Image: Warner Bros. / Amblin Entertainment
About This Quiz
There's nothing better than gathering with friends or family around the fireplace to enjoy hot cocoa and a Christmas movie at holiday time. They're the de facto feel-good movies of the year. Christmastime simply isn't Christmastime without seeing at least one Christmas movie playing in the background. The classics like "It's a Wonderful Life" and "A Christmas Story" play non-stop on a loop on multiple channels, so they're almost impossible to miss, but if you want a different type of Christmas movie, you don't have to look far.
Some of the best Christmas movies are actually non-Christmas movies. They may be set during Christmas, they may feature a Christmas scene, they may feature all the Christmas magic and family and love of your typical Christmas movie, but very few people define them as Christmas movies. Some would even say they're anti-Christmas movies. Nevertheless, they're fun flicks to watch during the holidays.
Put your knowledge of Christmas to the test. Do you know which "Rocky" film features a Christmas day fight? Do you know which Eddie Murphy film is recognized as one of the best comedies of all time? What should you do if you get dumped right before Christmas and do you know the loneliest Christmas scene ever?
Take a look at these images and match them to the non-Christmas Christmas movie.
"Lethal Weapon"
"Die Hard"
The real-life Fox Plaza in Los Angeles portrayed the fictional Nakatomi Plaza in this action classic. Bruce Willis plays NYC cop John McClane as he chases terrorists at his wife's office Christmas party.
"Krampus"
"Trading Places"
Advertisement
"L.A. Confidential"
"Edward Scissorhands"
"Gremlins"
If you go Christmas shopping in underground stores in Chinatown, you might come across a mogwai. The kid in the movie doesn't follow the directions, and all hell breaks loose in this holiday classic from the '80s.
"Die Hard"
Advertisement
"Trading Places"
When two guys want to run a social experiment, Eddie Murphy gets the opportunity of a lifetime. He ends up trading places with a successful Wall Street banker in this comedy classic. The experiment ultimately backfires in a big way.
"Gremlins"
"Deadpool"
"Eyes Wide Shut"
Advertisement
"Trading Places"
"Gremlins"
"A Christmas Story"
"Mean Girls"
This cult classic by Tina Fey is a typical study on high school life. One of the film's most famous scenes features the high school talent show where the school's most popular girls perform a rendition of "Jingle Bell Rock."
Advertisement
"Little Women"
This classic novel written after the Civil War has been adapted to film many times, and the 1994 and 2019 versions played into the holiday vibe with Christmas releases. The movie follows the story of the March sisters in Concord, MA while their father is fighting in the war.
"Home Alone"
"Go"
"Kiss Kiss Bang Bang"
Advertisement
"Silent Night, Deadly Night"
"Bad Santa"
Billy Bob Thornton plays a small-time crook in this movie from 2003. He and his partner pose as Santa and an elf and rob department stores after everyone leaves. It's the perfect con until everything stops going perfectly.
"Mean Girls"
"Eyes Wide Shut"
Advertisement
"While You Were Sleeping"
Sandra Bullock plays an everyday transit employee in Chicago when she saves a man's life one Christmas day. The man falls into a coma, and his family thinks she's his fiance. The predicament makes for a great holiday story.
"Krampus"
"Lethal Weapon"
"Black Christmas"
Advertisement
"Less Than Zero"
"Die Hard"
"Krampus"
Anyone familiar with European mythology may have heard of the Christmas monster known as Krampus. The mythical beast comes to life in this film after a boy throws away his letter to Santa Claus and stops believing in Christmas.
"Gremlins"
Advertisement
"Better Off Dead"
"Trading Places"
"Less Than Zero"
"Edward Scissorhands"
Johnny Depp stars as the title character in this Tim Burton classic from 1990. Edward has scissors for hands because his creator died before he could create Edward's hands. They turn out to be useful when he's carving ice angels during Christmas time.
Advertisement
"The Princess Bride"
"Gremlins"
"Goodfellas"
The Christmas scene in "Goodfellas" comes after the guys pull off one of the biggest heists in the country. The movie heist was based on the real 1978 Lufthansa heist, which was the biggest in America at the time.
"Mean Girls"
Advertisement
"Die Hard"
"Lethal Weapon"
Christmas in Los Angeles consists of drug busts and comedy in this buddy action classic starring Mel Gibson and Danny Glover. The detectives overcome their differences throughout the film and ultimately spend Christmas day with each other.
"Gremlins"
"The Princess Bride"
Advertisement
"Krampus"
"L.A. Confidential"
"Go"
"You've Got Mail"
What happens when two people who clash in real life get along perfectly online? This movie is a heartwarming comedy that has all the feelings of a Christmas movie without it being a Christmas movie. It was released in 1998 when online dating just began taking off.
Advertisement
"Toy Story"
There's nothing more magical than your childhood toys coming to life. The film isn't set during Christmas but has all of the holiday essence intertwined in its story. The movie even ends on Christmas Day as Woody and Buzz plan the arrival of the new Christmas toys.
"Jingle All The Way"
"Silent Night"
"Bad Santa"
Advertisement
"Trading Places"
"Eyes Wide Shut"
Tom Cruise's character attends a few parties in this film. The movie begins with Cruise's character, a doctor, and his wife attending a Christmas party at one of his patient's homes. Things get out of hand pretty quickly.
"Just Friends"
"Gremlins"
Advertisement
"Mean Girls"
"Gremlins"
"Trading Places"
"The Princess Bride"
"The Princess Bride" begins with a grandfather giving his grandson a gift and they're sitting in a room decorated with Christmas stuff. The story itself incorporates all the magical elements of the Christmas spirit.
Advertisement
"The Sure Thing"
"Less Than Zero"
"Scrooged"
The Charles Dickens classic gets a quirky spin in this 1988 comedy. Bill Murray plays the president of a TV network who fires an employee on Christmas Eve and gets visited by three ghosts. He spends the night learning the meaning of Christmas.
"Better Off Dead"
Advertisement
"Batman Forever"
"Batman Returns"
Michael Keaton plays the role of the caped crusader in this 1992 flick. He's tasked with saving Gotham from the Penguin, who thrives in the cold. The story is set around the holidays, and Christmas decorations can be seen throughout.
"Batman Begins"
"The Dark Knight"
Advertisement
"Batman Returns"
"Once Upon a Deadpool"
The anti-superhero Deadpool has become so popular writers decided to create a Christmas special around the character. Not many fans felt it was justified, but the film paid homage to another non-Christmas classic, "The Princess Bride," by giving a cameo to Fred Savage.
"Gremlins"
"The Princess Bride"
Advertisement
"The Night Before"
Seth Rogen, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Anthony Mackie star as three friends in search of the most epic Christmas party in this comedy. All the debauchery is narrated by Tracey Morgan, making for a classic Christmas comedy.
"Deadpool"
"Edward Scissorhands"
"Lethal Weapon"
Advertisement
"Rocky IV"
This might not be the best "Rocky" film, but it's one of the better ones. Rocky challenges Drago to a fight on Christmas Day, and after he wins, he even wishes his son a merry Christmas live on TV. It's one of the best holiday sports movies.
"Rocky"
"Rocky II"
"Rocky III"
Advertisement
"Iron Man 3"
"Black Christmas"
"The Ref"
New England native Denis Leary plays a jewel thief who gets stuck in a couple's home during a robbery. When the homeowners arrive from marriage counseling, they get taken hostage, and it all goes down at Christmas time.
"Bad Santa"
Advertisement
"Better Off Dead"
John Cusack would rather be dead in this 1980s romantic comedy about a teen who gets dumped right before Christmas. He meets an exchange student that helps change his outlook on life, and everybody lives happily ever after.
"Black Christmas"
"Bad Santa"
"Gremlins"
Advertisement
"L.A. Confidential"
"Kiss Kiss Bang Bang"
Robert Downey Jr. plays a local crook in this LA mystery thriller set during Christmas. His character goes Christmas shopping by robbing stores. His antics eventually land him deeper than he can handle.
"Go"
"Die Hard"
Advertisement
"Home Alone"
"L.A. Confidential"
This murder mystery set in Los Angeles won two Oscars in 1998. The story centers around the real-life "Bloody Christmas" incident that took place on Christmas day in 1951. The movie was adapted from a novel of the same name.
"Die Hard"
"Lethal Weapon"
Advertisement
"Just Friends"
This is the classic movie about the ugly person in high school who moves away and becomes the hot person from the big city, and it's set during Christmas time. Ryan Reynolds and Amy Smart play lovebirds in this romantic comedy.
"Trading Places"
"Mean Girls"
"Bad Santa"
Advertisement
"The Apartment"
This 1960s Billy Wilder classic won five Academy Awards and is one of Hollywood's best. It centers around an employee who helps coworkers carry out extramarital affairs at a secret apartment. All the drama makes for a great office holiday party.
"Krampus"
"Black Christmas"
"Bad Santa"
Advertisement
"Go"
"L.A. Confidential"
"The Long Kiss Goodnight"
A suburban schoolteacher recovers from a car crash over the holidays to find out she has professional assassin skills. That's when she finds out she's a former government assassin. Her journey to discovery all happens over Christmas time.
"Kiss Kiss Bang Bang"
Advertisement
"Rise of the Guardians"
Jack Frost, the Easter Bunny, Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy and more come to life in this animated adventure film from 2012. The holiday heroes are tasked with saving the world from the Boogeyman, and Santa's elves even get in on the action.
"The Night Before"
"Office Christmas Party"
"Trading Places"
Advertisement
"Black Christmas"
"Trading Places"
"Catch Me If You Can"
One of the loneliest Christmas scenes in cinema history is when Tom Hanks and Leonardo DiCaprio spend Christmas by themselves on the phone with each other. The game of cat and mouse around the world wasn't a glamorous one.
"Go"
Advertisement
"Less Than Zero"
This movie is based on the Brett Easton Ellis novel he wrote while still a student at Bennington College. It follows a college student who comes home for the holidays and finds that all of his friends have changed.
"Better Off Dead"
"The Sure Thing"
"Gremlins"
Advertisement
"Gremlins"
"Lady and the Tramp"
A high class pure bred falls in love with a dirty street mutt in this 1955 Disney classic. The magical story starts and ends on Christmas, and the themes of love and family are portrayed throughout. Disney released a remake of this film in 2019.
"Trading Places"
"Toy Story"
Advertisement
"Iron Man 3"
"Iron Man 3" opens during a New Year's Eve party and then fast forwards to Christmas time several years later. Tony Stark has to battle his internal demons to fight off one of the world's most dangerous terrorists.
"The Incredible Hulk"
"Iron Man 2"
"Thor"
Advertisement
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows"
"Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire"
"Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets"
"Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone"
Being that the Harry Potter series spans several books and several decades, Harry and his friends celebrate several Christmases, but his first one at Hogwarts might be the most memorable. It makes the first film a perfect holiday movie.
Advertisement
"Black Christmas"
No list of non-Christmas movies would be complete without a Christmas slasher film. A 2019 remake of this 1974 film is scheduled to be released around Christmas time. This horror movie is the opposite of your typical Christmas film.
"Bad Santa"
"Krampus"
"Kiss Kiss Bang Bang"
Advertisement
"The Ice Harvest"
John Cusack trades in his romantic comedy role to portray a slick lawyer in this holiday heist movie. He successfully steals $2 million from some powerful people, and all he has to do is get out of town. It makes for one wild Christmas Eve.
"Reindeer Games"
"Trading Places"
"Bad Santa"
Advertisement
"White Reindeer"
A suburban woman finds her husband dead during Christmas, and the more she digs into his past, the weirder things get. It's not the usual Christmas movie set during Christmas, and the anti-holiday themes make for a bleak film.
"Reindeer Games"
"Silent Night, Deadly Night"
"The Princess Bride"
Advertisement
"The Night Before"
"Go"
The only thing the characters in "Go" want to do is party. They spend the entire movie looking for the best party during the holidays, and nothing goes as planned. When the movie ends, they are making plans for New Year's.
"Kiss Kiss Bang Bang"
"L.A. Confidential"
Advertisement
"Reindeer Games"
Ben Affleck and Charlize Theron team up as partners in crime in this holiday crime flick. The movie ends on a happy note with a Christmas dinner, but if that's not enough holiday spirit, the crew also robs a casino dressed in Santa costumes.
"Go"
"Less Than Zero"
"Lethal Weapon"
Advertisement
"Trading Places"
"Go"
"Kiss Kiss Bang Bang"
"Mixed Nuts"
"Mixed Nuts" is a story about several strangers and their stories intertwining on one wild Christmas Eve. Steve Martin plays a crisis hotline manager who gets caught in the middle of everything. Through all the insanity and despair, Christmas themes manage to shine through.
Advertisement
"Kiss Kiss Bang Bang"
"Go"
"Crash"
"Crash" showcases people of different backgrounds clashing with each other during the holidays in Los Angeles. Throughout all the fighting, the morals of the movie story around family, friends and relationships.
"L.A. Confidential"
Advertisement
You Got:
/40
