The Santa Clause

The Santa Clause is a 1994 American Christmas fantasy comedy film directed by John Pasquin and written by Leo Benvenuti and Steve Rudnick. The first instalment in The Santa Clause franchise, it stars Tim Allen as Scott Calvin, an ordinary man who accidentally causes Santa Claus to fall from his roof to his death on Christmas Eve. When he and his young son, Charlie, finish the late St. Nick's trip and deliveries, they go to the North Pole where Scott learns that he must become the new Santa and convince those he loves that he is indeed Santa Claus.

The Santa Clause premiered at Hollywood on November 5, 1994, and was theatrically released in the United States on November 11. It grossed $190 million worldwide, and received positive reviews from critics, and it has since become a Christmas-time staple among viewers. Its success led to two sequels, The Santa Clause 2 (2002) and The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause (2006), both of which were commercially successful despite the former's mixed and the latter's negative reception. The franchise continued with a follow-up series, The Santa Clauses, which premiered November 16, 2022 on Disney+.

The film was originally going to be released under the Hollywood Pictures banner, but following positive test screenings among children, it was transferred to the Walt Disney Pictures banner.