What makes Die Hard a Christmas movie?
It's a common theme in the meme community that Die Hard is a Christmas movie:
I've seen Die Hard and other than taking place at Christmas, what else does it have to do with Christmas?
Best Answer
We could debate the content of the film and what subjectively qualifies as a Christmas movie, but instead, I'll use this objective, quantitative definition:
A movie is a "Christmas movie" if either of the following criteria are true:
- A substantial number of people watch it at Christmas
- People say that it is a Christmas movie when directly asked
How does Die Hard fit with this definition?
More people watch Die Hard during Christmas Eve than other popular Christmas movies
Dish Network posted some statistics which they said was "100% Proof Die Hard is a Christmas movie". Some highlights:
- During the 2016 holiday season, 2.4 million people watched Die Hard. The number rises to 4.3 million if you include Die Hard 2. Both take place on Christmas Eve.
- Die Hard was the 10th most watched movie Christmas Eve 2016, beating out unambiguously Christmas movies* such as The Santa Clause, Home Alone, and Love, Actually
- More hours of Die Hard were watched on Christmas Eve than Miracle on 34th Street and Home Alone combined
- More people saw Die Hard than Miracle on 34th Street during November and December
They also provide a rebuttal to the claim that it is disqualified from being a Christmas movie because it had a theatrical release in July, since Miracle on 34th Street was released in May. Since the latter is considered a Christmas movie, that can't be a disqualifying criteria.
* Wikipedia says that The Santa Clause is "a 1994 American Christmas fantasy family comedy film", and the Wikipedia articles for the other films listed in these statistics similarly identify them as "Christmas" films.
Surveys show there is a generational divide over those who believe Die Hard is a Christmas movie
Public Policy Polling does a number of surveys, mostly related to American politics. Every once in a while, they'll do a silly poll, such as their December 2017 report on Christmas issues, which included this:
Finally we polled on the perennial debate of the season- only 17% of voters think ‘Die Hard’ is a Christmas movie, to 55% who say it isn’t. But that does reflect increasing awareness for ‘Die Hard’ as a Christmas movie- 2 years ago only 13% thought it was, and 62% said it wasn’t. Much like gay marriage or marijuana legalization this is a generational issue, with younger voters much more likely to fall into the ‘it’s a Christmas movie’ camp. If this rate of change continues Americans will consider Die Hard to be a Christmas movie by 2025.
Given that the meme creators (and consumers) are more likely to be younger, the people who made the memes in the question are also more likely to think that Die Hard is a Christmas movie.
Pictures about "What makes Die Hard a Christmas movie?"
Was Die Hard meant to be a Christmas movie?
As both director John McTiernan and writer Steven De Souza have confirmed that Die Hard is a Christmas movie, then the creative case would seem very much in favour.What makes a Christmas film a Christmas film?
The movie combines family fun, comedy, and yuletide joy to generate a picture that wonderfully evokes the Christmas spirit. No matter which one is your favourite, all movies considered 'Christmassy' generate a meaningful warmth for us that brings us all together.Are all the Die Hard movies Christmas movies?
There's no shortage of films to watch over the Christmas season, but there are more movies to add to the queue beyond It's a Wonderful Life, Miracle on 34th Street or A Christmas Story. Die Hard is the quintessential film that wasn't considered a Christmas classic at first.Who says Die Hard is a Christmas movie?
According to a YouGov poll, 47% of people who have seen Die Hard say it is NOT a Christmas movie, while 44% of people insist it is! Men and women disagree, with half of men (50%) who have seen Die Hard think it's a Christmas movie compared to just over a third of women (37%), who have watched the film.By the Numbers | Science Proves Die Hard is A Christmas Movie
More answers regarding what makes Die Hard a Christmas movie?
Answer 2
A Christmas movie:
Is it about getting back with family or just about family on Christmas time?
Is there a theme where bad people are being punished and good being rewarded?
Does it have a theme of a man in a small space trying to get somewhere to give someone something?
Does it involve jolly "HO HO HO"?
Are there fireworks near the end of the movie?
Is there sound of Christmas bells in the movie?
If you answer "YES" to all those question then you have a Christmas movie. Die Hard is a Christmas movie like that one with Tim Allen. Where protagonist is a member of a family and Santa Claus at the same time.
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