It’s beginning to be the right time to find that comfy spot on the couch to watch Christmas movies. But which one to choose?
The top choice for Ohio is the bratty kid who discovers the magic of the season while making life difficult for would-be robbers.
Utilizing Google Trends, BetOhio.com took a break from Ohio sports betting and analyzed the most popular Christmas movies of state residents by looking at the search results of each movie over the past three Christmases. The movies included the 40 most popular Christmas movies over the past year based on global traffic from AhRefs.
Ohio’s Favorite Christmas Movies
Kevin’s Adventures Take Top Billing
Not much separated the top three, but “Home Alone,” where 8-year-old Kevin McCallister gets left at home when his family heads to Europe for Christmas, comes out on top in Ohio.
“Home Alone” came out in 1990, so it’s been a holiday favorite for a long time. Spolier alert: Even through Kevin would have been a huge Ohio betting apps underdog against the would-be robbers, he emerges victorious in the end. The next two were close and tied for second-favorite in Ohio with the 2000 live-action version of “How The Grinch Stole Christmas” with Jim Carrey and “A Christmas Story” from 1983.
Carrey offers an intense portrayal of the Grinch and it’s a good companion with the original 1966 cartoon based on the Dr. Seuss children’s book. “A Christmas Story” is based on Jean Shepherd’s writings, and he narrates the adventures of Ralphie Parker and his dream of receiving a “Red Ryder air rifle” for Christmas.
Close behind in fourth place is “The Polar Express” from 2004. It’s the only animated movie in the top 5 films, and it stars Tom Hanks voicing six different characters. He plays the main two characters, the Hero Boy who has to “Believe” once again in the meaning of Christmas, and the conductor who gets all of the kids to the North Pole just in time to see Santa Claus depart for his trip around the world.
Will Ferrell’s funny turn as Santa’s biggest helper in “Elf” comes in fifth place. It has many great one-liners that get repeated over and over throughout the year, not just at Christmas. Buddy’s quote “you sit on a throne of lies!” works on so many levels no matter the month. It’s hard to go wrong with any Christmas movie you choose as we settle in for family time this holiday season. Grab the blankets, the hot drink of choice and enjoy.
Author
Douglas Pils has been a sports journalist for 30 years in Texas, Arkansas and New York having worked for the San Antonio Express-News, the Associated Press, The Dallas Morning News and Newsday. He most recently ran the Student Media Department at Texas A&M for eight years.
