Every December, the same question resurfaces and sparks debate across households and social media.
Is 1988’s “Die Hard” a Christmas movie?
Three weeks ago, Sky News stepped into that long-running argument by asking its audience to weigh in.
The question was simple: Is “Die Hard” a Christmas film?
The initial answer suggested a divided public.
The outlet reported on a British Board of Film Classification poll showing that 44 percent said the movie was not a Christmas film.
Thirty-eight percent said it was. Another 5 percent said it was their favorite Christmas movie.
Seventeen percent said they were unsure.
Bruce Willis has previously argued that the film does not belong in the Christmas category, while his wife said last month that she disagrees.
Others have made similar claims, saying it is merely an action movie that happens to take place during the holidays.
That reasoning has driven the debate for years. But the story did not end there.
In the weeks following the BBFC poll, Sky News asked its own readers the same question.
This time, the response was resounding.
As of Christmas week, 76 percent of Sky News readers correctly said “Die Hard” is a Christmas movie.
I agree with that assessment.
The movie is set entirely on Christmas Eve during an office holiday party.
Christmas music is woven throughout the soundtrack, including well-known Christmas songs.
The building at the center of the story is decorated with lights, trees, and other holiday visuals.
More importantly, the plot centers on John McClane trying to reconnect with his family for Christmas.
That goal is a familiar and central theme in many traditional Christmas movies — this one just happens to add gunfights and explosions.
The film also includes several moments that clearly tie it to the holiday. The Santa hat, the “Ho-ho-ho” message in permanent marker, the machine gun, and the final snowfall debris in the ending scene all tell a Christmas story.
Removing Christmas from the story would change the movie in fundamental ways.
Reasonable people can disagree about what qualifies as a Christmas movie.
But the setting, themes, and imagery in “Die Hard” are impossible to separate from Christmas.
The British audience weighed in, and so have I.
But what do you think? Is “Die Hard” a Christmas movie in your family?
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