‘Tis the season to snuggle up on the sofa with a hot beverage and a comforting Christmas film.
From the classic Home Alone film series to the more contemporary Netflix releases such as The Princess Switch, there have been many Christmas film franchises that have graced our screens over the years.
But what is the highest-rated festive film franchise? As part of their new study, the team at Betway has taken into account average IMDb ratings of various festive franchises and found that Gremlins is (surprisingly) the highest-rated Christmas film franchise – beating the likes of Home Alone and The Santa Clause.
See the franchises that follow below…
- Gremlins – average IMDb rating of 6.9
An unlikely result, and preferably not one to tell the kids about, but the Gremlins series takes the crown for being the highest-rated Christmas film series.
In the 1980s action-packed era of Ghostbusters and Indiana Jones, the release of the first Gremlins film in 1984, certainly took audiences by storm and was a hit during the Christmas period.
The franchise follows the story of a young man who receives a strange creature as a pet, which then spawns other creatures. The result? Small, destructive monsters, all out to cause havoc around the whole town on Christmas Eve.
- The Christmas Chronicles – average IMDb rating of 6.5
When the first Christmas Chronicles movie debuted on Netflix in 2018, viewers were going crazy. A film that captures a combined energy of The Santa Clause and Home Alone. Sign us up.
With talks about a third instalment to the franchise coming up, this film series was highly praised among audiences and critics alike and received an average rating of 6.5 across the two current films.
- Bad Santa – average IMDb rating of 6.4
It turns out we simply love a comedy that is not suitable for kids around Christmas, with the Bad Santa franchise named as the third, highest-rated festive film series.
The story follows a conman and his partner who pose as ‘Santa’ and his ‘Little Helper’ to rob department stores on Christmas Eve, but they inevitably run into problems along the way.
- The Santa Clause – average IMDb rating of 5.7
Following behind Bad Santa is the more familiar friendly Santa in The Santa Clause franchise.
Boasting an average rating of 5.7, this iconic film series starring Tim Allen has been a Christmas showstopper since 1994.
Helping Santa with a Christmas crisis, a father unknowingly agrees to become the next ‘Father Christmas’, while having to deal with his suspicious former wife and trying to keep his secret safe.
- The Princess Switch – average IMDb rating of 5.6
From her role in Thunderbirds to High School Musical, star Vanessa Hudgens has been an iconic part of people’s childhood.
Fast forward to 2018, we now know her as ‘Princess Stacy’ in the third instalment of the Netflix film franchise, The Princess Switch.
While ratings of the series started to slowly go down following the first film, it still holds a firm place as being one of the top five, highest-rated Christmas film franchises.
- A Christmas Prince – average IMDb rating of 5.5
Closely behind in sixth place is another cheesy Netflix festive film series, A Christmas Prince.
Starring Rose McIver and Ben Lamb, the series follows the story of a journalist who is sent to the nation of Aldovia to cover a press conference regarding the ‘Royal Prince’ – and you can probably guess the rest…
- National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation – average IMDb rating of 5.1
When it comes to the famous Christmas slapstick comedies that we simply love, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation is certainly a classic hit.
The great thing about this film franchise is that it tells the story of what families typically tend to go through during the festive season.
‘Clark Griswold’ just wants to have the perfect family Christmas, so he pesters his wife and children to make sure everything is in line. However, things go sideways when his cousin and family show up unplanned to his house…
- Nativity! – average IMDb rating of 4.9
In eighth place, we have a real festive family favorite with the Nativity! series.
Whether you love or hate it, you can’t deny that this classic British film franchise brings back memories of what it was like to run and participate in school plays – oh how times were simple back then!
- Home Alone – average IMDb rating of 4.8
Considering the first two Home Alone films had an explosive reception at the box office, it is surprising to find that the overall film franchise only lands in 9th place when it comes to the highest-rated Christmas film franchises.
According to IMDb ratings however, the franchise came crashing down after the sequel – with Home Alone 4 only attracting a shocking 2.7 out of 10 rating.
- Jingle All The Way – average IMDb rating of 4.8
Finally, in joint last place we have Jingle All The Way.
Starring the one and only Arnold Schwarzenegger, the first film follows a father who uses all the means necessary to get his son the Turbo Man toy he wants for Christmas.
The second film follows a similar premise, with ‘Larry’ wanting to gift his daughter a doll she dearly desires.