ignardi tanella arihana
Herminia Remmen
There's a great number of classic Christmas films from over the years, but not all of them were instantly loved. Some have built up over time and have since been recognized as some of the height of the genre. Every now and then though, a movie comes along that is universally seen as an instant hit.
The box office numbers often tell part of the story, as does the reaction from the critics. However, the love that the audience has for a movie is also usually very clear to see. Many of these films are still watched every single year and may have even become part of a festive tradition, despite the fact that some of them are actually quite recent.
Klaus shocked the world when it won the Oscar for best animated feature. It cemented what many people already knew, that it was an instant hit despite simultaneously being one of the most underrated movies available on Netflix.
Magnificently animated and completely charming, Klaus managed to tell a totally original story set around the Christmas season. Not only could the whole family enjoy this joyous production, but the narrative itself feels completely timeless.
Over two decades on and Home Alone is still enjoyed across the globe every year. With its arrival on Disney+ its sure to be showing in more households than ever before. Back when it was initially released, the box office suggested that audiences enjoyed the spectacle.
Even prompting a number of sequels, the success of the original film was all down to the slapstick comedy genius that still translates to absolutely anyone. This visual feast of physical gags is a language everyone can understand and it is still endlessly funny.
There's a lot of debate around which of Tim Allen's Christmas franchises is the best, but when it comes to an instant classic The Santa Clause certainly has the edge. The premise of the movie was completely shocking.
Having Santa die early on in the film, only for Allen's character to replace him was a completely unique idea. It paid off as children and adults alike both found something to enjoy in this festive movie with a twist.
Die Hard will always be a classic. It's seemingly now been recognized that it is indeed a Christmas hit and not just an action one, but this breakout role for Bruce Willis had everyone quoting some of its iconic lines.
What's more, Alan Rickman's take on Hans Gruber is still iconic to this day and only elevates an incredibly produced film. It may not scream Christmas spirit, but upon its release audiences knew that this was really something special.
It's hard to believe that almost a decade has passed since the release of Arthur Christmas. Among critics this was immediately deemed a classic and the box office numbers definitely supported that as a fact.
However, it's a movie that is also still being discovered by new people each passing year. The legend of Arthur Christmas continues to grow and its legacy as a classic is only strengthened when more and more come to realize its comedy brilliance, linked to a fantastic cast and amazing animation.
The Grinch has always been a classic holiday character thanks to the work of Dr Seuss. Jim Carrey's take on the character grabbed the attention of the movie-going audience though and a cinematic hit was born.
Perhaps because this will always be recognized as one of the best adaptations of Dr Seuss' work, or maybe it's because of the charismatic performances involved, but from the set and costume design to the outrageous moments, everything about this works.
Chevy Chase will always be heralded as a comedy great, but perhaps one of his most memorable pieces of cinema with come from National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. There's just joke after joke, one after another and they all land perfectly.
It's difficult to find a festive film that people will literally cry with laughter over, but cinema-goers at the time learned that the latest addition to the Lampoon family adventures was going to be re-watched for years to come.
Jingle Jangle is the most recent release but it's the perfect example of an instant classic. From the amazing visuals to the superb soundtrack, this movie has all the charm of a perfect Christmas film, as well as all the thrills.
With a burnt out inventor looking for some new inspiration, it takes his own intelligent granddaughter to put him on the right path once again. Netflix is certainly onto a hit here, thanks to its reception from audiences and critics alike.
Anything Tim Burton touches seems to become iconic in some shape or form and his version of Christmas was no different. While not directed by Burton, The Nightmare Before Christmas has all the trademarks of his work.
Jack Skellington may have been the king of Halloween, but he turns his attention to Christmas in this dark yet delightful hit that seems to have become a bit of a soundtrack for the holiday season. The animation alone makes this totally iconic.
Somehow bringing Will Ferrell's erratic comedy into a family film and combining it with great storytelling, Elf has always been recognized as an ageless classic and the box office numbers at the time definitely supported that.
Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple languages.[6]
Launched on January 16, 2007, nearly a decade after Netflix, Inc. began its pioneering DVD-by-mail movie rental service, Netflix is the most-subscribed video on demand streaming media services, with over 277.7 million paid memberships in more than 190 countries as of July 2024.[5][7] By 2022, "Netflix Original" productions accounted for half of its library in the United States and the namesake company had ventured into other categories, such as video game publishing of mobile games through its flagship service. As of October 2023, Netflix is the 23rd most-visited website in the world, with 23.66% of its traffic coming from the United States, followed by the United Kingdom at 5.84% and Brazil at 5.64%.[8][9]
Initially, Netflix offered a per-rental model for each DVD but introduced a monthly subscription concept in September 1999.[20] The per-rental model was dropped by early 2000, allowing the company to focus on the business model of flat-fee unlimited rentals without due dates, late fees, shipping and handling fees, or per-title rental fees.[21] In September 2000, during the dot-com bubble, while Netflix was suffering losses, Hastings and Randolph offered to sell the company to Blockbuster for $50 million. John Antioco, CEO of Blockbuster, thought the offer was a joke and declined, saying, "The dot-com hysteria is completely overblown."[22][23] While Netflix experienced fast growth in early 2001, the continued effects of the dot-com bubble collapse and the September 11 attacks caused the company to hold off plans for its initial public offering (IPO) and to lay off one-third of its 120 employees.[24]
DVD players were a popular gift for holiday sales in late 2001, and demand for DVD subscription services were "growing like crazy", according to chief talent officer Patty McCord.[25] The company went public on May 23, 2002, selling 5.5 million shares of common stock at US$15.00 per share.[26] In 2003, Netflix was issued a patent by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office to cover its subscription rental service and several extensions.[27] Netflix posted its first profit in 2003, earning $6.5 million on revenues of $272 million; by 2004, profit had increased to $49 million on over $500 million in revenues.[28] In 2005, 35,000 different films were available, and Netflix shipped 1 million DVDs out every day.[29]
In 2004, Blockbuster introduced a DVD rental service, which not only allowed users to check out titles through online sites but allowed for them to return them at brick and-mortar stores.[30] By 2006, Blockbuster's service reached two million users, and while trailing Netflix's subscriber count, was drawing business away from Netflix. Netflix lowered fees in 2007.[28] While it was an urban legend that Netflix ultimately "killed" Blockbuster in the DVD rental market, Blockbuster's debt load and internal disagreements hurt the company.[30]
On April 4, 2006, Netflix filed a patent infringement lawsuit in which it demanded a jury trial in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, alleging that Blockbuster's online DVD rental subscription program violated two patents held by Netflix. The first cause of action alleged Blockbuster's infringement of copying the "dynamic queue" of DVDs available for each customer, Netflix's method of using the ranked preferences in the queue to send DVDs to subscribers, and Netflix's method permitting the queue to be updated and reordered.[31] The second cause of action alleged infringement of the subscription rental service as well as Netflix's methods of communication and delivery.[32] The companies settled their dispute on June 25, 2007; terms were not disclosed.[33][34][35][36]
On October 1, 2006, Netflix announced the Netflix Prize, $1,000,000 to the first developer of a video-recommendation algorithm that could beat its existing algorithm Cinematch, at predicting customer ratings by more than 10%. On September 21, 2009, it awarded the $1,000,000 prize to team "BellKor's Pragmatic Chaos".[37] Cinematch, launched in 2000, was a system that recommended movies to its users, many of which might have been entirely new to the user.[38][39]
Through its division Red Envelope Entertainment, Netflix licensed and distributed independent films such as Born into Brothels and Sherrybaby. In late 2006, Red Envelope Entertainment also expanded into producing original content with filmmakers such as John Waters.[40] Netflix closed Red Envelope Entertainment in 2008.[41][42]
In January 2007, the company launched a streaming media service, introducing video on demand via the Internet. However, at that time it only had 1,000 films available for streaming, compared to 70,000 available on DVD.[43] The company had for some time considered offering movies online, but it was only in the mid-2000s that data speeds and bandwidth costs had improved sufficiently to allow customers to download movies from the net. The original idea was a "Netflix box" that could download movies overnight, and be ready to watch the next day. By 2005, Netflix had acquired movie rights and designed the box and service. But after witnessing how popular streaming services such as YouTube were despite the lack of high-definition content, the concept of using a hardware device was scrapped and replaced with a streaming concept.[44]
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