These are the Christmas films where the sequel is better than the original

Virgin Radio

23 Dec 2022, 12:21

Looking for something festive to watch and just can’t decide?

There can be such a thing as too much choice, and with more films popping up daily you might be wondering which to pick.

It’s complicated further when sequels of your favourite Christmas films come out. Can they ever live up to the originals?

It seems so!

New research has revealed which sequels are better than the originals, as well as the ones to avoid.

Researchers at Uswitch analysed the scores from review websites, including IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes, and Metacritic.

They also looked at the box office revenue and profitability to calculate which Christmas film sequel is the best (& worst). 

If you want to stick with the originals, of the 23 festive film franchises that were examined, 19 of the originals came out more favourably than the sequels.

The Snowman earned 87/100, whereas The Snowman and the Snowdog earned 66/100.

Similarly, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation scored 70/100, but the sequel ‘National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation 2: Cousin Eddie’s Island Adventure’ scored a shocking 20/100. Maybe give that one a miss!

Four films were rated as having better sequels than the original.

‘A Christmas Story’ scored 81 out of 100, while the sequel ‘Ollie Hopnoodle’s Haven Of Bliss’ scored an impressive 83/100.

‘The 12 Dogs of Christmas’ scored 40/100, with the sequel, ‘12 Dogs of Christmas: Great Puppy Rescue’ scored 13 points higher at 53/100.

‘A Golden Christmas’ scored 53/100, with the sequel ‘A Golden Christmas 2’ clocking up 56/100.

‘Silent Night, Deadly Night’ was awarded 43/100, with the sequel ‘Silent Night’ scoring slightly better with 46/100.

The scores for the originals and the sequels suggest these aren’t award-winning films, but at least you know to watch the sequel instead.

If you want to know the best originals to watch besides ‘The Snowman’, ‘Die Hard’ scored 83/100 and ‘Bad Santa’ scored 72.

‘Mickey’s Once Upon A Christmas’ received a ranking of 66/100, with the creatively titled sequel ‘Mickey’s Twice Upon A Christmas’ scoring 63/100.

Have you watched any of these?