‘Home Alone’ and ‘Diehard’ compete for most Googled Christmas movies

Forget about Christmas carols, Santa Claus and sleigh rides. When choosing Christmas movies, many Americans prefer to watch a film about a kid defending his home against burglars or a terrorist attack in Los Angeles.

“Home Alone” is the most popular Christmas movie in the Show-Me state, according to the website HowToWatch.com. In fact, more states prefer it than any other movie. “The Holiday” topped the list in Kansas. California likes to watch The Nightmare before Christmas while Texans take in Gremlins.

To determine each state’s favorite holiday film, a team of analysts made a list of the top 25 most popular holiday films by cross-referencing multiple “best of” film lists and pared it down using ratings and popularity. They analyzed the 25 most popular titles using Google Trends data to discover which films people in each state showed the most interest in over the past 12 months.

“Home Alone” took first in the most states this year for search dominance, but it’s mostly an east-of-the-Mississippi victory. “Die Hard” may not conjure up the warm, cuddly Christmas vibes people think of with other classics, but it’s a perennial favorite for its one-liners, iconic imagery and non-stop action.

“Gremlins” is a huge hit in southern and states. Maybe they’re used to creepy creatures, like the grinning gators in Florida or party possums in Arkansas. The Southwest and West show their love for “The Nightmare Before Christmas” with Arizona, Nevada, California and New Mexico all searching for it more than other holiday movies.

Here are the top 25 holiday films nationwide:

• Home Alone (1990)
• Die Hard (1988)
• Gremlins (1984)
• The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
• Black Christmas (1974)
• Elf (2003)
• It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)
• White Christmas (1954)
• A Christmas Carol (1938)
• Love Actually (2003)
• How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1966)
• Meet Me in St. Louis (1944)
• Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987)
• Polar Express (2004)
• The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)
• Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964)
• The Holiday (2006)
• National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989)
• Christmas, Again (2014)
• Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
• Bad Santa (2003)
• A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965)
• A Christmas Story (1983)
• The Santa Clause (1994)
• How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)

–Alan Goforth | Metro Voice