Low-Budget Seasonal Films Flood the Market... 150 Titles Released
Popularity Rises as Users Increase During Christmas Holidays
[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] 'Home Alone', 'The Holiday', 'Love Actually'
There are representative movies that come to mind when thinking of Christmas. As online video streaming services (OTT) have become widespread, these Christmas movies have expanded not only to theaters but also to streaming platforms. Along with this, Hollywood in the United States is reported to have been busy ahead of this year's Christmas.
According to Bloomberg on the 23rd (local time), the number of new Christmas movies appearing on TV and streaming platforms in the US and other countries between November and December this year reaches 150. Hallmark Media, a US media production company, released 40 Christmas movies this year alone. The company produced about 20 Christmas movies from 2016 to 2020, then expanded to 31 last year. Disney+, Walt Disney's OTT platform, has been sequentially releasing the six-part web drama Santa Claus in the US, South Korea, and several other countries since last month.
On Netflix, the world's largest OTT platform, 'Noelle Diary,' released on the 24th of last month, has been gaining popularity since early this month. Among the top 10 English-language movies on Netflix from December 12 to 18, five Christmas movies made the list: 'I Believe in Santa,' 'How the Grinch Stole Christmas,' 'Falling for Christmas,' 'Scrooge: A Christmas Carol,' and 'Noelle Diary.' Considering that the number one movie, 'Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio,' is a family film, the total comes to six.
Bloomberg analyzed, "With the growing demand for Christmas movies, major media companies in the US are producing Christmas movies for streaming platforms. These movies may not have the artistic quality to be nominated for Oscars, but their popularity is explosive."
From December 12 to 18, "How the Grinch Stole Christmas," ranked 7th among the top 10 English-language movies on Netflix. (Photo by Netflix)
In fact, Netflix offers categories subdividing Christmas movies by genre, such as '1990s Christmas Movies,' 'British Christmas Movies,' and 'Canadian Christmas Movies.' Netflix's 'California Christmas,' released in December 2020, was ranked as the most-watched movie worldwide for over two weeks immediately after its release. In the first month alone, viewers spent 59 million hours watching this movie.
Ali Afshar, president of ESX Entertainment, the production company behind this film, told Bloomberg, "Right after the success of 'California Christmas,' the phone started ringing nonstop, and people looking for 'Christmas' movies poured in," adding that they received contacts from Netflix, HBO Max, Warner Bros., and others. He further explained, "In the past two years, we have filmed seven romantic comedies, and except for one, all were made for the holiday season."
Streaming companies focus on Christmas movies because they are cost-effective. Holiday movies like Christmas can be produced within three weeks and are inexpensive to make since they do not require extensive set design or special effects. Casting costs are low because relatively unknown actors appear, and since many viewers look for these movies seasonally, marketing expenses for promoting the films are also minimal.
Based on this, Bloomberg reported that unlike Hollywood, which generally produces a movie and focuses on ticket sales in theaters, streaming platforms can generate revenue depending on how many Christmas movies they screen. Bloomberg analyzed, "Hollywood likes the situation where endless inexpensive Christmas movies are flooding the market," and noted that with the spread of streaming services, holiday movies like Christmas have become another important genre in Hollywood production.
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