The Nativity Story is a 2006 American biblical drama film based on the nativity of Jesus and directed by Catherine Hardwicke. The film stars Keisha Castle-Hughes, Oscar Isaac, Hiam Abbass, Shaun Toub, Alexander Siddig, Ciarán Hinds, and Shohreh Aghdashloo.

The Nativity Story premiered in Vatican City on November 26, 2006, making it the first film to hold a world premiere in the city, and was released in the United States on December 1, 2006, by New Line Cinema. The film received mixed reviews from critics and grossed over $46 million worldwide.

In the Roman province of Judea, the Massacre of the Innocents is ordered. Via flashback, the Annunciation and the birth of Jesus Christ are shown to explain why King Herod the Great ordered the act.

One year before the massacre, Zechariah, a rabbi in Jerusalem, is making an offering, when he is told in a vision by the Archangel Gabriel that his wife, Elizabeth, will bear a son. Zechariah does not believe him, stating that he is too old, and Gabriel tells him that he will be unable to speak until the boy is born. In Nazareth, 14-year-old Mary lives a peaceful life with her family, only for that to be ruined as soldiers constantly come to collect taxes; one man, unable to pay, has a third of his land seized and his daughter pressed into debt slavery. Mary, betrothed to 32-year-old Joseph of Judaea, is soon visited by Archangel Gabriel and told that she will become pregnant with God's son, whom she will name "Jesus". He tells her that God has blessed her cousin Elizabeth with a child despite her old age. Mary visits her before the harvest, where she witnesses the birth of John the Baptist to Elizabeth and Zechariah, who regains his speech. Mary returns from the visit pregnant, to the shock of Joseph and her parents, who fear that Joseph will accuse her of adultery, a sin punishable by death through stoning according to the Torah. Joseph does not believe Mary's religious explanation but decides not to accuse her. Still shocked and angry, he is later visited in a dream by the Archangel Gabriel, who tells him of God's plan for Mary's son and to take Mary as his wife.

Meanwhile, Emperor Augustus has demanded that every man across the Empire return with his family to his place of birth for the census. As a direct descendant of King David, Joseph is forced to travel 110 kilometers (68 mi) across Judea's rocky terrain from Nazareth to Bethlehem, his native homeland. With Mary on a donkey laden with supplies, it takes the couple nearly four weeks to reach Bethlehem. Upon arriving in town, Mary goes into labor, and Joseph frantically seeks a place for her to deliver. There is, however, no room in any inn or home because of the people arriving for the census, but at the last minute, an innkeeper offers his stable for shelter.

Meanwhile, three Magi—Caspar, Melchior, and Balthasar—travel towards Judaea after having previously discovered that three planets will align to form a great star. This Star of Bethlehem appears before the Magi, after a visit by the Archangel Gabriel. The Magi visit Herod and reveal to him that the Messiah is still a child and he will be a Messiah "for the lowest of men to the highest of kings." Shocked by this, Herod asks that they visit the newborn Messiah and report the child's location back to him, under the pretense that he, too, would like to worship him, while in fact, he plans to kill the baby for fear of a new king usurping him. The Magi arrive at the stable where Mary has given birth to Jesus, and they present the infant with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

Suspicious of his intentions, the Magi avoid Herod, returning home via a different route. Herod realizes that the Magi have tricked him and orders the death of every boy in Bethlehem under the age of two. In the present, Joseph is warned in a dream of the danger and flees to Egypt with Mary and Jesus, Mary knowing her son will bring hope to mankind.

In January 2006, it was reported that New Line Cinema had acquired Nativity, a spec script based on the Nativity of Jesus centering on the virgin Mary by Mike Rich for development. Rich began writing the script in 2004 after seeing cover Time and Newsweek about the Nativity and feeling the story was a natural book end to The Passion of the Christ (whose success helped the film find backing) citing the story's themes of faith and hope as being timeless. The following month, New Line had hired Catherine Hardwicke to direct Nativity with the intention of fast tracking it for release during the holiday season of that year. In March of that year, Keisha Castle-Hughes had been cast as Mary. That same month, Shohreh Aghdashloo was cast as Elizabeth, mother of John the Baptist. By May, Oscar Isaac had been cast as Joseph and Alexander Siddig as the Archangel Gabriel. The film came as part of a wave by major studios to try and cater to the audience who made The Passion of the Christ so successful with Walt Disney Pictures and Walt Disney Pictures embracing the Christian aspects of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and Sony's release of The Da Vinci Code (though the latter was noted to be more questioning of Divinity).