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Hallmark Channel reigns supreme when it comes to delivering holiday cheer. While classic holiday films such as Elf and Home Alone top the list of most-watched Christmas movies in 2024, Hallmark wins when it comes to original new movies, according to a new analysis by Samba TV. 

‘Santa Tell Me’ is the most-watched Hallmark Channel Christmas movie in 2024 

Daniel Lissing looking at Erin Krakow in 'Santa Tell Me'
Daniel Lissing and Erin Krakow in ‘Santa Tell Me’ | ©2024 Hallmark Media/Photographer: Craig Minielly

Samba TV took a look at which Christmas movies racked up the most views between Nov. 1 and Dec. 10. The list of the top 15 titles was dominated by familiar favorites. National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation continued to provide laughs for 9.43 million households. Elf was watched by 8.69 million households, and Home Alone was a pick for 4.15 million households. 

However, when it came to new movies, there was one place that people tended to turn: Hallmark. New movies from the feel-good network claimed five of the top 15 spots on the list. 

Santa Tell Me led the pack. That’s no huge surprise. The movie featured the long-awaited reunion of When Calls the Heart’s Erin Krakow and Daniel Lissing, who hadn’t appeared on screen together since he left the show in 2018.  A total of 3.45 million watched the movie, which premiered Nov. 9. 

What other Countdown to Christmas movies were big hits for Hallmark? Viewers also tuned in to watch Tis the Season to Be Irish (3.19 million households), Our Holiday Story (3.14 million households), Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story (3.11 millions households), and Three Wiser Men and a Boy (3.09 million households). 

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Only one Netflix original made it into Samba TV’s top 15. Lindsay Lohan’s Our Little Secret landed in the no. 7 spot with 3.29 million households. But the streamer dominated a separate list of new streaming originals. Hot Frosty (starring Hallmark’s Christmas queen Lacey Chabert), Meet Me Next Christmas, and The Merry Gentlemen all attracted roughly 2 million households. 

“This holiday season proves that classic Christmas movies never go out of style, with beloved comedies dominating the top five holiday movies of 2024. For three consecutive years, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation and Elf have been playing musical chairs for the top spot, proving the timeless charm of classic Christmas comedies,” Samba TV co-founder and CEO Ashwin Navin said. 

Lohan has emerged “as the star to yield serious ROI” for Netflix, Navin added, with Our Little Secret “the only streaming original bold enough to challenge these holiday titans.”

“Meanwhile, Hallmark continues to be America’s choice for holiday movies,” he said. “Despite Netflix’s play at the holiday hitmaker, Hallmark movies made up one-third of the top 15 this year.”

Here’s the top 15 holiday movies for 2024, according to Samba TV:

  • National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (9,427,686 households)
  • Elf (8,680,633 households)
  • Home Alone (4,149,228 households)
  • Four Christmases (3,917,425 households)
  • The Holiday (3,527,845 households)
  • Santa Tell Me (3,454,161 households)
  • Our Little Secret (3,293,332 households)
  • Die Hard (3,424,882 households)
  • Tis the Season to Be Irish (3,192,338 households)
  • Our Holiday Story (3,137,840 households)
  • The Santa Clause (3,110,297 households)
  • Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story (3,106,849 households)
  • Three Wiser Men and a Boy (3,096,966 households)
  • Fred Claus (3,018,547 households)
  • How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2,925,302 households)

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