Say it quietly, but Christmas is fast approaching. Aside from the usual problems of finding the ideal gifts for your loved ones, deciding on a colour scheme for your tree, and making sure you have enough snacks to last through the festive period, the one issue that has plagued cinephiles for generations is picking the perfect Christmas movie for this most wonderful time of the year.
Many of the best holiday movies are so obviously steeped in Christmas cheer, snow, and tinsel that it’s almost too on the nose at times. But there are some films that don’t quite fit the stereotypical box. Questions have been asked about Die Hard. No one is quite sure about The Nightmare Before Christmas. And now, we’re pondering whether Gremlins is a true Christmas movie.
The iconic fantasy classic from Joe Dante has charmed audiences for the last 40 years thanks to its blend of family fun, cute creatures, and flashes of horror. But is it really in keeping with the festive spirit? According to British audiences, there’s a definitive answer.
UK Audiences Love Watching Gremlins at Christmas
The answer to this question is usually subjective, but here at JustWatch, we have quantifiable data to turn to.
As you may have expected, Gremlins climbs our Most Rewatched and Most Anticipated charts leading up to Christmas. This happens across Europe and in the US, which suggests that these territories do regard Gremlins as a Christmas movie.
But it’s in the UK that the most definitive verdict arises. You see, only in the UK does Gremlins crack the top 25 on those charts around the festive season (as high as number 24, actually), which proves once and for all that British audiences are on the right side of history with this particular debate.
Gremlins Is Obviously a Christmas Movie
To be honest, I don’t see where the confusion is with this one. Of course, Gremlins is a Christmas movie!
Think about all the main ingredients we look for in a Christmas movie: the story has to take place at Christmas; it needs snow and bright lights; it should be full of cheer, gifts, and celebration, and, of course, it helps to explore themes of family, belonging, and kindness.
Sometimes it’s enough for a film to just hone in on one of these elements enough. With Gremlins, Joe Dante ticked every single box. The entire movie revolves around Christmas and the very problematic gift a father gives to his son. There’s snow, Santa hats, carol singing; it’s a film full of charm and heart, and at the core of it all, love, as this family bands together to save the day.
Frankly, the idea of Gremlins being anything other than a Christmas movie is ludicrous. Whether Dante intended it or not, he created the quintessential quirky Christmas flick.
Why Gremlins 2: The New Batch Is The Perfect Film For New Year's
On the other hand, if you’re hastily planning your Christmas viewing schedule and think following the original up with Gremlins 2: The New Batch is a good idea, I implore you to pause for a moment. Don’t worry, though, you only have to wait a week before it’s prime time to watch the sequel.
While Gremlins 2 is not necessarily about New Year celebrations, it is a brilliant choice to bring in the turn of the year. Not only is it a movie brimming with Y2K aesthetics and chaotic parties, but we also get a scene where a bunch of intoxicated gremlins perform a rendition of ‘New York, New York’ at the stroke of midnight.
Gremlins fans have even taken to starting the movie on New Year’s Eve (at 10:32 pm, to be precise) so that Brain Gremlin’s musical number kicks off just as our own clocks hit 12. So, whatever you plan for the holidays this year, make sure you find room for Joe Dante’s delightful double bill.
