When looking for ways to easily make a sequel or to ensure the success of a franchise, creating a Christmas movie out of a non-Christmas franchise is a great choice, and these 10 films are the perfect example of this. All kinds of Chirstmas franchises have spanned into properties with multiple sequels and spin-offs, with Home Alone, The Grinch, The Santa Clause, Elf, and more being some of the most popular holiday series. However, plenty of franchises that didn’t start out as Christmas movies have cashed in on making holiday sequels, with these 10 non-Christmas franchises featuring popular Christmas movies.
The holidays are some of the best times to release a movie, as many families are looking for new holiday releases in order to make a family outing out of a theater trip around the season. Plenty of films have gone down in history as Christmas classics, and while it is nice to rewatch the same handful of nostalgic movies every year, some audiences like to shake things up every once in a while. Christmas movies are nearly guaranteed successes because of this, with this box office trend causing studios to make all kinds of Christmas sequels to non-Christmas franchises, and these 10 are the best examples.
10 The Muppets
The Muppet Christmas Carol
The Muppets is one of the most recognizable and valuable media properties of all time, with Jim Henson’s cast of zany puppet characters appearing in all kinds of different television and film projects. While they didn’t start out as Christmas characters, with them being more well known for The Muppets Show as well as several other films, the gang stars in one of the all-time Christmas classics: The Muppet Christmas Carol. The film is a retelling of Charles Dickens’ classic story of Ebeneezer Scrooge, and while it isn’t the only Christmas film to center around the Muppets, it is by far the most recognizable.
9 DC Extended Universe
Shazam!
Plenty of superhero projects have been set around the holidays throughout the years, but the DCEU’s Shazam! is one of the few that is actually a Christmas movie. The entire film takes place around Christmastime, with holiday decorations and Christmas songs playing throughout the film. The villain’s origin story takes place during a holiday trip, and the film’s finale takes place at a Christmas festival. Christmas lights decorate the scene of the final battle with the Seven Deadly Sins, and characters in Santa outfits can even be seen, with Christmas iconography filling the entirety of the film.
8 James Bond
On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
007 has gone on all kinds of different missions throughout the James Bond franchise, but Bond’s adventure in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service is unique due to its holiday setting. The film takes place around Christmas, with trees and other decorations being seen throughout. James Bond’s archnemesis Blofeld even wishes 007 a Merry Christmas at one point in the film, with the characters even acknowledging the holiday status of the film.
7 Batman
Batman Returns
While Shazam! is cemented as the main Christmas film in the DCEU, it isn’t the first time that live-action DC movies have dabbled in the holidays. The sequel to Tim Burton’s Batman, Batman Returns, also happens to be a Christmas film. Throughout the film, Gotham is covered in snow and Christmas decorations, with this jolly atmosphere serving as the backdrop for the evil deeds of villains like The Penguin and Catwoman. Tim Burton has had a history of exploring the holidays in dark ways, and Batman Returns is one of the most prominent examples of this.
6 Rocky
Rocky IV
The Rocky movies may not seem like they would have a Christmas film, but some of the most iconic scenes in one of the franchise’s most iconic movies heavily feature the holiday. The final third of the snow-covered film takes place on Christmas, with Rocky Balboa and Ivan Drago having agreed to box in a heavily publicized match on Christmas day. Christmas decorations are seen throughout the film, and one scene even features Paulie roasting marshmallows while listening to a Christmas cover by Alvin and the Chipmunks, highlighting the film’s holiday setting.
5 Ernest
Ernest Saves Christmas
Ernest Goes to Camp kicked off the massively successful film series following Ernest P. Worrell, with the Jim Varney-led franchise going on to release nine films with Ernest’s name in the title. However, the Christmas-themed Ernest film is arguably the franchise’s most popular: Ernest Saves Christmas. The film follows Ernest as he attempts to save Christmas after Santa Claus gets into some trouble, with the titular character having to pick up the big man in red’s slack. Ernest Saves Christmas was only the second mainline Ernest movie, but it stands out as one of the most well-remembered.
4 Air Bud
Santa Buddies
For a movie about a dog playing basketball, Air Bud got pretty weird near the end of its run, with it spinning off into a series about puppies known as Air Buddies. The Air Buddies movies went in some wild directions, introducing things like ghosts, superheroes, and even Santa Claus. The film follows the Buddies as they travel to the North Pole in order to teach Santa Paws’ son the true meaning of Christmas, with the fantasy-filled Christmas movie straying far away from its Air Bud roots.
3 Daddy’s Home
Daddy’s Home 2
Daddy’s Home stars Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg, with it being one of the actors’ most successful films in recent years. Daddy’s Home was so successful that it actually spawned a sequel, Daddy’s Home 2, with this movie taking place at Christmas. The film follows the feuding fathers as they have to put their differences aside in order to put on the perfect Christmas celebration, with the surprise visits from their own fathers making things even more complicated.
2 Harry Potter
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
Despite not being a Christmas franchise, a lot of fans associate the Harry Potter series with the holidays, and much of this is thanks to Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone basically being a Christmas movie. Although the entirety of the first film does not take place at Christmas, the Harry Potter movies feel like Christmas due to Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone having several key scenes that take place around the holidays, with Christmas trees and large holiday feasts filling the corridors of Hogwarts.
1 National Lampoon’s Vacation
National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation
Despite being one of the most iconic Christmas movies of all time, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation is actually a Christmas sequel in a non-Christmas franchise. The film is a sequel to National Lampoon’s Vacation as well as National Lampoon’s European Vacation, with it actually being the third movie in the series. All of the Griswold’s Christmas iconography is exclusive to the third film, with its popularity making it one of the most successful Christmas movie sequels in a non-Christmas franchise.
