“The Nightmare Before Christmas” was originally released in 1993.
The stop-motion musical fantasy premiered at the New York Film Festival on October 9, 1993. It received a limited theatrical release on October 13 and expanded to a wider release on October 29, so 1993 is the canonical year regardless of which release milestone a quizmaster has in mind.
The film follows Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King of Halloween Town, after he discovers Christmas Town and attempts to remake the holiday in his own unsettling style. Tim Burton conceived the story and characters, while Henry Selick directed the production. Disney released it through Touchstone Pictures, partly because executives worried its gothic tone might seem too dark for Disney’s traditional family audience.
Another common mix-up concerns authorship. The movie is often called “Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas,” but Burton did not direct it. He developed the original concept and served as producer; Selick directed the film, and Danny Elfman wrote the songs and provided Jack’s singing voice.