9 Movies You Forgot Take Place at Christmas

Every year, your family and friends probably sit around debating whether Die Hard is a Christmas movie. After all, it takes place at Christmas, so it counts, right? But what about Lethal Weapon? Gremlins? Do you even remember that those movies are also set during the most wonderful time of the year?

In fact, there are quite a few movies that may not be the first ones you think of when it comes to a Christmas movie, but that may be because you’ve forgotten that the festive holiday season is the backdrop for action-packed thrills, rom-com vibes, or superhero surprises.

1. Lethal Weapon
2. Sleepless in Seattle
3. While You Were Sleeping
4. Gremlins
5. The Ref
6. Batman Returns
7. Trading Places
8. Rent
9. Monty Python’s Life of Brian

Lethal Weapon

Mel Gibson stars as a reckless detective whose wife recently died alongside reasonable cop Danny Glover in this ‘80s action flick about two cops who are paired up to catch drug smugglers. Shane Black, the writer of the Lethal Weapon script, has described setting movies at Christmas as a deliberate choice for several movies he's been a part of.

“People take reckoning, they stock of where their lives are at Christmas,” he said in an interview. “It just provides a backdrop against which different things can play out, but with one unifying, global heading.”

Sleepless in Seattle

Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks have starred together in multiple rom-coms, including Sleepless in Seattle, which starts out with a call to a radio station on Christmas Eve from a boy who is looking for a new wife for his widowed father. It’s a call that just happens to be heard by Ryan’s character and leads to her reevaluating her life and looking for something more from her boring life and not-quite-Mr.-Right fiancé.

While You Were Sleeping

You probably remember While You Were Sleeping as the movie where Sandra Bullock’s character pretends to be the fiancée of a man she has a crush on, who ends up in a coma, creating a major misunderstanding with his family. But did you remember that it takes place at Christmas? Yep, she saves her fake fiancée while the Christmas season is in full force in Chicago, only to fall for his brother.

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Gremlins

Any kid in the ‘80s knew about Gremlins and the three strict rules you had to follow if you cared for a Mogwai: Do not expose them to bright lights, do not get them wet, and do not feed them after midnight. And when you break those rules, chaos reigns on Christmas with a cute Mogwai turning into terrorizing trolls who take over a quaint small town at Christmas.

Even though it was originally released as a summer flick, Gremlins’ Christmas themes mean you're welcome to pull it out for the festive season.

The Ref

Imagine your Christmas Eve going from bad to worse when you’re on the run from the cops and get stuck hiding out in a house with a bickering couple that makes you want to turn yourself in. That’s where Denis Leary’s character finds himself in The Ref, complete with unusual traditions and awkward family moments that make this Christmas movie a good option anytime of the year.

Batman Returns

Michael Keaton reprised his role as Bruce Wayne in the 1992 flick Batman Returns. But while the movie played up its literally dark setting from the first Batman movie with Tim Burton directing, there are also pops of red and green to remind viewers it’s a Christmas flick.

Danny DeVito’s Penguin origin story includes getting thrown in the sewer at Christmas by his parents and Christopher Walken showing up as a Scrooge-like, evil businessman, putting a damper on the festive holiday spirit.

Trading Places

Set in Philadelphia around the holidays, Trading Places is an ‘80s comedy version of the traditional The Prince and the Pauper tale, with Dan Aykroyd’s and Eddie Murphy’s characters trading places as part of a bet between two millionaires. And while the story may be universal and could take place anytime, there is something special about seeing Aykroyd in a dirty, ratty Santa suit that makes this a festive option if you need a Christmas comedy for the family.

Rent

The 2005 movie adaptation of the Broadway musical Rent starts out the same way the musical does, with the lyrics, “December 24th, 9 p.m. Eastern Standard Time,” to set the scene.

But the story written by Jonathan Larson and based loosely on the opera La Boheme has more of a Christmas vibe than a Christmas main character. Despite that, actor Jesse L. Martin, who starred in both the Broadway production and the movie, once declared that Rent is “absolutely, 100 percent Christmas movie.”

Monty Python’s Life of Brian

It may be a bit of a stretch, but this Monty Python classic does involve Christmas. After all, the Brian in the title is born on Christmas Day in a stable— just like Jesus, who is born in a stable next door—leading to a series of confusing events in his life in which he is constantly confused with the Messiah.

And while Christmas Day looks different through the eyes of Brian, the film is a classic comedy that viewers have come to expect from Monty Python.