A new survey from Talker Research for Newsweek has revealed America’s answer to this age-old question: is Die Hard a Christmas movie?

Every year around December 25th, families gather to exchange gifts, eat turkey and discuss whether the cinematic exploits of Bruce Willis’ wise-cracking vest-wearing John McClane constitute holiday film entertainment.

The new poll may give one side of the argument a little more ammunition. The Talker poll of 1,000 U.S. adults, conducted between Dec. 2 and Dec. 6, asked respondents, “In your opinion, this movie is the right thing.” Die Hard considered a Christmas movie?”

The reaction might be even more shocking to some readers than Hans Gruber falling from the top of Nakatomi Plaza on December 24th. According to the results, 45 percent of Americans surveyed think so Die Hard is not a Christmas film. In comparison, only 38 percent answered “yes,” while 17 percent were unsure.

Dennis Hayden is pretty sure where he stands on this issue. Hayden played Eddie, a key member of Gruber’s top terrorist team in the original film, who was responsible for manning the reception desk on the ground floor of Nakatomi Plaza.

Hayden’s character Eddie is one of the last members of Gruber’s crew remaining in the film, and having spent a lot of time on set, he’s well placed to settle the debate. For Hayden it’s clear.

“Die Hard is a Christmas movie,” Hayden said Newsweek. “It’s all about Christmas; the setting, the timing, the Christmas Eve party, the decorations.”

The film’s director, John McTiernan, had previously suggested that “Die Hard” didn’t start out as a Christmas movie. In 2020, he told the American Film Institute: “We didn’t intend for it to be a Christmas movie, but the joy that came from it made it a Christmas movie.”

However, Hayden has a different memory of the events. “We shot it during the holiday season,” he said. “It felt like a Christmas movie with a lot of action.”

However, he believes its status as a Christmas film has been strengthened over time. “It evolves into a new generation every year Die Hard fans like a Christmas movie,” Hayden said.

Although McTiernan may not be convinced, Hayden wants to point out that one of the film’s writers, Steven E. de Souza, says it is a Christmas movie.

During an appearance on the Script apart Podcast, argued De Souza Die Hard is probably more of a Christmas film than the one from 1954 White Christmas.

De Souza argued that while only the first and last scenes of “White Christmas” take place during the Christmas season, the entire scene does Die Hard is set during the holidays. Die Hard also features more Christmas songs than White Christmas and is centered around a Christmas party.

However, some fans and critics still need to be convinced. Jimmy Cork works at the Film Forum Theater in Manhattan and has directed several award-winning short films. However, he believes there is “never a bad time to watch.” Die HardAnd it’s “Christmassy enough” and he can understand why the idea of ​​it being a festive flick has been pushed back a bit.

“I think the biggest criticism of it being a Christmas movie is that the setting is a bit random,” he said. “Die Hard was a summer release. It’s easy to have seen it Die HardI enjoyed it and then completely forgot about the holiday connection.

Cork added: “You swap the Nakatomi Plaza Christmas Eve party for a New Year’s Eve or Fourth of July celebration, it’s exactly the same movie. The fact that it takes place almost entirely in a cold, metallic skyscraper in sunny Los Angeles doesn’t quite help his case either.

For his part, Willis shared his thoughts on the subject in 2018 “The Roast of Bruce Willis” from Comedy Centralby telling the audience: “Die Hard is not a Christmas film. It’s a terrible Bruce Willis movie!”

Hayden says this was Willis’ way of “keeping the controversy going” by not taking a clear stance on one side or the other. Despite the results of the Newsweek According to a survey, he does not expect the dispute to be resolved any time soon.

“I get fans sending me Die Hard Christmas memes from around the world and learn more about Christmas Die Hard “Watch parties,” he said. “The world is still debating it, 36 years after the film’s release.”

This random, double-opt-in survey of 1,000 Americans in the general population was commissioned by Newsweek between December 2 and December 6, 2024. It was carried out by the market research company Talker Research, whose team members are members of the Market Research Society (MRS) and the European Society for Opinion and Market Research (ESOMAR).