It’s the holiday season, Christmas is almost here, and with the weather as unpredictable as ever this December, people are turning to holiday movies to get into the spirit. However 2021 continued the trend of TV viewers cancelling cable and turning to alternative means to catch their favorite holiday fare.
The three iterations of Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch and Will Ferrell-led comedy Elf are ranking on streamers such as Apple TV, Google Play and Vudu (via IndieWire). Despite the two being shown on television quite a lot during the holiday season, as prices for cable rise, more people are turning to a somewhat cheaper alternative.
Elf is currently streaming on HBO Max, while How the Grinch Stole Christmas was recently added to Peacock after it was taken off Netflix earlier this year. With both How the Grinch Stole Christmas and The Grinch placing in the top six on Apple TV, Google Play and Vudu, and Elf ranking on the charts as well, it shows that people will gladly pay to watch their Christmas favorites if they can’t catch them on traditional TV.
Will Ferrell’s Elf is easily among the most popular Christmas movies ever, and it’s not hard to see why it’s topping services when we’re just days away from the jolliest of the year. It's so popular, it's easy to see why another round might seem like a good idea, but a couple of months ago, Ferrell explained that he actually turned down an Elf sequel, as well as a huge paycheck. With the film getting a “rehashed premise” following the first movie’s box office success, the SNL vet ultimately turned down the gig.
The Grinch, meanwhile, is always a must for the holiday season. With the animated special, the Jim Carrey version, and the most recent animated film with Benedict Cumberbatch, it seems like those three are still doing impressively well on all platforms. And Universal is milking his popularity with their annual Grinchmas at Universal Orlando, with the character going pretty viral on TikTok.
More and more people seem to be going to streaming or rather, buying or renting movies, but why? As long as you don't already pay for cable, it's cheaper, people can watch what they want and for some, there are no commercials. It's easy to see why this is a popular alternative.
This could be the new future for holiday movies as we gradually move more fully into streaming. As of now, Freeform’s 25 Days of Christmas and other holiday schedules are still going on with no stopping in sight. It’ll be interesting to see if it ever completely crosses over, but it’ll likely still be a while before that would happen. Elf, The Grinch and others are holiday favorites and holiday classics, and I can’t imagine not watching them for Christmas, whether that’s on TV, streaming or VOD.
