Is Die Hard a Christmas movie or not? Well, America has decided! In a new study of 100 of the U.S.’s top Christmas movies, including new releases, PlayStar has determined that the 1988 Bruce Willis flick is not only a Christmas movie but America’s favorite Christmas movie!
During their study, Playstar noted that as an overall trend, Americans tend to love seeing their own state in a wintery wonderland. Washington loves Sleepless in Seattle, Illinois hearts Home Alone (set in Chicago), Connecticut favors Christmas in Connecticut, Missouri unsurprisingly is enthused about Meet Me in St. Louis, and Minnesota goes for Jingle All the Way (filmed in the Twin Cities area).
Perhaps your state doesn’t have its own Christmas movie. You may subconsciously favor one that’s in the same region. For example, Vermont was also a big fan of Jingle All the Way. Several Southern states like Nevada, Texas, and Arizona loved Edward Scissorhands, which was filmed in Florida. What seems to separate northern or southern Christmas favorites seems to consider the climates related to your hometown. However, there were a few wildcard states whose favorite Christmas movies had nothing to do with the climate. For example, New Jersey and Pennsylvania were lovers of Jack Frost (which takes place in Colorado), while Florida’s top pick was Die Hard (which takes place in Los Angeles). There were several individual favorites by different states, such as Scrooged, Nightmare Before Christmas, How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, and It’s a Wonderful Life! If anything, this research shows how many great movies are out there to love at Christmas time.
Ho Ho No You Don’t
As for the famous jolly faces of the holiday season, actors playing Santa fill big boots and even bigger beards to bring these beloved characters to life on the silver screen. By using data based on IMDB ratings, Google Trends, box office revenue, audience reviews, and net worth, the site ranked the most famous Santas. Tom Hanks took the top spot for his role in the much-debated animated Christmas film The Polar Express. Every year, folks argue online about how they either hate or love the 2004 movie. Despite how you personally feel about the film, it is impressive that Hanks voiced six different characters. Coming in second is Tim Allen’s role as Scott Calvin in The Santa Clause saga. David Harbour and Billy Bob Thornton tied for third place, for their respective roles in Violent Night and Bad Santa.
See below the top 10 festive films, using data from Google trends basing the rankings per the viewer and critic ratings sourced from IMDB and Rotten Tomatoes.