Christmastime is here, and we can’t think of a better way to get into the yuletide spirit than by watching a beloved Christmas classic. With that in mind, OntarioBets.com put our Ontario sportsbooks coverage on back order for a few minutes to count down our province’s favorite Christmas movies.
To land on the five best Christmas movies according to statistics related to Ontario, we first used the web analytics platform AhRefs to create a list of the 40 holiday films that have generated the most global web traffic over the past year. Next, OntarioBets fed those titles through Google Trends to see which movies have been searched the most frequently online in Ontario over the past three Christmases.
Check out the full list as we unwrap the results below. Perhaps a holiday bonus awaits if you place a winning wager on one of the best sports betting apps Ontario.
His family may have left him behind at Christmas, but no one who has seen “Home Alone” will ever forget Kevin McCallister. This film hit theatres more than 30 years ago – Nov. 16, 1990, to be exact – but the beloved story of that young boy battling home invaders in his posh Chicago suburb endures as a beloved Christmas classic to this day.
“Home Alone” stars Macaulay Culkin, who was just 9 years old at the time of filming. The movie also features memorable supporting roles from the likes of mob-movie icon Joe Pesci, who plays petty thief Harry alongside his conspirator Marv, who is portrayed by Daniel Stern. Toronto’s own Catherine O’Hara stars as Kate McCallister, Kevin’s mom. And O’Hara’s SCTV co-star and fellow Canadian, John Candy, also has a memorable cameo as Gus Polinski (AKA “the polka king of the midwest”).
The second favourite Christmas movie in Ontario is 2003’s “Elf,” which stars comedian Will Farrell as Buddy, a human brought to the North Pole as a baby and mistakenly raised as one of Santa’s elves. When Buddy learns the truth about his past, he’s sent by Santa to redeem his father — played by the late, great James Caan — who has landed on the “naughty list.”
“Elf” hit in theatres during a peak in Will Farrell’s career as an actor. Following his exit from “Saturday Night Live,” the comedian had a string of box office hits between 2003 and 2005 — including “Old School,” “Anchorman” and “Talladega Nights.”
According to our research, “How The Grinch Stole Christmas” and “National Lampoon’s Family Vacation” are tied for the third spot on our list of Ontario’s most beloved Christmas movies.
Starring Canadian funnyman Jim Carrey in the titular Grinch role, “How The Grinch Stole Christmas” was hugely anticipated prior to its 2000 release — being the first live action adaptation of Dr. Seuss children’s book of the same name. Of course, the book was also famously brought to the small screen by Looney Tunes animator Chuck Jones in a 1967 animated special.
Carrey’s over-the-top portrayal, and the maximalist re-creation of Whoville, have helped make “How The Grinch Stole Christmas” one of the most unforgettable holiday movies of all time.
Meanwhile, “National Lampoon’s Family Vacation” has Chevy Chase reprising his famous role as Clark Griswold. The film is celebrated for the way it captures the season’s most relatable moments — both good and bad — exploding them into iconic moments of on-screen hilarity.
Rounding out our list of Ontario’s top five Christmas movies is “Love Actually.” Set in London, this film features nine loosely intertwined stories about love and romance during the most wonderful time of the year. Starring a murderer’s row of iconic English actors and actresses — including Hugh Grant, Kiera Knightley, Alan Rickman, Bill Nighy and Emma Thompson — watching “Love Actually” has become an annual tradition for rom-com lovers on both sides of the pond.
Whichever Christmas movies you prefer, give yourself the gift of knowledge any time of year by checking out our reviews of the best Ontario casino apps at OntarioBets.com.
Author
Jeff Parker is an entertainment writer for OntarioBets.com. A writer for film, television and the internet, Jeff is a life long movie buff, with a Masters Degree in Popular Culture. He lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia, where he works full time as documentary filmmaker and producer.
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