CNN offers this fun history of Christmas moviegoing, explaining how the tradition first took hold and quantifying its impact on theatres. For many, the holidays are a time when the usual work and school schedules are paused, allowing families and friends to gather. Looking for fun, the local movie theatre is one of the few entertainment options that are reliably open and affordable for larger groups. Studios also do their part by timing a slate of new releases around the holiday, including Christmas Day. This year for example, two major new movies were released on the Friday before Christmas and four additional releases began on Wednesday 12/25.
In some cases, studios choose to target a movie for an end-of-year release to highlight it for consideration by industry awards groups, with voting taking place in the first few months of the new year.
One moviegoer explained that the moviegoing experience is about community. “You and a room full of strangers all decided to see the same movie at the same time, on this day of all days. That’s the Christmas spirit right there.”
See also: Theaters Crowded with Christmas Day Moviegoers as Sales Rebound to Pre-Pandemic Levels and IMAX CEO Richard Gelfond on the Holiday Box Office