Hollywood Says Humbug to Holiday Movies

%photo13% Hoping to take in a holiday movie from Hollywood? This year, you're out of luck: Movie studios are saying "humbug" when it comes to seasonal flicks.

According to a story in the Los Angeles Times, there are many reasons movie moguls are going Scrooge. There's the crowded marketplace for one -- what the article calls "irrational seasonal exuberance." So many movies with a holiday theme landed in theaters in 2006 that Tim Burton's "The Nightmare Before Christmas" had to open before Halloween to get viewers' attention. Ho, ho, huh?

A slew of flops hasn't helped either. ("Deck the Halls," anyone?) Plus, animated movies like "Toy Story 3" get the family audience in without waiting for December 25. Same goes for other blockbuster brands that have global reach -- anything "Harry Potter," say, works year-round.

[Related: Recent holiday flick considered 'worst movie of the year']

As a producer for Disney told the Los Angeles Times, "No one's come up with a fresh way to do a holiday movie, so we're all doing it with other kinds of stories." Like "TRON: Legacy" and "Chronicles of Narnia" movies, which get the family audience with or without Yuletide feelings.

DVD sales present yet another Hollywood conundrum. As the kids will tell you, Christmas comes but once a year, meaning Christmas movies out on DVD in July don't exactly draw a crowd.

[List: Holiday movie guide]

DVDs for last year's Christmas movies come out the next Christmas. Not exactly the time schedule that works for those used to downloading in practically real time.

There are two Christmas movies out this year if you're willing to search them out. One is from Finland, "A Christmas Tale." And the other is "Nutcracker 3D," and probably best skipped from what we hear.

So the best advice if you're jonesing for a holiday movie fix: Hit the couch -- not the multiplex -- for a holiday-themed night on TV.

Here are some of the top-searched holiday movies on Yahoo!:

Top Searched Holiday Movies (past week)

See this exclusive clip for 'The Voyage of the Dawn Treader':

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