# Love the Coopers
**Love the Coopers** is a 2015 American Christmas ensemble comedy-drama directed by Jessie Nelson, written by Steven Rogers, and starring [Diane Keaton](https://www.edgepedia.org/diane-keaton), John Goodman, Ed Helms, Olivia Wilde, Alan Arkin, Amanda Seyfried, Marisa Tomei, and [Steve Martin](https://www.edgepedia.org/steve-martin) as the voice of the family dog, who narrates the film.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/70441-LOVE-THE-COOPERS) • [2](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/love-the-coopers) It follows four generations of the Cooper clan through an annual [Christmas Eve](https://www.edgepedia.org/christmas-eve) gathering that is upended by unexpected visitors and revelations, including the plan of the long-married Sam and Charlotte Cooper to separate.[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/love_the_coopers) Released by CBS Films on November 13, 2015, the film was a critical failure but earned about $42 million worldwide on a budget of roughly $17 million.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/70441-LOVE-THE-COOPERS) • [4](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl3514664449/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | November 13, 2015 (wide, United States), distributed by CBS Films; 107 minutes; PG-13[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/70441-LOVE-THE-COOPERS) |
| Director / writer | Jessie Nelson / Steven Rogers[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/70441-LOVE-THE-COOPERS) |
| Principal cast | Diane Keaton (Charlotte), John Goodman (Sam), Ed Helms (Hank), Olivia Wilde (Eleanor), Alan Arkin (Bucky), Amanda Seyfried (Ruby), Marisa Tomei (Emma), Jake Lacy (Joe), Steve Martin (voice of Rags)[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/70441-LOVE-THE-COOPERS) • [2](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/love-the-coopers) |
| Box office | Domestic $26,302,731; worldwide $42,426,912; opening weekend $8,317,545 in 2,603 theaters; budget $17,000,000[4](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl3514664449/) |
| Critical reception | 19% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer (118 reviews); Metascore 31/100 from 26 critics; IMDb user rating 5.8/10 from about 30,000 votes[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/love_the_coopers) • [5](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/love-the-coopers/) • [6](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2279339/ratings/) |
| Filming | Pittsburgh area, including Millvale, Pittsburgh International Airport, Butler Memorial Hospital, and a Shop 'n Save in North Huntingdon[7](https://www.cbsnews.com/pittsburgh/news/pittsburgh-premiere-held-for-new-holiday-movie-filmed-locally/) |
| Earlier titles | Shot as "Let It Snow"; the original title was "The Most Wonderful Time"[8](https://d1f72a6kha0tf8.cloudfront.net/love-the-coopers) |
## Spoilers
### Plot and characters
Sam Cooper ([John Goodman](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-goodman)) and his wife Charlotte (Diane Keaton) host the annual Christmas Eve celebration for four generations of their extended family, including son Hank ([Ed Helms](https://www.edgepedia.org/ed-helms)), daughter Eleanor ([Olivia Wilde](https://www.edgepedia.org/olivia-wilde)), and Charlotte's father Bucky (Alan Arkin).[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/love_the_coopers) Sam and Charlotte are separating after 40 years of marriage, and Charlotte stages one last perfect Christmas before telling the family.[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/love_the_coopers) • [9](https://www.library.cmu.edu/about/news/2023-12/pittsburgh-holiday-movies) Hank is in the middle of a divorce and has lost his job as a holiday photographer; Eleanor, waiting at an airport bar, meets a soldier named Joe (Jake Lacy) whose flight is snowed in and asks him to pose as her boyfriend at dinner.[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/love_the_coopers) • [10](https://www.netflixmovies.com/love-the-coopers-2015) Other threads include Emma (Marisa Tomei) being caught shoplifting earrings and Bucky's regular visits to a diner waitress, Ruby (Amanda Seyfried), who is preparing to leave town.[10](https://www.netflixmovies.com/love-the-coopers-2015) • [11](https://dove.org/review/11648-love-the-coopers/)
The film is narrated by the family dog Rags, voiced by Steve Martin, whose identity as the narrator is a late twist.[2](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/love-the-coopers) • [3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/love_the_coopers) The cast also includes [June Squibb](https://www.edgepedia.org/june-squibb) as Aunt Fishy, Alex Borstein as Angie, Anthony Mackie as Officer Williams, and [Timothée Chalamet](https://www.edgepedia.org/timothee-chalamet) as Charlie.[5](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/love-the-coopers/)
## Production
The film was produced by CBS Films with Groundswell Productions, Imagine Entertainment, and Handwritten Films; the producers were [Brian Grazer](https://www.edgepedia.org/brian-grazer), Michael London, Jessie Nelson, and Janice Williams.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/70441-LOVE-THE-COOPERS) In July 2015, Relativity, the project's backer at the time, filed for bankruptcy, leaving the film, then named Love the Coopers, in limbo before CBS Films released it.[10](https://www.netflixmovies.com/love-the-coopers-2015)
**Pittsburgh filming.** The story is set in the [Pittsburgh](https://www.edgepedia.org/pittsburgh) area and was shot there in the winter of 2014–15, with locations including the Diamond in Ligonier, Pittsburgh International Airport, Boyce Park, the Galleria in [Mount Lebanon](https://www.edgepedia.org/mount-lebanon), Pamela's P&G Diner in Millvale, Butler Memorial Hospital, and a Shop 'n Save in North Huntingdon, where a local caroling group, the Holiday Harmonies, appears in the film.[7](https://www.cbsnews.com/pittsburgh/news/pittsburgh-premiere-held-for-new-holiday-movie-filmed-locally/) Director Jessie Nelson described blizzard conditions during the shoot, including a frozen camera truck and a burst snow-globe prop, with some cast shooting outside in temperatures around 10 below.[12](https://www.pittsburghmagazine.com/watch-new-trailer-for-christmas-comedy-shot-in-pittsburgh/)
**Set design.** Production designer Beth A. Rubino scouted a Dutch Colonial house, occupied by the same family since the 1920s, for the Cooper home's exterior, while the interiors, front porch, and yard were built on a Pittsburgh soundstage.[13](https://www.houzz.com/magazine/set-design-behind-the-scenes-look-at-love-the-coopers-stsetivw-vs~56380632) Charlotte's collection of snow globes serves as a metaphor for the film, and Rubino designed the house around the idea that the family exists inside a snow globe, with continual snow outside the home's large windows forcing the characters together.[13](https://www.houzz.com/magazine/set-design-behind-the-scenes-look-at-love-the-coopers-stsetivw-vs~56380632)
## Reception and box office
The film opened on November 13, 2015 in 2,603 theaters, earning $8,317,545 in its first weekend and ranking third for the frame.[4](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl3514664449/) Weekly grosses fell steadily, and the run ended on January 14, 2016 with a domestic total of $26,302,731 against a $17,000,000 budget.[4](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl3514664449/) [Box Office Mojo](https://www.edgepedia.org/box-office-mojo) reports international grosses of $16,124,181 for a worldwide total of $42,426,912, while The Numbers lists international earnings of $17,960,682 and a worldwide total of $44,263,413, and puts the production budget at $18,000,000.[4](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl3514664449/) • [14](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Love-the-Coopers) The film was released on home video on February 2, 2016 by Lionsgate Home Entertainment.[14](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Love-the-Coopers)
Critics were largely negative. The Rotten Tomatoes critics consensus states that the film's talented cast and bittersweet holiday cheer are let down by a script content to settle for cloying smarm, and the Tomatometer stood at 19% from 118 reviews.[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/love_the_coopers) Metacritic assigned a Metascore of 31 from 26 reviews, categorized as generally unfavorable, with 12 of the 26 reviews negative.[5](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/love-the-coopers/) The Washington Post called it one of the most jumbled, tonally misguided holiday movies in recent memory, while Variety wrote that it lurches awkwardly between gloominess and giddiness.[15](https://www.flicks.co.uk/movie/love-the-coopers/) Audience measures were warmer but still mixed: the Rotten Tomatoes Popcornmeter stood at 37%, the Metacritic user score was 4.9 out of 10, and the IMDb rating was 5.8/10.[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/love_the_coopers) • [5](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/love-the-coopers/) • [6](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2279339/ratings/) Some later reviewers have been more favorable; a 2025 ScreenHub review warmly recommended the film while flagging the late twist revealing the narrator's identity.[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/love_the_coopers)
## Legacy
The film is frequently cited among holiday movies made in Pittsburgh, alongside titles such as [Happiest Season](https://www.edgepedia.org/happiest-season), and local coverage notes it as the 137th film or television project shot in the area since 1995.[7](https://www.cbsnews.com/pittsburgh/news/pittsburgh-premiere-held-for-new-holiday-movie-filmed-locally/) • [9](https://www.library.cmu.edu/about/news/2023-12/pittsburgh-holiday-movies) It remains available for digital rental and purchase and on subscription streaming through Lionsgate+ Amazon Channels in the United States.[2](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/love-the-coopers)
## References
1. [Love the Coopers (2015), AFI Catalog](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/70441-LOVE-THE-COOPERS)
2. [Love the Coopers streaming, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/love-the-coopers)
3. [Love the Coopers, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/love_the_coopers)
4. [Love the Coopers, Box Office Mojo](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl3514664449/)
5. [Love the Coopers Reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/love-the-coopers/)
6. [Love the Coopers (2015) Ratings, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2279339/ratings/)
7. [Pittsburgh Premiere Held For New Holiday Movie Filmed Locally, CBS Pittsburgh](https://www.cbsnews.com/pittsburgh/news/pittsburgh-premiere-held-for-new-holiday-movie-filmed-locally/)
8. [Love the Coopers, Moviebuff](https://d1f72a6kha0tf8.cloudfront.net/love-the-coopers)
9. [Filmed in Pittsburgh, Holiday Edition, CMU Libraries](https://www.library.cmu.edu/about/news/2023-12/pittsburgh-holiday-movies)
10. [Love the Coopers (2015) on Netflix, NetflixMovies.com](https://www.netflixmovies.com/love-the-coopers-2015)
11. [Love the Coopers, Dove.org review](https://dove.org/review/11648-love-the-coopers/)
12. [Watch: New Trailer for Christmas Comedy Shot in Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh Magazine](https://www.pittsburghmagazine.com/watch-new-trailer-for-christmas-comedy-shot-in-pittsburgh/)
13. [Set Design: Behind-the-Scenes Look at 'Love the Coopers', Houzz](https://www.houzz.com/magazine/set-design-behind-the-scenes-look-at-love-the-coopers-stsetivw-vs~56380632)
14. [Love the Coopers (2015), The Numbers](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Love-the-Coopers)
15. [Love the Coopers, Flicks (review quotes roundup)](https://www.flicks.co.uk/movie/love-the-coopers/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Comedy and romantic films (individual works) › Comedies of 2015 to 2016 › Titles K to Z*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license