National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation from 1989 and Elf produced in 2003 are two movies most frequently watched at Christmas time annually. Both titles seem to compete each year as most-viewed holiday film however data from Samba TV shows 2024 victory for Christmas Vacation.
Samba TV collected viewership numbers for Holiday movies across network and streaming services from November 1st through December 10th. This data confirms that National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation is number one title in viewership in 2024 showing a modest increase since the previous year among streaming services.
Classic Holiday Comedies Continue To Dominate Viewing Charts with Christmas Vacation Ahead of 'Elf'
According to Ashwin Navin CEO of Samba TV stated that these classic movies never lose their appeal stating that National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation and Elf have competed for top spot consistently the last three years proving how audiences enjoy classic holiday comedies like no other genre. Christmas Vacation recorded 9.4 million households while viewers tuned into Elf in 8.7 million homes both demonstrating extremely high number of family views across America with National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation claiming top billing this year.
National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation highlights Clark Griswold's character played by Chevy Chase trying to create perfect family Christmas with his many disastrous plans and Elf explores a journey of Buddy the Elf’s character as played by Will Ferrell during his first adventures in New York City at Christmastime. The 1989 comedy by Chevy Chase National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation grew by 7% compared to the prior year with many audiences wanting to see the timeless jokes again. Elf previously won out the top spot in 2023 surpassing 2022's winning film Christmas Vacation which once again makes this year top for viewing in North America.
"Home Alone" Achieves Third Position In Ranking Followed By Hallmark Titles In Holiday Line-Up
Home Alone came in third position showing 4.1 million homes choosing this classic while other major contenders came much lower on the ranking of top films watched at home. The highest-ranking brand new title on the list Santa Tell Me by Hallmark was a brand new Christmas film but did not attract nearly the audience as compared to top three favorites. The storyline for “Santa Tell Me” shows a woman who expects true love to find her Christmas eve according to letter she receives from Santa himself during an emotional time of year.
Four Christmases which stars Reese Witherspoon and Vince Vaughn as a family who juggle family visits along with The Holiday starring Kate Winslet and Cameron Diaz filled the final two slots of five of most-watched movies from television and streaming sources during end of year. “Our Little Secret” was the only newly released film that managed to get into the top 15 viewed streaming content while five Hallmark movies also entered into top 15 this year demonstrating diversity and preferences of North American audiences. The five listed movies had the highest viewer counts measured using homes across United States and Canada between November and early December .
Variety of Streaming Platforms Offer Numerous Options for Viewing Top Holiday Movie Selections of the Season
Many top ranking Christmas films are now offered via linear channels and multiple streaming platforms for access through subscription services or premium on demand movie platforms. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation and Elf can both be watched on services like Hulu Max Philo YouTube Disney Plus Sling TV The Roku Channel Amazon Prime Video Fandango at Home Google Play Movies & TV and Apple TV demonstrating variety of methods to access these programs.
Home Alone is also available on platforms like YouTube Disney+ Sling TV Amazon Prime Video Fandango at Home Google Play Movies & TV and Apple TV also. Four Christmases joins other top content for available streaming through services like Hulu Max Philo YouTube Disney+ Sling TV The Roku Channel Amazon Prime Video Fandango at Home Google Play Movies & TV and Apple TV.
Lastly The Holiday is able to be streamed on fuboTV Amazon Prime Video Hulu Sling TV YouTube Google Play Movies & TV Apple TV and Fandango at Home making access easier for fans of every type of content. Data was retrieved by Samba TV analyzing over fifteen most viewed holiday titles and presented clear distinctions based on metrics of view data during the measured period.