beautifully bittersweet, The Holdovers marks a satisfying return to form for director Alexander Payne.

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Audience Says

Cute and touching if not laugh-out-loud hilarious, The Holdovers is a thought-provoking dramedy for viewers seeking a dialogue-driven movie with a throwback feel.

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Mark Kermode

Kermode and Mayo's Take (YouTube)

Jan 23, 2024

The format may be unsurprising but there is nothing unsurprising about just how good and enjoyable this is... this is the kind of bittersweet, character-dialogue driven piece they just don't do anymore.

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David Sexton

New Statesman

Jan 22, 2024

It is the genius of Paul Giamatti to make us, over the course of this great movie, not just re-evaluate and learn to respect this mess of a man but actually... to love him.

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Wendy Ide

Observer (UK)

Jan 21, 2024

4/5

There’s a bracingly astringent bleakness under its surface layer of melancholy humour; a biting, sharp edge that counters the occasional lurch towards sentimentality.

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Matthew Koss

The Wandering Screen (YouTube)

Aug 15, 2025

A+

Paul Giamatti plays Professor Paul Hunham with an external assertiveness and delicate humbleness that makes him easy to root for.

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Marta Medina Pérez

mundoCine

Aug 5, 2025

4.5/5

The Holdovers will be one of those films that becomes part of every Christmas. [Full Review in Spanish]

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Alfred Castaneda

Shade Studios

Jul 30, 2025

This is easily the best role Giamatti has had since Sideways and for fans of that film or Payne’s work in general, Holdovers will be on the top of their (and many others) 2023 “best of” lists.

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Osvaldo

Dec 25, 2023

Facere corporis temporibus officia voluptatum et incidunt.

Enoch

Dec 25, 2023

Expedita vel eaque est suscipit qui exercitationem eos ut molestias.

Jennifer

Dec 25, 2023

Magni dolor sequi aliquam qui.

Oswald

Dec 25, 2023

Ullam eius veritatis dignissimos illum fugit est tempore.

Roderick

Dec 18, 2023

Et laudantium dolores.

Shannon

Dec 18, 2023

Provident esse expedita suscipit iste architecto quis.

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Alexander Payne

Director

Paul Giamatti

Paul Hunham

Da'Vine Joy Randolph

Mary Lamb

Dominic Sessa

Angus Tully

Carrie Preston

Miss Lydia Crane

Andrew Garman

Dr. Hardy Woodrup

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3:41

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5:37

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3:39

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4:24

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4:03

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3:46

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4:47

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2:14

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The Holdovers: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

From acclaimed director Alexander Payne, THE HOLDOVERS follows a curmudgeonly instructor (Paul Giamatti) at a New England prep school who is forced to remain on campus during Christmas break to babysit the handful of students with nowhere to go. Eventually he forms an unlikely bond with one of them -- a damaged, brainy troublemaker (newcomer Dominic Sessa) -- and with the school's head cook, who has just lost a son in Vietnam (Da'Vine Joy Randolph).

Director: Alexander Payne
Producer: Mark Johnson, Bill Block, David Hemingson
Screenwriter: David Hemingson
Distributor: Focus Features
Production Co: Miramax, Gran Via
Rating: R (Language|Brief Sexual Material|Some Drug Use)
Genre: Holiday, Comedy, Drama, Crime, History
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Nov 10, 2023, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 28, 2023
Box Office (Gross USA): $20.3M
Runtime: 2h 13m
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.66:1)

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