I know what you watched last Christmas. Ultimate Netflix December Movies 2017-2021.
Netflix Christmas Hits 2017–2021: Global Holiday Favorites Revealed by Showlabs
Unboxing Top Netflix Christmas Season Titles. Five Countries in Five Years.
December is already here, and we can finally start watching our favorite Christmas content. As every year, Netflix has plenty of options to offer for the holiday season. One of this year's biggest surprises is Lindsay Lohan's big comeback in the Netflix Original romantic comedy Falling for Christmas.
But what do we watch in December? Do we gravitate to new content, or do we stick with the familiar classics? And do the Holidays even have that big of an effect on viewership? We've asked Showlabs, and here’s what we found.
We compared the Netflix viewership data from five countries: France, Germany, Poland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. We used the same Remarkability Parameter as in our report on Halloween content to identify exceptional seasonal content. We considered titles that made at least one Top 50 in December from 2017 to 2021 and selected those with three times more monthly views during December than they averaged throughout the rest of the year.
Let’s dive in!
France
In the last five years, the most holiday-skewed titles in France were: The Christmas Chronicles, Christmas Inheritance, and A StoryBots Christmas, each qualifying for the Remarkability Parameter four times in the five-year span. Surprisingly, just below, we can also find the American drama Mudbound, a story of a family struggling with racism. The other top titles, however, are closely related to holidays: Love Actually, A Wish for Christmas, A Christmas Prince, and 48 Christmas Wishes.
Table 1: Top Netflix Movies December 2017-2021, France
* 'Count' refers to the number of Decembers where the show crossed the 'remarkable' threshold. Source: Showlabs by PlumeResearch
The chart below shows the dynamic of viewing for the presented titles. The seasonality of these films is clear - even in the case of Mudbound. Additionally, we see that the popularity of Holiday movies dropped in 2021 when only The Christmas Chronicles made the Netflix Top 50 in December.
Chart 1: Top Netflix Movies December 2017-2021, France
Chart 1: Top Netflix Movies December 2017—2021, France
Germany
The number of Christmas-themed titles in German Top is quite impressive. We found only two non-holiday (or not exactly holiday) titles—Three Wishes for Cinderella and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The rest of Germans’ December outliers are typical Holiday fare—A Christmas Prince, Christmas Inheritance, A Wish for Christmas, A Christmas Prince: The Royal Wedding, Christmas With A View, The Holiday Calendar, The Christmas Chronicles, Christmas with the Kranks, Christmas Wedding Planner, Arthur Christmas, Angela's Christmas, 8 Christmas Wishes, Klaus, Rise of the Guardians.
Table 2: Top Netflix Movies December 2017—2021, Germany
* 'Count' refers to the number of Decembers where the show crossed the 'remarkable' threshold.
Chart 2: Top Netflix Movies December 2017-2021, Germany
Source: Showlabs by PlumeResearch
As many as six German Christmas favorites made it to the top 50 in December 2021. They were: The Christmas Chronicles (1.2M UV), Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (640K UV), Christmas with the Kranks (514K UV), Three Wishes for Cinderella (496K UV), Arthur Christmas (490K UV), and Klaus (488K UV).
Poland
Showlabs data shows that Polish viewers are definitely into Christmas content.Not only have they been choosing holiday themes, but among the most seasonal titles during the previous five Decembers, there were no non-Christmas-themed titles.
Table 3: Top Netflix Movies December 2017-2021, Poland
* 'Count' refers to the number of Decembers where the show crossed the 'remarkable' threshold.
Chart 3: Top Netflix Movies December 2017-2021, Poland
Source: Showlabs by PlumResearch
The Top 50 of December 2021 in Poland includes three Christmas favorites from the last five years: The Christmas Chronicles (359K UV), Kalus (174K UV), and The Polar Express (162K UV).
United Kingdom
Each December between 2017 and 2021, Netflix viewers in the United Kingdom were laser-focused on Christmas content. Among the 14 most popular movies, we couldn’t find any non-Christmas-themed titles.
Table 4: Top Netflix Movies December 2017-2021, The UK
* 'Count' refers to the number of Decembers where the show crossed the 'remarkable' threshold.
Chart 4: Top Netflix Movies December 2017-2021, The UK
Source: Showlabs by PlumResearch
Among the countries we considered, the Holiday content was the most popular in absolute terms in the UK, with seven titles in the December 2021 Top 50: Nativity! (2.6M UV), The Christmas Chronicles (2.3M UV), Love Actually (2.2M UV), The Holiday (1.7M UV), Nativity 2: Danger in the Manger (1.4M UV), Deck the Halls (1.3M UV), and Klaus (897K UV).
United States
According to Showlabs data, seven titles were most viewed in the United States during December 2017—2022: Christmas Inheritance, 48 Christmas Wishes, Get Santa, The Christmas Chronicles, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, A Christmas Prince, and Klaus. After all, you can’t imagine the Holiday season in the US without the Grinch!
Table 5: Top Netflix Movies December 2017-2021, The US
* 'Count' refers to the number of Decembers where the show crossed the 'remarkable' threshold.
Chart 5: Top Netflix Movies December 2017-2021, The US
Source: Showlabs by PlumResearch
Two Christmas favorites made it to the December 2021 Top 50 in the US: The Christmas Chronicles (10.8M UV) and Klaus (5.2M UV).
All five countries shared three titles at their Tops. These were: The Christmas Chronicles, A Christmas Prince, and Christmas Inheritance.
Table 6: Table 6: Titles' Occurrence Count in the Top 50 in 2017 - 2021 in France, Germany, Poland, The UK, and The US
Source: Showlabs by PlumResearch
A 2017 romance, A Christmas Prince follows an aspiring young journalist trying to get the scoop on a prince poised to be the king. The charming story got a 73% score on Tomatometer on Rotten Tomatoes. Christmas Inheritance, tells a story of a CEO-to-be who must deliver a Christmas card to claim her father's legacy. It got only a 36% Audience Score on Rotten Tomatoes, yet it still found its way to our Christmas evergreens.
The Christmas Chronicles starring Kurt Russel is a story of siblings Kate and Teddy Pierce, who plan to catch Santa Claus on camera. The movie was successful enough to be followed by The Christmas Chronicles: Part Two, where Kurt Russel was joined by his real-life wife, Goldie Hawn. It is worth mentioning that The Christmas Chronicles was also in the Top 50 of December 2021 in all analyzed countries.
Crucially, all three of these titles are Netflix Originals and aren’t limited by licensing agreements. While we can imagine that How the Grinch Stole Christmas could win over hearts around the world, Netflix managed to create its own successful Holiday library.
PlumResearch specializes in precise and granular data measurement from streaming platforms. It has the world’s largest online audience panel and provides its clients with data from over 75 markets worldwide.
Through Showlabs - the proprietary platform created by PlumResearch - the company’s clients can find out how shows and movies are performing worldwide and track what exactly contributes to their success. Showlabs provides clients with accurate data, in-depth insights, and a reliable customer support team.