The Heist Before Christmas: film and novel

Edward Hall directed, Ronan Blaney wrote, and Sky Max aired it on 24 December 2023. SHUK (Studio Hamburg UK) and Calico Pictures produced it. Twelve-year-old Mikey (Bamber Todd) watches a Santa-suited robber hit a bank during a Santa Dash, then meets a man in the woods (Timothy Spall) who claims to be the real Father Christmas. Mikey’s mother Patricia (Laura Donnelly) is short of money. His brother Sean (Joshua McLees) still believes. The robber, played by James Nesbitt, is carrying £80,000. Mikey tries to trade an escape for cash; Sean is taken; Mikey and the “real” Santa go after him.

JustWatch lists 77 minutes. The Independent’s review calls it a 75-minute special. An older note of 90 minutes is not backed by those two, so I am not using 90. The Guardian’s Lucy Mangan gave it 4/5 and still called the ending a mess. Nick Hilton in The Independent gave it 2/5, praising an anti-capitalist setup and criticising a cheap, hammy finish, and he flagged a gun, dementia, and a mother slapping her son.

Also billed: Bronagh Waugh (Georgina), Lloyd Hutchinson (Spam Brady), Pat Shortt (headmaster). Northern Ireland locations named in local reporting via Wikipedia: Newtownabbey, Monkstown, Rathfriland and Belfast’s Turf Lodge, shot in March 2023. UK viewers: Sky Max and Now. JustWatch says there is no US stream. Streaming rights vary by territory. Where to watch.

This is not an adaptation. Lucy Score’s site lists The Heist Before Christmas as Riley Thorn #5. Publishers Weekly lists it as a November 2026 Bloom Books release. ISBN-13 978-1-4642-9435-8. Publishers Weekly lists 400 pages and an $18.99 trade paper. The 400-page count and $18.99 price refer to the trade-paperback edition in that publisher review, not to every ebook or audio edition.

Riley is a reluctant psychic. She and fiancé Nick Santiago run a detective agency. Before Christmas she is buried in invoices, a PI licence that might be pulled, a grandmother with wedding opinions, and a blank spot where her future with Nick should be. Nick, who loves the holiday, goes undercover as mall security on a string of thefts at East Shore Mall. They have five days. There is a destructive cat and a dog the cat bullies. Early readers have called book five the last Riley Thorn book. The publisher and the author page only say #5, so I am not calling the series finished.