Violent Night

Erik Gruenwedel

December 27, 2022

Christmas-themed movies — original and classic — resonated with consumers over the winter holiday weekend, while Netflix’s high-priced sequel, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, was the top streamed movie on the world’s largest SVOD platform.

Universal Pictures Home Entertainment’s Violent Night, which features a grumpy Santa Claus (David Harbour) ruining a band of home invading criminals’ plans, was the No. 1 movie for sale and rental on Vudu, iTunes and Google Play — while finishing fifth at the extended (through Dec. 26) theatrical weekend box office with another $3.5 million in ticket sales.

The duel distribution model underscores Universal’s strategy of releasing theatrical titles into digital retail channels after just 17 days if the title’s combined box office revenue is below $50 million. Through Dec. 26, the movie’s ticket sales had approached $42 million.

Of the top 40 movies tracked across iTunes, Vudu, Google Play and Netflix top 10 charts over the holiday weekend, 55% (22) were Christmas themed.

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Classic titles that resonated the highest among digital consumers were Universal’s The Grinch and How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and Warner Bros. Home Entertainment’s Elf, Christmas Vacation and The Polar Express.

Notably, the 1988 original Die Hard movie, starring Bruce Willis as a divorced New York policeman visiting his ex-wife at a high-rise Christmas Eve party, ranked No. 2 on iTunes and No. 4 on Google Play.

Top-streaming winter holiday movies on Netflix included original The Christmas Chronicles (2018), starring Kurt Russell as an adventurous Saint Nick, and the 2020 sequel, The Christmas Chronicles 2, which co-starred Russell’s longtime partner Goldie Hawn.

Other popular Christmas-themed movies on Netflix include 2017 theatrical release A Bad Moms Christmas (STX Entertainment), and 1954’s White Christmas, starring Danny Kaye and Bing Crosby.