Is Die Hard a Christmas movie? Ever since 1988, action flick aficionados have been arguing about the true holiday spirit of John McClane's first big adventure. Despite releasing in the summer of '88, Die Hard features a surprising amount of Christmas cheer, tunes, and a bit of blood-soaked "ho, ho, hos."
It's no marketing mistake, either. According to DISH, 2.4 million people watched Die Hard during the Christmas season in 2016, and 1.3 million of those are on Christmas Eve. On TV, Die Hard is watched more than Christmas classics like Home Alone, Miracle on 34th Street, or The Santa Clause.
Still, the debate rages on! So we asked you, the holly jolly IGN audience, to vote on whether or not Die Hard is a Christmas movie. 23,133 of you voted, and the final verdict is in. Check out the result below.
Yes, Definitely - 18,011 votes (77.9%)
No, stop with this madness - 5,122 votes (22.1%)
All told, 18,011 people voted that Die Hard is a Christmas movie, making for a whopping 77.9% of the total voter base. A less impressive, but by no means insignificant, 5,122 people voted that Die Hard is not a Christmas movie, totaling 22.1%.
Clearly, film lovers and Christmas fanatics are in favor of Die Hard's holiday status. To be fair, there's some precedent in their favor. Besides the fact that Die Hard takes place during a Christmas company party, the score includes Run D.M.C.'s "Christmas in Hollis," and even the final line (from McClane's sidekick limo driver Argyle) references Christmas.
It's also not unusual for certain films to become Christmas classics simply because audiences love to watch them during the holidays, despite not actually being terribly focused on December 25.
It's a Wonderful Life, the 1947 feel-good classic that helped inspire the "what would life be like if I didn't exist" trope, was a huge commercial failure until it accidentally entered public domain and became an easy pick for television rotation. The movie doesn't even switch gears to the Christmas season until about an hour and forty minutes into its 2 hour 10 minute runtime. Then there's movies like Batman Returns, a "Christmas" movie about a homicidal Danny DeVito who exacts vengeance on Gotham during the holidays, as well as Gremlins, Iron Man 3, and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.
The only thing working against the vote is that Bruce Willis said in 2018 that Die Hard isn't a Christmas movie. Let's be honest, though, that opinion is probably just a defense against countless press junkets and Die Hard diehards asking him the same question over and over again.
Point being, there's no scientific formula to what makes Die Hard a Christmas movie, but having 18,011 people agreeing with you is definitely a good start. It's all about what vibes you want to feel while the snow falls, the cocoa cools, and the machine guns rattle.
Joseph Knoop is a writer/producer/Die Hard diehard for IGN
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It's no marketing mistake, either. According to DISH, 2.4 million people watched Die Hard during the Christmas season in 2016, and 1.3 million of those are on Christmas Eve. On TV, Die Hard is watched more than Christmas classics like Home Alone, Miracle on 34th Street, or The Santa Clause.
Still, the debate rages on! So we asked you, the holly jolly IGN audience, to vote on whether or not Die Hard is a Christmas movie. 23,133 of you voted, and the final verdict is in. Check out the result below.
Is Die Hard a Christmas Movie?
Yes, Definitely - 18,011 votes (77.9%)
No, stop with this madness - 5,122 votes (22.1%)
Winner: Die Hard is a Christmas movie
All told, 18,011 people voted that Die Hard is a Christmas movie, making for a whopping 77.9% of the total voter base. A less impressive, but by no means insignificant, 5,122 people voted that Die Hard is not a Christmas movie, totaling 22.1%.
Clearly, film lovers and Christmas fanatics are in favor of Die Hard's holiday status. To be fair, there's some precedent in their favor. Besides the fact that Die Hard takes place during a Christmas company party, the score includes Run D.M.C.'s "Christmas in Hollis," and even the final line (from McClane's sidekick limo driver Argyle) references Christmas.
It's also not unusual for certain films to become Christmas classics simply because audiences love to watch them during the holidays, despite not actually being terribly focused on December 25.
It's a Wonderful Life, the 1947 feel-good classic that helped inspire the "what would life be like if I didn't exist" trope, was a huge commercial failure until it accidentally entered public domain and became an easy pick for television rotation. The movie doesn't even switch gears to the Christmas season until about an hour and forty minutes into its 2 hour 10 minute runtime. Then there's movies like Batman Returns, a "Christmas" movie about a homicidal Danny DeVito who exacts vengeance on Gotham during the holidays, as well as Gremlins, Iron Man 3, and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.
The only thing working against the vote is that Bruce Willis said in 2018 that Die Hard isn't a Christmas movie. Let's be honest, though, that opinion is probably just a defense against countless press junkets and Die Hard diehards asking him the same question over and over again.
Point being, there's no scientific formula to what makes Die Hard a Christmas movie, but having 18,011 people agreeing with you is definitely a good start. It's all about what vibes you want to feel while the snow falls, the cocoa cools, and the machine guns rattle.
Joseph Knoop is a writer/producer/Die Hard diehard for IGN
Continue reading...