# Tinsel Town (film)
**Tinsel Town** is a 2025 British Christmas comedy directed by Chris Foggin, starring [Kiefer Sutherland](https://www.edgepedia.org/kiefer-sutherland) as a washed-up Hollywood action star who is tricked into performing in a small English village's Christmas pantomime (British comedic family show with audience participation, cross-dressing, stock jokes) of *Cinderella*. It was commissioned and developed by Sky in association with Future Artists Entertainment as a Sky Original film.[1](https://skygroup.sky/en-gb/article/kiefer-sutherland-and-rebel-wilson-bring-festive-laughs-to-sky-original-film-tinsel-town)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Director / writers | Chris Foggin (*Bank of Dave*); script by Frazer Flintham, Adam Brown, and Piers Ashworth, with additional material by Jake Brunger[1](https://skygroup.sky/en-gb/article/kiefer-sutherland-and-rebel-wilson-bring-festive-laughs-to-sky-original-film-tinsel-town) |
| Leads | Kiefer Sutherland as Bradley Mack; Rebel Wilson as choreographer Jill[1](https://skygroup.sky/en-gb/article/kiefer-sutherland-and-rebel-wilson-bring-festive-laughs-to-sky-original-film-tinsel-town) |
| Supporting cast | Derek Jacobi, Meera Syal, Danny Dyer, Katherine Ryan, Asim Chaudhry, Jason Manford, Alice Eve, Mawaan Rizwan, Maria Friedman, Lucien Laviscount, James Lance[2](https://www.skygroup.sky/en-gb/article/sky-original-film-tinsel-town-reveals-first-look) |
| Release | United States theatrical and on-demand November 28, 2025 (Brainstorm Media); Sky Cinema and NOW in the UK and Ireland December 5, 2025[3](https://christmasify.com/movies/tinsel-town/) |
| Filming | On location in Yorkshire, England, in 2024 and 2025, including Knaresborough, Wetherby, Harrogate, Wakefield, Dewsbury, and Skipton, plus Versa Studios in Leeds[4](https://www.whattowatch.com/watching-guides/tinsel-town-cast-plot-and-everything-we-know) • [5](https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/arts-and-culture/film-and-tv/tinsel-town-how-yorkshire-became-the-star-of-new-christmas-movie-starring-kiefer-sutherland-5448226) |
| Runtime / rating | Approximately 94 minutes; British Board of Film Classification advice of moderate bad language, innuendo, and a brief drug reference[6](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/tinsel-town-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0xmdmznziw) |
| Reception | 44% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer (16 reviews) and 45% on the Popcornmeter; 5.3/10 on IMDb from about 3,300 users; Metascore 60[7](https://static.rottentomatoes.com/m/tinsel_town_2025) • [8](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt31308201) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
Bradley Mack (Kiefer Sutherland) is an egotistical Hollywood action hero whose franchise is abruptly canceled, leaving his career in freefall. Hoping to reinvent himself as a serious stage actor, he flies to England, but his long-suffering agent ([Katherine Ryan](https://www.edgepedia.org/katherine-ryan)) instead books him to star in a local production of *Cinderella* in a small, snow-covered village, in the lowly servant role of Buttons.[9](https://www.thetraverstake.com/spotlight-tinsel-town/) • [4](https://www.whattowatch.com/watching-guides/tinsel-town-cast-plot-and-everything-we-know)
As he fumbles through rehearsals with a colorful cast of oddball locals, Bradley encounters the no-nonsense choreographer Jill ([Rebel Wilson](https://www.edgepedia.org/rebel-wilson)) and reconnects with his young English daughter Emma ([Matilda Firth](https://www.edgepedia.org/matilda-firth)), whom he has long neglected.[1](https://skygroup.sky/en-gb/article/kiefer-sutherland-and-rebel-wilson-bring-festive-laughs-to-sky-original-film-tinsel-town) • [10](https://www.bigissue.com/culture/film/tinsel-town-review-kiefer-sutherland-panto-oh-no-he-isnt/) The fictional village of Stoneford was assembled by splicing together several [Yorkshire](https://www.edgepedia.org/yorkshire) towns.[5](https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/arts-and-culture/film-and-tv/tinsel-town-how-yorkshire-became-the-star-of-new-christmas-movie-starring-kiefer-sutherland-5448226)
## Production
Producer Matt Williams of Future Artists Entertainment, who had previously made the 2021 festive film *Last Train to Christmas* with Sky Originals, developed the script around the British Christmas pantomime tradition and brought in Chris Foggin, his collaborator on *Bank of Dave* (2023) and *Bank of Dave 2: The Loan Ranger* (2025).[5](https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/arts-and-culture/film-and-tv/tinsel-town-how-yorkshire-became-the-star-of-new-christmas-movie-starring-kiefer-sutherland-5448226) Production was announced as underway in February 2025, on location across the north of England and at Leeds' Versa Studios.[1](https://skygroup.sky/en-gb/article/kiefer-sutherland-and-rebel-wilson-bring-festive-laughs-to-sky-original-film-tinsel-town)
The principal theater location was the Theatre Royal Wakefield, a Victorian venue dating to 1894, chosen because the filmmakers wanted a local parochial theater rather than a large-scale pantomime production. A [Christmas market](https://www.edgepedia.org/christmas-market) was created in Knaresborough during the February shoot.[5](https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/arts-and-culture/film-and-tv/tinsel-town-how-yorkshire-became-the-star-of-new-christmas-movie-starring-kiefer-sutherland-5448226) Foggin, who grew up watching pantomimes at the Sunderland Empire, consulted cast members with panto experience, including Maria Friedman and [Jason Manford](https://www.edgepedia.org/jason-manford), who had just played [Prince Charming](https://www.edgepedia.org/prince-charming) in a real Manchester Opera House *Cinderella*, on details of the tradition.[5](https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/arts-and-culture/film-and-tv/tinsel-town-how-yorkshire-became-the-star-of-new-christmas-movie-starring-kiefer-sutherland-5448226)
## Release
The film premiered in United States theaters and on demand on November 28, 2025, distributed by Brainstorm Media, and launched on [Sky Cinema](https://www.edgepedia.org/sky-cinema) and NOW in the UK and Ireland on December 5, 2025.[3](https://christmasify.com/movies/tinsel-town/) • [6](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/tinsel-town-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0xmdmznziw) It later became available on streaming services including Amazon Prime Video and Peacock in the United States.[11](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/tinsel-town-2025?package=plc)
## Reception
Critical response was mixed. On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds a 44% Tomatometer from 16 reviews and a 45% Popcornmeter audience score.[7](https://static.rottentomatoes.com/m/tinsel_town_2025) Peter Travers of The Travers Take gave it 2.5 out of 4, writing that "there's not a twist you can't see coming" but crediting [Sutherland](https://www.edgepedia.org/sutherland) and the cast for making it go down easily.[7](https://static.rottentomatoes.com/m/tinsel_town_2025) Frank Scheck of The Hollywood Reporter called Sutherland's performance "thoroughly winning".[7](https://static.rottentomatoes.com/m/tinsel_town_2025) Terry Staunton of Radio Times, rating it 2 out of 5, compared its fish-out-of-water setup to *Ted Lasso* while finding it lacked that show's wit.[7](https://static.rottentomatoes.com/m/tinsel_town_2025) The Big Issue's review found "just enough flashes of quirk and English eccentricity to give Tinsel Town an edge" within a crowded field of formulaic Christmas films.[10](https://www.bigissue.com/culture/film/tinsel-town-review-kiefer-sutherland-panto-oh-no-he-isnt/) On IMDb the film rates 5.3/10 from about 3,300 users, and its Metacritic Metascore is 60.[8](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt31308201)
## References
1. [Kiefer Sutherland and Rebel Wilson bring festive laughs to Sky Original film Tinsel Town, Sky Group (7 February 2025)](https://skygroup.sky/en-gb/article/kiefer-sutherland-and-rebel-wilson-bring-festive-laughs-to-sky-original-film-tinsel-town)
2. [Sky Original film Tinsel Town reveals first look, Sky Group (14 May 2025)](https://www.skygroup.sky/en-gb/article/sky-original-film-tinsel-town-reveals-first-look)
3. [Tinsel Town (2025), Christmasify](https://christmasify.com/movies/tinsel-town/)
4. [Tinsel Town: cast, plot, first look and everything you need to know, What to Watch](https://www.whattowatch.com/watching-guides/tinsel-town-cast-plot-and-everything-we-know)
5. [Tinsel Town: How Yorkshire became the star of new Christmas movie starring Kiefer Sutherland, Yorkshire Post (21 December 2025)](https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/arts-and-culture/film-and-tv/tinsel-town-how-yorkshire-became-the-star-of-new-christmas-movie-starring-kiefer-sutherland-5448226)
6. [Tinsel Town, British Board of Film Classification](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/tinsel-town-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0xmdmznziw)
7. [Tinsel Town (2025), Rotten Tomatoes](https://static.rottentomatoes.com/m/tinsel_town_2025)
8. [Tinsel Town (2025), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt31308201)
9. [Peter Travers reviews "Tinsel Town", The Travers Take (28 November 2025)](https://www.thetraverstake.com/spotlight-tinsel-town/)
10. [Tinsel Town review – Kiefer Sutherland in a panto? Oh no, he isn't, oh yes he is, The Big Issue (16 December 2025)](https://www.bigissue.com/culture/film/tinsel-town-review-kiefer-sutherland-panto-oh-no-he-isnt/)
11. [Tinsel Town streaming: where to watch movie online, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/tinsel-town-2025?package=plc)
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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 2025 › Titles M 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*
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