Die Hard director officially ends debate over whether film is a Christmas movie

It has long been debated among fans of the film - but the director of Die Hard has finally had his say over whether the action blockbuster is a Christmas movie.

Everybody has weighed in on whether the movie counts as a Christmas classic, from Willis' mum and Democratic politicians voting in the American House Of Representatives, as a practice vote selected Die Hard as their 'favourite Christmas movie', edging out competition from holiday heart warmers like Home Alone, The Polar Express and Miracle on 34th Street.

And in 2021, we even judged for ourselves whether the film had a place in the hall of fame for Christmas flicks.

But that debate has now seemingly been put to bed by the director John McTiernan.

Speaking on the Empire Film Podcast, McTiernan said: "It’s not for us to say, it’s people. It’s for the audience to say. If the audience decides they want to make it a Christmas movie, it’s a Christmas movie. It turns out that way. It wasn’t intended as a Christmas movie, although the fact that it was deliberately built around Christmas – but not intended to be a Christmas movie.

"But the fact that it was a Christmas movie had a lot to do with, you know… because it’s actually, from a distance, when you look at it, it’s politically pretty strident.

"And the only reason that survived was that the people in the studio who would have stopped that were deceived, because they thought it was just an action movie about a Christmas party that goes wrong."

20th Century Fox

The action flick was first released in July 1988, grossing over $145 million at the box office.

And just in case you needed a refresher, Die Hard follows John McClane as he attends his estranged wife's office holiday party on Christmas Eve, which is soon interrupted by terrorists.

The film has previously been touted as a Christmas classic by its writer Steven E de. Souza, who pointed to the film's inclusion of Christmas songs such as 'Let It Snow' and 'Winter Wonderland'.

But this confirmation has done little to settle the matter - as one YouGov poll found that 50% of British adults don't consider the film to be a Christmas flick.

Even Bruce Willis has weighed in on the long running debate, as he declared at his 2018 Comedy Central roast: "Die Hard is not a Christmas movie, it's a goddamn Bruce Willis movie."