A Groovy Pete the Cat Christmas

A Groovy Pete the Cat Christmas is a 2023 American live-action/animated hybrid Christmas comedy film produced by Columbia Pictures and Sony Pictures Animation. The film serves as a sequel to the 2021 film Pete the Cat. Like the first, the film is directed by Tim Story, and produced by Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, and Neal H Moritz. Most of the cast reprise their roles in the film, starring Ryan Reynolds, Will Ferrell, Jack McBrayer, Ken Jeong, and Jacob Tremblay. In this film, the gang takes a trip to New York City for Christmas break.

The film was released on December 8th, 2023. Unlike the first, it was a box-office bomb, receiving $152.4 million on a $84 million budget, canceling plans for a second sequel. Despite this, the film recieved mixed-to-positive reviews.

Synopsis
It is Christmas time in California! Pete and his friends get ready for Christmas. To celebrate it, Darren suggests they take a trip to another city. But, as they get there, Pete wanders off from the gang, which makes him lost.

Plot
TBA.

Live-action actors

 * Ryan Reynolds as Darren Smith, the deuteragonist of the film.
 * Will Ferrell as Julian Foster, the main antagonist of the film, who has an extremely large hatred for cats; a much worse hatred than Bobby.
 * Jack McBrayer as Terry Donovan, the regional manager and boss of an office company. He returns in the film.
 * Archie Yates as Rob Smith, Darren's little brother, who is a student.
 * Ken Jeong as Lee, a Korean restaurant waiter, who is able to find Pete a home.
 * Anna Faris as Amelia, Lee's friend.
 * T.J. Miller as Joey, an assistant for Terry.

TBA.

Voice actors

 * Jacob Tremblay as Pete, a groovy cat who gets lost in the city.

TBA.

Development
During production of Pete the Cat, Ryan Reynolds, who played Darren in the first film, stated that a sequel is not possible, even if the film does well at the box office. He also stated that if the sequel was made, he'd like to see Pete start a band, and go on a world tour. Those plans were later scrapped.

Exactly a week after post-production had completed, Tim Story had begun development on a sequel to Pete the Cat, along with Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, and Neal H. Moritz. Lord, stated the concept to be like a "related Christmas special".

A month later, on December 13, 2021, the film was announced as A Groovy Pete the Cat Christmas, with most of the cast returning.

Casting
As forementioned, Ryan Reynolds was set to reprise his role as Darren Smith, as well as Jacob Tremblay. T.J. Miller, Ken Jeong, and Anna Faris would star in the film.

Music
Mark Mothersbaugh, who composed the score for the first, would compose the second. The film would also feature an original song by Bruno Mars, called, "A Very Groovy Christmas", a reference to Pete the Cat: A Very Groovy Christmas, a Christmas special.

Release
A Groovy Pete the Cat Christmas is scheduled to release on December 8th, 2023. It was originally scheduled to release on November 24, but was later delayed to December 22nd, before being pulled up two weeks.

Critical response
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 62% based on 120 critics. The website's critcal consensus states, "Our grooviest cat in town is back in this thrilling sequel, but A Groovy Pete the Cat Christmas has a much more extreme turn than the first." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 60 out of 100, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled on CinemaScore gave the film an "A-" on an A+ to F scale, while PostTrak surveyed 81% of audiences to have given the film, with 78% giving a 'definite recommend'.

Box office
The film grossed $70.1 million dollars in the US and Canada, and $82.3 million in other territories, grossing $152.4 million, making it a box-office bomb.

Cancelled sequel
There was a plan to create a second sequel, but due to the poor box-office performance of A Groovy Pete the Cat Christmas, it was canceled.