Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Do we want Christmas movies (like we did 10 & 20 years ago)?

20 years ago, yesterday, the highest grossing film of the year was released, Home Alone. A uniquely entertaining live-action Christmas film.

10 years ago, today, a not so unique, strangely not entertaining Christmas film came out, The Grinch, staring Jim Carey. And despite my lackluster feelings about this film, The Grinch was the highest grossing US film of the year 2000.

You would think that this would inspire film studios to load up November with Christmas themed releases, but last years A Christmas Carol came in ranked 21 for it's domestic gross and hardly achieved the level of clout of these two films.

2010 surely doesn't even have the possibility of repeating this trend from the past two decades with hardly a single holiday themed release (with the exception of FreeStyle Releasings The Nutcracker in 3D, which I joked about a year ago when Robert Zemeckis name was associated with this project).

It seems a little sad in a way, I'm not sure what to make of the lack of holiday themed films on the big screen. To me, it makes me feel like Hollywood's out of touch with our Thanksgiving film releases are Burlesque and the film Love and Other Drugs.

So alas, 2010 is not seem like a year for holiday films, which is a pity.

6 comments:

Amy said...

Definitely sad. I would be up for a fun Christmas flick like Christmas with the Kranks. I also loved A Christmas Carol last year...it was worth admission for the cool 3-D snow! (well I do live in Southern California!)

Luke said...

Amy - I have to agree with you about Christmas with the Kranks - LOVE that one! If you enjoy great holiday family films, I have one you need to check out. I just wanted to take the time to share a new film that I have recently discovered. I know in this day & age, we are always looking for good films that can be shared with our families. Homeless for the Holidays is one of these films, & I highly recommend it! As an executive loses it all & has to take a job at a burger shack, this film is also one that many of us are able to relate to today. Based on the real life experience of the director, this is great for a family holiday movie night. Enjoy!

Alex Constantin said...

I liked both Home Alone AND How the Grinch... :D

this post makes a great point. Lots of dramedy lately. I can't even imagine this year's Best Film - Comedy or Musical GG category :)) because you know, Love & Other, Kids Are All Right, Alice in W, How Do You Know are all SO hilarious...

TheBookGirl said...

I agree with you wholeheartedly. I love Christmas movies and it's sad that we have to keep reaching back for good ones.
I love The Family Man with Nicholas Cage, and of course White Christmas and Holiday Inn.

Thanks for visiting my blog :)

Unknown said...

They sure still make Valentine's Day movies.

I'm really looking forward to seeing Nutcracker in 3D, I don't know what to expect from it though. Strangely, I've never seen a movie by Andrey Konchalovskiy.

Grete said...

Would you count Christmastime-based movies, such as "The Holiday" or "Love, Actually" that came out in the past several years?
Some other favorites are "National Lampoon's Christmas" and "Elf" (the latter of which is a must-watch-every-year for many in our demographic and younger...