Why So Many Big Movies Open on Christmas Day

Desperate to escape your family for a few hours? Head to the movie theater.

When Paramount decided to release the Bob Hope and Bing Crosby comedy Road to Rio on Christmas Day in 1947, studio executives got nervous. Would moviegoers think releasing a film on Christmas was in poor taste? Would people be offended?

It turns out they had nothing to worry about. The film was a hit, becoming the sixth highest grossing movie that year. Hollywood's been doing Christmas Day releases ever since.

Christmas Creates a Movie-Watching Vacuum

Christmas is sacred for many people. But the closing of basically every store and public location creates a problem—there's nothing to do.

Few spots are open. Diversions are hard to come by. A trip to the movies becomes one of the only ways families can congregate somewhere other than home during the holiday break.

Some theaters report business picks up after 3 p.m. or 4 p.m. in the afternoons, when presents have been unwrapped and people with free time are searching for something to do. Anything to do. Preferably away from relatives.

Time Off Means Movies Get "Legs"

Because of time off from work and school, movies released around Christmas have a chance to achieve "legs"—the ability to stretch their success over a longer period.

Big-budget films are usually deemed a success or failure based on their opening weekend box office numbers. But a smaller film can open small on Christmas and still come out way ahead. Take 2007's P.S. I Love You. It made just $6.5 million during its opening weekend. But it wound up with $53.7 million through January because people kept going to see it over the holidays.

If past trends hold, Christmas season is very profitable for studios. Of the five biggest box office hits of all time—Avatar, Titanic, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame—all but the Avengers films were late-season holiday releases.

Avatar came out on December 18, 2009. Titanic came out on December 19, 1997. The Force Awakens came out on December 18, 2015. Those are three of the top five highest-grossing films ever made, and they all came out right before Christmas.

That's not a coincidence.

Awards Season Factors In Too

While there's lots of family friendly movies released around Christmas, studios also use the season to highlight movies that might be in awards contention.

From 1986 to 2005, half of all the Best Picture winners at the Academy Awards were released on or after December 15.

When the Oscars were moved up a month from March to February, studios adjusted. Now prestige pictures arrive in theaters in October and November too, giving them more time to build buzz before voting starts.

But Christmas week is still prime real estate for Oscar hopefuls. Release too early and people forget about your movie by the time voting happens. Release during Christmas and you're fresh in voters' minds.

Different Countries, Different Holidays

Whether a movie can enjoy a financial windfall during Christmas depends a lot on what part of the world you're in.

Christmas works in America. But China fills theaters during Chinese New Year in late January or February. The French line up wins over Labor Day weekend. Russia prefers New Year's Day. For the Japanese, the April and early May Golden Week holiday is a prime theater window.

But in all territories, the motive is largely the same: People want something to do with—or a way to briefly get away from—family during holidays.

The Reality

Studios figured out decades ago that Christmas Day is prime moviegoing time. Everything's closed. People have free time. Families need something to do after presents are unwrapped and before everyone starts arguing about politics.

So, theaters become the default destination. And studios capitalize on it by releasing their biggest films—either family blockbusters or Oscar contenders—right around Christmas.

Three of the top five highest-grossing films ever made came out in December. That's not luck. That's studios understanding that when people have time off and limited entertainment options, they go to the movies.

And honestly? It's a public service. Spending two hours in a dark theater watching a movie beats spending two more hours listening to Uncle Jerry explain his theories about the economy. Movie theaters on Christmas Day aren't just selling tickets. They're selling escape. And during the holidays, that's worth the price of admission.

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