Current:Home > NewsThe 15 most-watched holiday movies this season. Did your favorite make the cut? -Excel Money Vision
The 15 most-watched holiday movies this season. Did your favorite make the cut?
View
Date:2025-04-15 23:04:05
What holiday movies are sleighing the ratings? It’s a mixed Santa’s sack of the Ghost of Christmas Past and the Ghost of Christmas Present, according to data shared exclusively with USA TODAY.
Samba TV, which analyzes viewership habits of households collected through smart TVs, assembled a list of the most-watched movies on TV and streaming services in the U.S. between Nov. 10 and Dec. 10. (For the study, a view means the household watched at least five minutes of a feature.)
Smiling along to “Elf” proved audiences’ favorite. So far, 9 million households have watched the 2003 feature starring Will Ferrell as whimsical Buddy the tall elf, who left the North Pole in search of his biological father. Nearly 8 million households have found 1989's “National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation” as enjoyable as a one-year membership to a jelly-of-the-month club. Who doesn’t feel for Clark Griswold (Chevy Chase) during his obsessive quest to provide a perfect Christmas for his extended family? And this stat might make you do Macaulay Culkin’s famed “Home Alone” face: the 33-year-old flick, in which a son forgotten by his vacationing family fights off burglars, raked in 7.1 million views.
'Santa! I know him!'How to watch 'Elf' this holiday: TV listings, streaming and more
By comparison, only three original holiday movies released on streaming platforms this year managed to snare more than 1 million households. Netflix’s “Best. Christmas. Ever!” starring Jason Biggs, Heather Graham and Brandy Norwood, attracted 2.3 million households. “The Family Switch,” Netflix's holiday-themed spin on “Freaky Friday” with Jennifer Garner and Ed Helms, garnered 1.9 million, which ties it with Amazon Prime Video’s “Candy Cane Lane,” starring Eddie Murphy.
Murphy told USA TODAY that he longed to do his first Christmas movie, and decided on “Candy Cane Lane” — a sort of “Jumanji” meets “The Santa Clause” — after contemplating remaking a classic. “’It's a Wonderful Life,’ 'Miracle on 34th Street,' we were looking through all of them," Murphy said. "But then this script came along, and it was like, ‘Hey, this has all the elements, and it's unique. So we can make our own little modern-day classic instead of remaking an old one.’”
The 15 most-watched movies between Nov. 10 and Dec. 10:
You'll notice that the largely debated "Die Hard" starring Bruce Willis makes the list. As Ashwin Navin, Samba TV's CEO, sees it: "There's no debate: 'Die Hard' is in fact a Christmas movie, and one of the greatest of all time at that," he said in a statement.
- "Elf" (2003, streaming on Max), 9 million household views
- "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation" (1989, Max), 7.9
- "Home Alone" (1990, Disney+), 7.1
- "The Santa Clause" (1994, Disney+), 4.3
- "Four Christmases" (2008, Max), 3.5
- "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" (2000, on Peacock Dec. 20‒31), 2.5
- "Best. Christmas. Ever!" (2023, Netflix Original), 2.3
- "The Holiday" (2006, for rent on Amazon Prime, YouTube, Google Play, Apple TV), 2.3
- "Family Switch" (2023, Netflix Original), 1.9
- "A Christmas Story" (1983, Max), 1.9
- "Candy Cane Lane" (2023, Amazon Original), 1.9
- "It's a Wonderful Life" (1947, Amazon Prime), 1.7
- "Die Hard" (1988, Disney+), 1.4
- "Love Actually" (2003, Netflix), 1.4
- "The Polar Express" (2004, Max), 1.1
Chevy Chase fallsoff stage in New York at 'Christmas Vacation' movie screening
The casting director for 'Elf'would pick this other 'SNL' alum to star in a remake
veryGood! (69)
Related
- Elon Musk's skyrocketing net worth: He's the first person with over $400 billion
- 'We love you, Papa': Princess Kate shoots new Prince William pic for Father's Day
- 2024 US Open highlights: Bryson DeChambeau survives at Pinehurst to win second career major
- Native American boarding school records reveal hidden truths
- Trump invites nearly all federal workers to quit now, get paid through September
- Nashville court grapples with details on school shooter that were leaked to media
- Kenya Moore suspended indefinitely from 'Real Housewives' for 'revenge porn' allegations
- Angelina Jolie Debuts Chest Tattoo During Milestone Night at Tony Awards With Daughter Vivienne Jolie-Pit
- Could your smelly farts help science?
- Crazy weather week coming to the US: From searing heat to snow. Yes, snow.
Ranking
- Kylie Jenner Shows Off Sweet Notes From Nieces Dream Kardashian & Chicago West
- How many points did Caitlin Clark score today? Fever star has near triple-double in win
- Eight Israeli soldiers killed in southern Gaza, IDF says
- Stock market today: Asian shares mostly lower as China reports factory output slowed
- The Louvre will be renovated and the 'Mona Lisa' will have her own room
- 15-year-old shot in neck, 5 others hurt in shooting on Chicago's Northwest Side
- Concerns grow as 'gigantic' bird flu outbreak runs rampant in US dairy herds
- State budget includes hefty taxes, but not on ‘everyday ordinary taxpayers,’ Democrats say
Recommendation
What do we know about the mysterious drones reported flying over New Jersey?
Jada Pinkett Smith Honors “Devoted” Dad Will Smith in Father’s Day Tribute
Sabrina Carpenter Addresses Friendship With Taylor Swift After Kim Kardashian Collaboration
'We want to bully teams': How Philadelphia Phillies became the National League's best
South Korean president's party divided over defiant martial law speech
Dr. Anthony Fauci on pandemics, partisan critics, and the psyche of the country
Alabama teen scores sneak preview of Tiana's Bayou Adventure after viral prom dress fame
Biden raises $30 million at Hollywood fundraiser featuring Obama, campaign says