Neil Patrick Harris Tries to Score Nintendo in HBO Max Movie 8-Bit Christmas

By Cameron Bonomolo

How far would you go for Nintendo? "Every kid has that one gift they want more than anything for Christmas. This is the story of mine," narrates a grown-up Jake Doyle (Neil Patrick Harris) in the first trailer for HBO Max Original movie 8-Bit Christmas. Set in suburban Chicago in the late 1980s, 8-Bit Christmas is about ten-year-old Jake's (Winslow Fegley) herculean quest to score the ultimate gift for Christmas: the Nintendo Entertainment System. See the poster and watch the trailer for the "next great Christmas story" from New Line Cinema (Elf, Four Christmases) streaming November 24 on HBO Max.

"Me and my friends would do anything just to play one," Harris' adult Jake tells his daughter about his childhood holiday hijinks. "I needed a Christmas miracle. One thing became clear: I needed to get my own." 

Described as a humorous and heartfelt look back at the adventures of childhood, 8-Bit Christmas stars Neil Patrick Harris (A Series of Unfortunate Events, The Matrix Resurrections), Winslow Fegley (Come Play, Fast Layne), June Diane Raphael (Long Shot, Grace and Frankie), with David Cross (Arrested Development, Kung Fu Panda), and Steve Zahn (Diary of a Wimpy Kid, The White Lotus) as Jake's no-go-on-Nintendo dad. 

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Michael Dowse (Stuber, Coffee & Kareem) directs from a screenplay by Kevin Jakubowski, based on his novel of the same name. Tim and Trevor White (King Richard), Allan Mandelbaum (Ingrid Goes West), Jonathan Sadowski and Nick Nantell produced; Nikki Ramey, Richard Brener, Celia Khong, Kevin Jakubowski and Whitney Brown are executive producers. 

The family-friendly 8-Bit Christmas is rated PG for rude humor and some mild violence, language and suggestive references, and is streaming exclusively on HBO Max on Wednesday, November 24. 

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