Bad Santa 2 (2016): cast, story & where to watch

Released in 2016, Bad Santa 2 is a comedy, drama, crime and mystery film directed by Mark Waters, running about 92 minutes. “Giving the holidays another shot.” — that tagline sets the tone.

What it’s about. Fueled by cheap whiskey, greed and hatred, Willie Soke teams up with his angry little sidekick, Marcus, to knock off a Chicago charity on Christmas Eve. Along for the ride is chubby and cheery Thurman Merman, a 250-pound ray of sunshine who brings out Willie's sliver of humanity. Issues arise when the pair are joined by Willie's horror story of a mother, who raises the bar for the gang's ambitions, while somehow lowering the standards of criminal behavior.

Who’s in it. Bad Santa 2 stars Billy Bob Thornton as Willie Soke, Kathy Bates as Sunny Soke, Brett Kelly as Thurman Merman and Tony Cox as Marcus Skidmore, among others.

How it landed. With an audience score of 5.4/10, Bad Santa 2 has proved divisive with audiences. It went on to earn $24.1M at the box office.

Where to watch. In US you can stream it on HBO Max Amazon Channel, YouTube TV, Cinemax Amazon Channel and HBO Max and rent or buy it from Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies and YouTube. See the full, country-by-country breakdown on our where to watch Bad Santa 2 page.

If you liked it. Fans of Bad Santa 2 tend to enjoy Forrest Gump, Parasite, Life Is Beautiful and Fight Club.