Black Nativity
The Musical Event of the Holiday Season
2013 | 93m | English
Popularity: 1 (history)
| Director: | Kasi Lemmons |
|---|---|
| Writer: | Kasi Lemmons |
| Staring: |
| A street-wise teen from Baltimore who has been raised by a single mother travels to New York City to spend the Christmas holiday with his estranged relatives, where he embarks on a surprising and inspirational journey. | |
| Release Date: | Nov 27, 2013 |
|---|---|
| Director: | Kasi Lemmons |
| Writer: | Kasi Lemmons |
| Genres: | Drama, Music |
| Keywords | bible, woman director, based on play or musical, christmas, musical, nativity |
| Production Companies | Fox Searchlight Pictures, Malvern Pictures |
| Box Office |
Revenue: $7,018,189
Budget: $17,500,000 |
| Updates |
Updated: Feb 01, 2025 (Update) Entered: Apr 13, 2024 |
| Name | Character |
|---|---|
| Forest Whitaker | Reverend Cornell Cobbs |
| Angela Bassett | Aretha Cobbs |
| Jennifer Hudson | Naima |
| Tyrese Gibson | Loot / Tyson |
| Jacob Latimore | Langston |
| Mary J. Blige | Platinum Fro |
| Nas | Street Prophet (Isaiah) |
| Vondie Curtis-Hall | Pawnbroker |
| Grace Gibson | Maria / Mary |
| J. Mallory McCree | Kyle |
| Rotimi | Officer Butch McDaniels |
| Michael Dale | Innkeeper |
| Doug Willen | Chic Man |
| Henry Hunter Hall | Snoopy |
| Marija Abney | Nativity Dancer |
| Jevon McFerrin | Bus Singer #2 (uncredited) |
| Amyrh Harris | Church Goer (uncredited) |
| Paugh Shadow | Bethlehem / Modern Day Thug Hallucination (uncredited) |
| Name | Job |
|---|---|
| Anastas N. Michos | Director of Photography |
| Renee Burke | Script Supervisor |
| Diane Lederman | Set Decoration |
| Doug Huszti | Art Direction |
| Charlie Dibe | Production Coordinator |
| Kasi Lemmons | Director, Writer |
| Langston Hughes | Theatre Play |
| Gersha Phillips | Costume Design |
| Kristi Zea | Production Design |
| Laura Karpman | Original Music Composer |
| Raphael Saadiq | Original Music Composer |
| Terilyn A. Shropshire | Editor |
| Name | Title |
|---|---|
| Trudie Styler | Producer |
| T.D. Jakes | Producer |
| Organization | Category | Person |
|---|
Popularity History
| Year | Month | Avg | Max | Min |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 4 | 10 | 16 | 6 |
| 2024 | 5 | 12 | 17 | 6 |
| 2024 | 6 | 12 | 43 | 4 |
| 2024 | 7 | 8 | 17 | 4 |
| 2024 | 8 | 10 | 22 | 4 |
| 2024 | 9 | 7 | 12 | 3 |
| 2024 | 10 | 7 | 14 | 3 |
| 2024 | 11 | 6 | 16 | 3 |
| 2024 | 12 | 6 | 12 | 3 |
| 2025 | 1 | 7 | 16 | 4 |
| 2025 | 2 | 5 | 8 | 2 |
| 2025 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 1 |
| 2025 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2025 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2025 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2025 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2025 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 2025 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Trending Position
| Year | Month | High | Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2 | 552 | 552 |
I was, for the most part, feeling pleasant enough about this... until that ending. It's not that <em>'Black Nativity'</em> ends badly, it's just so incredibly forced and cringeworthy. It's a Christmas film so I guess I could cut it some slack, but I feel it could've concluded things much better. ... Some of the character decisions felt odd at times, also. One of the reasons as to why I was actually finding this satisfactory throughout is the cast - loads of recognisable and likeable faces. Forest Whitaker (Cornell) is honestly great, his performance is the only one I'd class as anything over 'good'. Jacob Latimore (Langston) and Angela Bassett (Aretha) are the best of the rest, though I always like watching <em>'Fast & Furious'</em> star Tyrese Gibson act too. All in all, nothing positive or negative... just average.