Spin Master is aiming to make a holiday splash with its first-ever PAW Patrol Christmas special, and so far buyers have been eager to get in the festive spirit with the Canadian company.

The company, along with Paramount, has secured theatrical, streaming and free-to-air deals for A PAW Patrol Christmas, a 44-minute CG-animated special.

The special features both original and classic holiday songs wrapped in a story about Santa coming down with a cold, and the PAW Patrol having to spring into action to stop the dastardly Mayor Humdinger from stealing all of the presents for himself.

At home in Canada, Spin Master and Elevation Pictures secured a theatrical release for November 7 to November 11 through Cineplex and Landmark. Meanwhile, Paramount Pictures, which is handling international sales, has lined up a theatrical launch to 3,600 theaters in 17 countries, says Caroline Tyre, Spin Master’s VP of global content sales. The international rollout includes releases in Australia/New Zealand (Oct 30), Germany, Austria and the Netherlands (November 13), Spain and South Africa (November 14) and Mexico, Panama, Columbia and Brazil (November 30). There is no theatrical release planned for the US.

The industry has seen an increased demand for specials and theatrical experiences from exhibitors and families, who have been returning to cinemas in force after the pandemic. Spin Master saw this theatrical explosion first-hand with PAW Patrol: The Movie (2021) earning US$144 million worldwide and PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie (2023) taking in more than US$200 million worldwide, according to Box Office Mojo. Even the hour-long targeted release Paw Patrol: Jet to the Rescue (2020) saw 100,000 attendees, Tyre adds.

The success of those PAW films, and a desire to add value for family audiences, motivated Cineplex to screen the new special at 86 locations across the country, a spokesperson for the theater chain told Kidscreen.

Another key to the special’s rollout strategy was securing a linear TV simulcast with CBS in the US and CTV and TVOKids in Canada on November 28, harkening back to how in previous generations, families used to gather to watch Christmas classics on CBS, Tyre notes. Plus, it coincides with American Thanksgiving and Black Friday, to help it draw even more eyeballs. Canadian broadcasters Tele-Quebec and Knowledge will also air the special.

Streamers Netflix (November 16 for Canada), Crave (November 28) and Paramount+ are on board to stream the feature, as well. Streamers were especially eager to get the special sooner rather than later so that families would have access to holiday programming they could watch and return to throughout the season, Tyre says.

All the theatrical, streaming and free-to-air deals add up to make A PAW Patrol Christmas Spin Master’s biggest launch to date, says Caroline Tyre.

Spin Master is also releasing a soundtrack album, along with music videos that will be shared with partners and released on YouTube. And, of course, there are toys tied to the special, including a bundle of holiday-themed vehicles, an advent calendar and assorted plush.

Plus, Spin Master and Paramount say they’re still open to more deals for A PAW Patrol Christmas.

The entire company has gotten behind the special, Tyre says, and with all these deals in place, A PAW Patrol Christmas is set to be the largest release of any single piece of Spin Master content. But the special isn’t just about making a big splash this year—it’s about the long-tail franchise potential that comes from having a special. 

“There’s increasing demand for specials in general, especially as a VOD experience,” says Tyre. “This is evergreen, and we can use it perennially each year with families gathering ’round to watch this.”

Kidscreen is looking to highlight other holiday specials that are in production and will be ready to premier during the winter holiday season. If you have a new special to share, please send the details to submissions@kidscreen.com.