It’s beginning to be the right time to find that comfy spot on the couch to watch Christmas movies. But which one to choose?
For Arizonians, the top choice is a tie between a surly green guy and a bratty kid who discover the magic of the season.
Utilizing Google Trends, BetArizona.com took a break from Arizona sports betting and analyzed the most popular Christmas movies of state residents by looking at the search results of each movie over the past three Christmases. The movies included the 40 most popular Christmas movies over the past year based on global traffic from AhRefs.
Arizona’s Favorite Christmas Movies
The Grinch and Kevin Take Top Billing
Not much separated the top three, but the 2000 version of “How The Grinch Stole Christmas” with Jim Carrey and “Home Alone,” where 8-year-old Kevin McCallister gets left at home when his family heads to Europe for Christmas, tied for the lead.
“Home Alone” came out in 1990, so it’s been a holiday favorite for a long time. The 2000 live-action version of “How The Grinch Stole Christmas” has Carrey offering an intense portrayal of the Grinch. It stands up well against the original 1966 cartoon based on the Dr. Seuss children’s book.
Close behind is “The Polar Express” from 2004. It’s the only animated movie in the top 6 films, and it stars Tom Hanks voicing six different characters. He plays the main two characters, the Hero Boy who has to “Believe” once again in the meaning of Christmas, and the conductor who gets all of the kids to the North Pole just in time to see Santa Claus depart for his trip around the world.
Will Ferrell’s funny turn as Santa’s biggest helper in “Elf” comes in fourth. It has many great one-liners that get repeated over and over throughout the year, not just at Christmas.
The 1980s gave us two holiday classics that Arizona loves equally with “A Christmas Story” from 1983 and “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” from 1989 tied for fifth. “A Christmas Story” is based on Jean Shepherd’s writings, and he narrates the adventures of Ralphie Parker and his dream of receiving a “Red Ryder air rifle” for Christmas. In “Christmas Vacation,” Chevy Chase revisits his role as Clark Griswold from the “National Lampoon’s Vacation” as Clark hopes for a big holiday bonus while all of his family visits for the holidays.
It’s hard to go wrong with any Christmas movie you choose as we settle in for family time this holiday season. Grab the blankets, the hot drink of choice and enjoy. After you’re done, check back here at BetArizona.com for all the latest Arizona sportsbook promos.
Author
Douglas Pils has been a sports journalist for 30 years in Texas, Arkansas and New York having worked for the San Antonio Express-News, the Associated Press, The Dallas Morning News and Newsday. He most recently ran the Student Media Department at Texas A&M for eight years.
