Adapted by Bill Phillips (who has a cameo as the boombox-toting junkyard worker) from Stephen King's 1983 novel of the same name, the movie follows the changes in the lives of Arnie Cunningham, his friends, his family, and his teenage enemies after he buys a classic red and white 1958 Plymouth Fury named Christine, a car that seems to have a mind of its own and a jealous, possessive personality, which has a bad influence on Arnie.

Released in the United States on December 9, 1983, Christine received generally positive reviews from critics and grossed $21 million at the box office.

Arnie's only friend, Dennis Guilder, intervenes with help from a teacher, who sends Buddy and his gang to the principal's office.

After school, Arnie and Dennis see a dilapidated 1958 Plymouth Fury for sale at the home of George LeBay, the brother of the recently deceased original owner, who tells them the car's name is Christine.

While alone in the car, Leigh nearly chokes to death on a hamburger, as Christine briefly locks her doors to keep Arnie from saving her.

Arnie, enraged by the destruction, breaks up with Leigh and assaults his father when he confronts him about Christine after dinner.

Over two evenings, the car kills Buddy and all his gang members, blowing up a gas station in the process.

Christine drives away in flames and returns to Darnell's garage, where she crushes him to death against the steering wheel.

The following day, Dennis, Leigh, and Junkins watch as the remains of Christine are crushed into a cube at a junkyard.

The sound of a 1950s rock and roll song spooks them briefly, but it proves to be coming from a boombox carried by a junkyard worker.

[4] Kobritz purchased the rights to Christine after finding himself attracted to the novel's "celebration of America's obsession with the motorcar.

"[6] King's novel, the source material for Carpenter's film, made it clear that the car was possessed by the evil spirit of its previous owner, Roland D. LeBay, whereas the film version of the story shows that the evil spirit of the car manifested itself on the day it was built.

[7] Other elements from the novel were altered for the film, particularly the execution of the death scenes, which the filmmakers opted for a more "cinematic approach.

"[8] Initially, Columbia Pictures had wanted to cast Brooke Shields in the role of Leigh because of her publicity after the release of The Blue Lagoon (1981), and Scott Baio as Arnie.

[1] Initially sold as scrap metal after filming ended, one of the best known surviving vehicles was eventually rescued from the junkyard and restored.

Bringing in $1,316,835 in its sixth weekend, the film dropped out of the box office top ten to twelfth place.

In its seventh and final weekend, the film brought in $819,972 landing at #14, bringing the total gross for Christine to $21,017,849.

The consensus reads: "The cracks are starting to show in John Carpenter's directorial instincts, but Christine is nonetheless silly, zippy fun.”[17] Roger Ebert gave the movie three out of four stars, saying: "By the end of the movie, Christine has developed such a formidable personality that we are actually taking sides during its duel with a bulldozer.

This is the kind of movie where you walk out with a silly grin, get in your car, and lay rubber halfway down the Eisenhower.

This time it's a fire-engine red, 1958 Plymouth Fury that's possessed by the Devil, and this deja-vu premise [from the novel by Stephen King] combined with the crazed-vehicle format, makes Christine appear pretty shop worn.

Several honorable adaptations have come from this thirty-year spew of celluloid... and the best of those have had few of the elements I'm best known for: science fiction, fantasy, the supernatural, and pure gross-out moments...

[29] It contained 10 (of the 15) songs listed in the film's credits, plus one track from John Carpenter and Alan Howarth's own score.

[33] David Gordon Green said his 2022 film Halloween Ends is a love letter to Christine and John Carpenter's body of work in general.