Scrooged

film by Donner [1988]

Written by

The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last updated

July 20, 2026

Quick Summary

Scrooged is a 1988 film adaptation of Charles Dickens's classic novella, A Christmas Carol. The film stars Bill Murray as Frank Cross, a cynical and ruthless television executive who embodies the spirit of Ebenezer Scrooge in a modern setting.12

The story follows Frank as he is visited by three spirits on Christmas Eve: the Ghost of Christmas Past, the Ghost of Christmas Present, and the Ghost of Christmas Future. These supernatural encounters reveal the consequences of his selfish and cruel behavior, ultimately leading him to a potential redemption. The film updates Dickens's themes of greed, social inequality, and the importance of compassion to a contemporary urban environment.12

Summary created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

3 Britannica Sources

Ask Britannica AI about this topic

Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.

Richard Donner
Films of the 1980s
Donner next made Scrooged (1988), an updated version of Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol, starring Bill Murray as a television mogul badly in need of redemption. Despite an array of notable guest stars, it was not well received at the time, though it later acquired a cult following…
Read More
Donner next made Scrooged (1988), an updated version of Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol, starring Bill Murray as a television mogul badly in need of redemption. Despite an array of notable guest stars, it was not well received at the time, though it later acquired a cult following…
Read More

Mary Lou Retton
…had cameos in the films Scrooged (1988) and Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult (1994). In 2018 she was a contestant on Dancing with the Stars.
Read More
…had cameos in the films Scrooged (1988) and Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult (1994). In 2018 she was a contestant on Dancing with the Stars.
Read More