It is a common debate around this time of the year that has lasted for decades: is ‘Die Hard’ a Christmas movie?

Some people might struggle with this, but ‘Die Hard’ is, without a doubt, not a Christmas movie.

This movie premiered July 22, 1988 and was an instant classic. It made 83 million dollars worldwide and inspired four more movies. It has also inspired a worldwide debate over whether or not it is a Christmas movie.

“It is an action movie that takes place on Christmas,” said senior Joe Corvino. “The plot happens to take place then [Christmas] and there is no correlation. I think they are dead wrong and should be embarrassed of themselves.”

Not all students feel the same, though.

“Just because Die Hard is an action movie doesn’t mean it can’t be a Christmas movie,” said sophomore Sadie Swanson.

Now while there are some very good reasons for ‘Die Hard’ being considered a Christmas movie, they are all wrong. Just because there are Christmas decorations in the movie doesn’t mean it is a Christmas movie.  

On top of this, the star of the movie, Bruce Willis, has gone on record saying he doesn’t think ‘Die Hard’ is a Christmas movie. If that isn’t enough evidence, the director, John McTiernan, admitted the movie wasn’t meant to be considered a Christmas film.

‘Die Hard’ is an action movie that has Christmas decorations in it.  There are no hidden holiday morals that would make it a movie centered around Christmas.

This is not the first time people have taken a movie and made it out to be something it isn’t.  This has most blatantly been seen with Harry Potter.  Despite scenes containing Christmas songs and decorations, those films aren’t Christmas movies either.  In order for a film to be deemed a Christmas movie, the holiday has to be the focus point of the movie.

Even though this debate can go on for hours, there is only one answer: ‘Die Hard’ is not a Christmas movie.