Australia's Favourite Christmas Movies

The Most Popular Christmas Movies In Australia have been mapped: Australia's 30 Favourite Christmas Movies Revealed In New Data Study.

Culture experts reveal the most popular festive films in Australia along with the favourites in each state and territory.

The holiday season in Australia might look a little different to the snow-covered landscapes we often see in Christmas-themed movies but many Aussies will be gathering the family in front of the TV and enjoying a classic festive film or two at this time of year - along with some slightly less "Christmassy" fare perhaps.

Christmas movies are synonymous with nostalgia and tradition comforting and entertaining us in equal measure while exploring universal themes such as love family and forgiveness. From the tear-inducing life lessons of It's a Wonderful Life to the wacky hi-jinks of Elf we return to these holiday staples again and again each year.

But as a new study from Preply reveals Australians don't always opt for tradition when it comes to their Yuletide viewing habits - using Google search data to discover the most popular Christmas films down under the language and culture experts discovered a somewhat controversial title as being this year's go-to festive movie.

What are Australia's most popular holiday movies?

The study of the most popular Christmas films uncovered a mix of Yuletide tastes among Australians with revered festive classics alongside some less traditional festive-themed movies and hidden gems. Here are some of the key takeaways:

Perhaps controversially the study revealed the 2019 DC superhero adventure Shazam! to be the nation's favourite festive film! Is it even a Christmas movie?!

The universally popular Elf came in second with other traditionally festive fare like Deck the Halls and Nativity also breaking the top 10.

However some "gold-standard" Christmas movies such as Home Alone Love Actually and It's a Wonderful Life didn't even make the top 10.

Some more hair-raising movies like Gremlins and Krampus are also popular among Australians showing we're not immune to a festive scare or two.

Yuletide "hidden gems" such as Silent Night Just Friends and The Family Man were surprisingly popular featuring ahead of some more recognised classics.

List of the 30 most popular Christmas movies in Australia with numbered pink festive baubles and blue background.

Is Shazam! a Christmas film? The superhero movie starring Zachary Levi - which spawned a less popular sequel in 2023 - ranks as the number one "Christmas movie" in Australia according to the study (also amassing 4 million views on TikTok) but should this tale of a fostered boy discovering his super-powered alter-ego even count?

Whether you think so or not Shazam! is at least set around Christmas with a third-act battle that takes place at a Christmas carnival and the movie's director David F. Sandberg insists that it feels like a Christmas movie to him: "It's about family and finding your family... and Christmas is very much a family holiday" Sandberg insisted in an interview.

What are the most popular Christmas movies by region?

Breaking the study down by regional search volume it's interesting to find that Shazam! doesn't feature among the favourites of any Australian states or territories. In fact the data throws up a real mixed sackful of festive films.

Queensland and Tasmania like a festive fright for example with Better Watch Out and Krampus being their respective faves while in New South Wales they prefer the more wholesome Nativity. In South Australia they're more likely to opt for that real family favourite Elf.

The team at Preply have used search data to reveal Australia's Most Popular Christmas Movies in different regions. You might be surprised to hear which film is the most popular!