Disney+ Holiday Classic Dominates Netflix, Hulu, and More
New movies typically dominate the streaming charts, but the rules are thrown out of the window during the holiday season. Yes, new Christmas originals always tend to do well on Netflix and other streaming services, but folks around the country seek out the classics as Christmas draws near every year. The 2021 holiday season was no different, and Disney+ dominated the charts with one of the most beloved holiday films of all time.
According to Nielsen, Home Alone was the most-watched movie on any streaming service from December 6th to November 12th. The Christmas classic was streamed for a total of 307 million minutes during that span. The next-closest title was another beloved Christmas movie, Elf, which was streaming elsewhere. Viewers watched Elf for 296 million minutes that week.
Believe it or not, there were actually more than one movies in the Home Alone franchise making big streaming waves over the course of that week. Home Alone 2: Lost in New York came in 10th that week, according to Nielsen, with 184 million minutes streamed.
There have been quite a few Home Alone movies over the years, with the most recent installment arriving this past holiday season. Disney+ released the new movie Home Sweet Home Alone, which seemed like more of a direct reboot than any of the other titles. Director Dan Mazer talked with ComicBook.com last year about trying to revive such a beloved classic.
"Obviously it's one of the most beloved films of our generation and the legacy of that obviously weighed relatively heavy," Mazer explained. "I remember as we were just about to get ready to shoot, that Netflix series, The Movies That Made Us, came out. And they chose four movies from history to say, 'These are the most iconic movies,' and Home Alone was one of them. It was like, 'Oh, okay. Really? Okay, good. No pressure there then.'"
"But the truth is that, in my career, such as it is – if you can call it such a thing. If in the loose collection of films that I happen to have made, the one thing that I'm sort of resolute about is taking risks and trying things that feel a bit dangerous and probably a bit foolish," the filmmaker continued. "I wanted to take this on, not least because when I was given the script by Streeter [Seidell] and Mikey [Day], I just thought it was brilliant and I thought it was really funny. I thought it paid homage to the original without seeming like just a retread. It felt fresh, it felt new, it felt relevant, it felt like it was coming from a different perspective, and above all else, it was just really funny and really emotional and really effective. It worked as a story and as a filmmaker, as a director, that's all that I look for. And to me it's very rare. So I tried to put the pressure of the legacy slightly behind me and concentrate on what was on the page."
The entire Home Alone franchise is streaming on Disney+.