NEW YORK — The most re-watched Christmas films of all time are “Home Alone,” “The Snowman,” and “Love Actually,” according to a new poll.
A study of 2,000 adults who watch holiday movies revealed the titles people go back to every year, with the top 40 list also featuring “Elf,” “The Polar Express,” and “Die Hard” — one of the most controversial “Christmas” films on the list. The 1988 Bruce Willis hit film ranks sixth on the list, despite many people arguing that the bloody action flick is not even a Christmas movie!
“A Christmas Carol,” “Miracle on 34th Street,” and “It’s a Wonderful Life” also made the list, with 44 percent believing the “classics” are better than anything modern.
Film fans predict they’ve typically watched their favorite flick eight times, and a quarter believe it’s not officially Christmas until they do so. Reasons for re-watching films include simply enjoying it (52%), feeling nostalgic (40%), and it being a family tradition (31%).
“Christmas films bring people together and create a thrill of excitement ahead of the big day and rewatching favorites has clearly become a tradition for many who can quote what’s coming next,” says a spokesperson for The National Lottery, who commissioned the survey, in a statement.
“It’s great to see how much people love Christmas films. There is something warming and nostalgic about watching festive movies as the nights draw in and decorations are up.”
READ: Best Christmas Movies Of All-Time: Top 5 Holiday Flicks Most Recommended By Experts
The research also found the typical holiday season sees people watch seven Christmas films, with Christmas Eve being the most popular day to do so (63%). While 46 percent wait until December, 23 percent tend to watch their first holiday movie in November.
More than half the poll (53%) claim that watching Christmas movies with family and friends is part of their yearly traditions and 41 percent like to watch nostalgic titles from their childhood. People are most likely to watch a Christmas movie with their partner (59%) as well as their children (43%) and parents (28%).
While comedies are the popular genre of festive films to watch (41%), one in four enjoy rom-coms (28%) and action titles (23%). The poll was conducted by OnePoll.
Most Re-watched Christmas Films:
- Home Alone
- The Snowman
- Love Actually
- Home Alone 2: Lost in New York
- Elf
- Die Hard
- A Christmas Carol
- The Nightmare Before Christmas
- Miracle on 34th Street
- It’s a Wonderful Life
- Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone
- Gremlins
- The Polar Express
- The Muppet Christmas Carol
- White Christmas
- The Holiday
- The Grinch (2018)
- How The Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)
- The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
- The Santa Clause
- National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation
- Scrooged
- Lethal Weapon
- Trading Places
- Jingle All The Way
- Nativity
- Arthur Christmas
- Bad Santa
- Jack Frost
- Deck the Halls
- Christmas with the Kranks
- Last Christmas
- A Christmas Story
- Fred Claus
- Meet Me in St Louis
- The Christmas Chronicles
- Mickey’s Christmas Carol
- Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
- Four Christmases
- A Charlie Brown Christmas
72Point writer Alice Hughes contributed to this report.