Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Britain's favourite Christmas film revealed, with Love Actually and Elf missing out on top spot

Films were voted for in a poll of more than 7,000 people

Roisin O'Connor
Wednesday 19 December 2018 10:42 GMT
Comments

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

The British public has voted for its favourite Christmas film, with It's a Wonderful Life coming out on top.

The 1946 classic beat Christmas comedy Elf, romantic comedy favourite Notting Hill, and comedy caper Home Alone in a survey of more than 7,000 people by RadioTimes.com.

It's a Wonderful Life tells the story of George Bailey (James Stewart), a man who has devoted his life to helping others and whose attempt to take his own life on Christmas Eve prompts the arrival of his guardian angel, Clarence Odbody.

Clarence shows George all the lives he touched, and how different his local community in Bedford Falls would be if he had never been born. The film was produced and directed by Frank Capra and scored five Oscar nominations, including Best Picture.

Elf stars Will Ferrell as a human adopted by Santa, who eventually realises he is not one of his "little helpers" and sets out to New York to find his real father. It came in at second place thanks to Ferrell's beloved performance as the zany central character. At third place was The Muppet Christmas Carol, which interprets Charles Dickens' festive fable with the help of a bunch of wise-cracking puppets (and Michael Caine).

Other films to appear on the list include White Christmas, the 1954 box office smash, which stars Danny Kaye as an aspiring entertainer alongside Bing Crosby. Both Home Alone and Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, starring Macauley Culkin, also proved to be audience favourites.

See the top 20, below:

  1. It's a Wonderful Life
  2. Elf
  3. The Muppet Christmas Carol
  4. Love Actually
  5. Home Alone
  6. Die Hard
  7. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
  8. The Polar Express
  9. White Christmas
  10. Scrooge
  11. A Christmas Carol
  12. The Snowman
  13. Miracle on 34th Street
  14. Santa Claus: The Movie
  15. The Holiday
  16. Home Alone 2: Lost in New York
  17. Scrooged
  18. Nativity!
  19. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

The Independent recently ranked our favourite Christmas films, with It's a Wonderful Life also coming out on top. See the full list here.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in