Who Here Thinks 'Die Hard' Is a Christmas Movie? Your Answer May Get You in Trouble!

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Christmas is all about togetherness and spending time with those you love most. Which is why you should never offer up Die Hard as a potential Christmas movie for the family to watch. Unless you enjoy seeing everyone up in arms and passionately arguing as to why that was either the best or worst idea ever. Then sure, go ahead! 😂

We, however, are going to stay put, baking our Christmas cookies and planning some fun gift exchanges—because we know our place, and it's not at a holiday warfront.

The geniuses behind the 1988 action thriller probably never intended to spark this decades-old dispute. Nonetheless, it has divided many. And both sides have passionate adherents with firm opinions, including Bruce Willis—the leading man himself—and one of the film's screenwriters, Steven E. de Souza.

Both Willis and de Souza both played integral parts in the making of Die Hard, and are arguably closer to the storyline than anyone else. Yet it seems the two men disagree on whether Die Hard is a Christmas movie—only adding more fuel to the never-ending debate.

We'll get into Willis and de Souza's takes soon. But first, let's break down both sides of the argument.

"Yes, Die Hard is a Christmas movie. And you can't convince me otherwise."

Let us tell you why.

1. For one, the story literally begins on Christmas Eve. The opening scene shows John McClane (Bruce Willis) arriving at LAX International Airport with a Christmas gift in hand. He meets his wife at her workplace and walks into a holiday office party.

2. John's wife is named Holly. C'mon.

3. There's a lot of Christmas music in Die Hard, including popular holiday songs on the film's soundtrack, like “Winter Wonderland,” “Let it Snow,” “Christmas in Hollis,” and “Ode to Joy.”

4. Some have compared Die Hard to the Christmas classic It's a Wonderful Life, even going so far as to call it a "secret remake"and drawing parallels between protagonists John McClane and George Bailey, and antagonists Hans Gruber and Mr. Potter.

5. Santa Claus makes an appearance (kind of). There's a scene where John takes care of a minor villain. Afterwards, he sends the man's body down a flight of stairs, wearing a Santa hat, as a warning to the main antagonist and mastermind (Gruber). Hey, everyone has their own way of getting into the Christmas spirit!

"No, Die Hard is not a Christmas Movie. And I stand by that!"

Here it goes.

1. It's simply too brutal. There's a lot of action, fight scenes, and gore—which typical Christmas movies just don't have in 'em.

2. While the story takes places on Christmas, the timing of the movie doesn't really have an impact on the plot at all! Some even go as far as saying that if Die Hard took place during summer, it would be the exact same movie. (Minus the Santa hats and snow.)

3. Die Hard had a July premiere date. Enough said.

What do Bruce Willis and Steven E. de Souza say?

In 2017, Steven E. de Souza declared that Die Hard is in fact a Christmas movie when he responded to a tweet from his personal account.

For some, this was all the confirmation they needed. And for a little while, it seemed like the debate had been settled.

But in 2018, Willis shook things up a bit at a Comedy Central event he attended. Willis, alongside other Hollywood icons, took part in a roast on stage, and he ended it by making a bold statement.

“Die Hard is not a Christmas movie,” Willis declared. As you can expect, the crowd went wild.

With two of the most prominent figures in this debate publicly disagreeing, it doesn't seem like there will ever be an official answer. But that's what makes it all the more fun!

What do you think? Weigh in with your opinion in the comments section: Do you think Die Hard is a Christmas movie?

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