The festive season is often synonymous with kitsch Christmas movies. Many people have a favorite film that they watch every year, even if they don't always want to admit it. So which are the holiday movies that people love the most, despite their bad reviews? A new study offers some insights into viewers' favorite guilty pleasures.
Everyone has a feel-good holiday movie that they love, one that they watch year after year (and possibly in secret) when the festive season rolls around. According to a study carried out by the Pour Moi website, John Whitesell's Deck the Halls, starring Matthew Broderick and Danny DeVito, ranks at the top of the list of guilty pleasure holiday movies.
The analysis is based on ratings from specialist sites IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes, as well as annual Google searches. This approach revealed which movies captivate viewers' interest the most, despite their negative reviews.
At the top of the list, Deck the Halls is a festive comedy about the rivalry between two families willing to do anything to prove their love for Christmas. Although the film only scores 6% on Rotten Tomatoes and 5.0 on IMDb, it is searched for over 1.62 million times a year on Google.
Jack Frost (1998) takes second place. This family film is searched for over 5.4 million times a year, despite its Rotten Tomatoes score of 19%. This fantastical feature tells the story of Charlie's search for his father Jack, lost in a snowstorm.
In third place, Christmas With The Kranks, starring Tim Allen and Jamie Lee Curtis, racked up 1.98 million annual searches, despite a Rotten Tomatoes score of 5%.
Raja Gosnell's Home Alone 3 and the Netflix release Best. Christmas. Ever round out the top five. Although less popular than the first two installments, the third movie in the cult Home Alone franchise, released in 1997, is searched for 3.61 million times a year. Meanwhile the Netflix comedy starring Heather Graham, released in 2023, scores 40% on Rotten Tomatoes and gets 1.98 million annual searches.
Other notable films on the list include Love Actually and The Holiday, which, despite their mixed reviews, remain holiday staples.
For those looking for top-rated Christmas movies, Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life takes first place with an IMDb score of 8.6. Even if some people don't consider it a Christmas movie, Die Hard starring Bruce Willis, is the second-highest rated Christmas movie with an IMDb score of 8.2. – AFP Relaxnews
