Violent Night's David Harbour Weighs In On Whether Die Hard Is A Christmas Movie
It's that time of year once again! Time to put up the tree, start shopping, and, most importantly, start arguing over whether or not "Die Hard" is a Christmas movie. Steven E. de Souza, who co-wrote the film, seems to think it is, as every time someone asks him about it on Twitter, he seems to give joking answers, but they all point towards a "yes." When Jake Tapper asked him on Twitter in 2017, the writer responded, "Yes, because the studio rejected the Purim draft #DieHardIsAChristmasMovie." When @amcfarla then asked why it was released in July, de Souza pointed out that "Miracle on 34th Street" was also released in the summer.
A 2020 YouGov poll found that, among people who have seen the movie, 51% said it was not a Christmas movie versus 39% who said it was. Action fans were split much more evenly, with 42% saying it is a Christmas movie and 43% saying it isn't. IGN's audience seems to skew towards people who believe it is a Christmas movie, with 77.9% saying it is and 22.1% saying it isn't.
Viewing figures don't lie, though, as DISH Network says on its website that in 2016 "1.3 million people watched Die Hard, with 2.4 million viewing the movie at some point during the holiday season." DISH goes on to point out "'Die Hard' was the 10th most-watched movie [Christmas Eve 2016], meaning that more Americans watched 'Die Hard' than holiday-favorites, 'Miracle on 34th Street,' 'Home Alone' and 'The Santa Clause.'"
There probably won't be as much debate over whether or not "Violent Night" is a Christmas flick as its main character is Santa Claus. Still, the movie's plot bears a striking resemblance to "Die Hard," and its star, David Harbour, says that's no accident.
David Harbour says Violent Night is an homage to Die Hard and Home Alone
In a recent interview with Good Morning America, David Harbour talked about the influences of "Violent Night" and casually threw in his opinion on the age-old debate of whether or not "Die Hard" is a Christmas movie. "['Violent Night' is] a violent action comedy. It does have homages to 'Home Alone,' to 'Die Hard,' which is a Christmas movie. But it also in my mind stacks up to movies like 'Miracle on 34th Street.'" "Die Hard" certainly has the viewing figures to stack up to a holiday classic like "Miracle on 34th Street," so there's no reason why "Violent Night" can't become Christmas Eve viewing going forward.
It's interesting that "Home Alone" was mentioned, as it has often been linked to "Die Hard" because the two films have similar premises focusing on a resourceful hero taking on villains who outnumber him while relying on non-traditional tactics. In a 2017 Cracked article, under the slightly hyperbolic headline "Die Hard and Home Alone Are the EXACT Same Movie," Christopher Daed points out that both heroes have an emotional distance from their family that's resolved throughout the film and that someone else has to come in and deal the "final blow" to the villain in both movies. Yet there remains little debate over whether or not "Home Alone" is a Christmas movie.