Even as Hallmark releases dozens of holiday films each year, certain movies remain with viewers throughout their lives. Christmas films such as Elf and Love Actually have generated a sense of nostalgia over the years because of their ability to achieve classic status, according to The New York Times. Often, films generate a sense of comfort, especially around the holiday season, connecting movie viewers to their childhoods and a wider community. Although new holiday films attempt to appeal to audiences by recreating Christmas classics, they fail to generate the same audience attachment as their predecessors. Ultimately, this tendency for recent movies to excessively mimic the signature characteristics of traditional Christmas programs results in a loss of the creative, original, and long-lasting impact of new holiday films.
In 2003, Elf and Love Actually premiered in theaters and grossed $220 million and $240 million, respectively. Due to the success of those films, film companies persistently release new holiday movies with similar, unoriginal plots, which makes them easily forgettable. Audiences return to Christmas classics such as Elf, Love Actually, and Home Alone because they were the first of their kind, allowing viewers to link them to comfort and familiar fond memories.
Initially, producers created Love Actually to be a romantic comedy, according to The New York Times. Set around the Christmas season, the film explores different forms of romantic relationships. The movie has attracted viewers for 20 years because the characters are relatable, and although it is set during Christmas, it does not follow the typical elements of a holiday film, according to wired.com. Producer Mr. Tim Bevan described the film’s ultimate appeal, proving that a successful holiday movie does not necessarily need a generic formula.
“It’s about eight or nine different strands where there are different great emotions going on about love and family and all of the rest of it,” Mr. Bevan said, according to The New York Times. “That’s the element that makes it Christmas-y.”
While new Christmas films cannot provide the same emotions with which some of the classic movies filled their viewers, the predictability of a holiday plot offers comfort and familiarity. During the holiday season, formulaic films can relieve stress and pressure, according to psychologytoday.com. In addition, watching a holiday movie links viewers to their innocent childhoods, ultimately leading to comforting nostalgia. However, if viewers hold onto these emotions too tightly, they risk restricting new holiday productions.
Comfort and nostalgia are closely linked and are often associated with objects and media. As a result, audiences rewatch films such as A Christmas Carol and Home Alone every Christmas season due to their simplicity, according to calliopeartsjournal.com. Film production companies such as Hallmark take advantage of audiences’ fondness for older movies and produce repetitive content, further taking attention away from holiday films that could become future classics. Mr. Kyle Chayka, a writer for The New Yorker, explained the negative effects of the viewer’s search for comfort in an essay regarding the psychology behind cultural nostalgia.
“With our digital cultural channels, art can be profitable only if it gets attention, and it can get attention only if it matches a pre-existing pattern,” Mr. Chayka said, according to The New York Times. “That pattern is called nostalgia, and while it’s pleasurable, is it not ultimately boring?”
There is something unbeatable and inexplicable about the emotions that holiday classics bring out in their audiences. Companies such as Hallmark recognize this, attempting to profit from nostalgia but ultimately failing to do so because their viewers notice the lack of creativity. Instead of attempting to recreate the exact emotions that viewers feel when they rewatch their favorite classic Christmas movies, production companies should focus more on developing original films to help create new memories and connections for future generations.
Featured Image by Camila Oliva ’24
