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3rd December 2025
12:36pm GMT
British people seem to be of the same opinion as Macaulay Culkin, the star of the first two Home Alone films, in not considering Die Hard a Christmas film.
In a survey with 2,000 participants by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC), 44% of them did not consider Die Hard to be a holiday classic.
However, 38% did in fact consider it a Christmas film. So, it was a close call after all.
In fact, 5% even chose it as their favourite of the genre, while the other 17% were undecided whether it classified as one or not.
And even those who were involved in the making of the film are split, when it comes to this very debate.
The intention was not for it to be a holiday classic, but it was so joyed that "it turned into a Christmas movie", according to the director of the 1989 film, John Tiernan.
Even the star of the franchise, now retired American actor Bruce Willis, chimed in. During the taping of Comedy Central's Bruce Willis roast in 2018, the former action star had something to say about the matter. Towards the end of the taping, Willis addressed the fans, specifically stating that: "Die Hard is not a Christmas movie, it's a goddamn Bruce Willis movie."
Macaulay Culkin, most famous for playing Kevin McCallister in Home Alone, recently was booed by a live audience when said he didn’t consider Die Hard to be a Christmas film.
And it is precisely Home Alone that is the favorite festive film for the Britons. The 1990 film was the clear winner, as favourite to 20% of respondents. It was followed by Love Actually (9%), It’s a Wonderful Life (8%), and Elf (7%).
A heartwarming story led the way (33%), followed by family friendliness (15%) and humour (13%), when the respondents were asked what exactly makes the perfect Christmas film.
“Heartwarming, family-friendly stories continue to sit at the heart of the nation’s Christmas viewing traditions”, according to David Austin, chief executive of the BBFC.
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