The Big Picture

The Holdovers, directed by Alexander Payne, is a comedic film about a grumpy teacher who must stay on campus over the holidays with a troublesome student. Despite opening in only six cinemas, The Holdovers made an impressive $200,000 at the box office during its first three days and received critical acclaim, earning three Golden Globe nominations. Known for his unique approach to dramatic comedies, Payne’s directorial vision is evident in The Holdovers, which has a 96% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and has been praised as one of his best films.

Paul Giamatti isn’t taking any crap from Dominic Sessa in an exclusive to Collider deleted scene from the critically-acclaimed Alexander Payne-helmed film, The Holdovers. Just ahead of the film’s physical release to DVD, Blu-ray, and digital on January 2, the cut clip gives viewers an extra taste of the comedic dynamic between the gruff teacher Paul Hunham (Giamatti) and wise-cracking student Angus (Sessa). Just one of many bonus features included on the physical drop, buyers can also expect to dive into more deleted content and featurettes.

In the exclusive clip, Paul can be seen sitting at a bowling alley bar with a disheveled Santa Claus enjoying a relaxing smoke from his pipe. His downtime is quickly interrupted when the bartender yells at Angus who’s tossing some overhead shots down the lane. Dragging him by his jacket, Paul yanks Angus out of the crowded alley with the young man sarcastically protesting the entire way.

The scene is a good example of the dynamic between the teacher and student in Payne’s first return to filmmaking in six years following 2017’s Downsizing. In The Holdovers, Giamatti stars as an instructor at a New England prep school who draws the short end of the stick and is forced to stay behind over winter break. He’s tasked with watching a group of students who have nowhere to go for the holidays, with Angus being one of the biggest troublemakers at the school. Along with the school’s head cook, Mary Lamb (Da’Vine Joy Randolph), the group forms a tight-knit bond in a film about a chosen family set during the challenging days of the Vietnam War.

The Holdovers’ Triumph At the Box Office

Although it made its big-screen debut alongside major contenders including Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour, Emma Tammi’s Five Nights at Freddy’s, David Gordon Green’s The Exorcist: Believer, and Martin Scorcese’s Killers of the Flower Moon, The Holdovers held its own at the box office. Raking in $200,000 during its first three days, it was an impressive start for the film which only opened at six cinemas in New York and Los Angeles. The Focus Features production would go on to earn heaps of critical acclaim during its short theatrical run, nabbing three Golden Globe nominations in the process.

Known for such classics as Election, About Schmidt, and Sideways, writer and filmmaker Payne is known around the world for his specific approach to dramatic comedies. Though he didn’t pen The Holdovers, a job masterfully completed by David Hemingson (Whiskey Cavalier) in his feature-length screenplay debut, Payne’s directorial vision is all over the movie. The title currently sits with 96% on Rotten Tomatoes and was hailed by Collider’s Ross Bonaime as “the most wonderful, big-hearted, genuinely touching films of [Payne’s] entire career.”

While you wait for The Holdovers to celebrate its physical release on January 2, 2024, you can catch it streaming now on Peacock. Check out the exclusive deleted scene in the player above.

The Holdovers A cranky history teacher at a remote prep school is forced to remain on campus over the holidays with a troubled student who has no place to go. Release Date November 10, 2023 Director Alexander Payne Rating R Runtime 133 minutes Main Genre Comedy Genres Comedy , Drama Writers David Hemingson Production Company Miramax, CAA Media Finance

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