20th Century Fox
Streaming viewers' appetites for Christmas movies — from time-tested classics like "Love Actually" to fresher fare like Netflix's "Hot Frosty" — have grown massively over the years, and services are cashing in on the trend, a new analysis suggests.
It's a buzzy genre, accounting for a healthy chunk of overall ad revenue at Hallmark, which even operates a Christmas cruise.
Netflix, for its part, is becoming a formidable rival, releasing six holiday originals this year alone. It's amassed something of a Christmas cinematic universe with interconnected references in many of its projects.
An analysis by the data firm Parrot Analytics found that the supply of Christmas movies on streaming services, including classics and new films, grew sixfold from 2000 to 2023.
Parrot Analytics
The firm found that growth peaked in 2020 at the height of the pandemic as viewers sought comfort. It looked at content on Amazon Prime, Apple TV+, Discovery+, Disney+, Max, Hulu, Netflix, Paramount+, Peacock, and Starz.
After 2020, the growth of new Christmas movies slowed. Still, the holiday-movie genre — including films centered on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's — has become increasingly lucrative.
Parrot Analytics estimated that streamers generated $132 million from holiday movies in the fourth quarter of 2023. In the same quarter of 2021 that figure was $90 million, rising to $121 million in the fourth quarter of 2022.
Expectedly, Christmas-movie demand begins in November and peaks on Christmas Day, after which viewership plummets. Parrot said that while the peak increased steadily after 2019, growth appears to have slowed somewhat in 2024.
Citing data from November 1 to December 14, Parrot said that this year the most popular Christmas movie across platforms was Amazon's "Red One," starring Dwayne Johnson. It said that demand for the action flick was more than 50 times that of the average movie, based on metrics like consumption data, consumer research, and social-media interest.
The next most in-demand movies were the first two "Home Alone" films, followed by "The Grinch" and "How the Grinch Stole Christmas." David Harbour's "Violent Night" was sandwiched between two classics: "The Polar Express" and "It's a Wonderful Life."
Perhaps surprisingly, Netflix's "Hot Frosty" was well down the list, in 19th place, despite seeming to stir up interest, suggesting it's not quite a Christmas classic yet.
