Every December, debates over the best Christmas movies spark, but a new ranking has dubbed the most popular holiday film in Illinois and it might surprise residents.
According to entertainment site Looper, which looked at Google Trends data for the past 12 months, the most popular Christmas movie in Illinois wasn't one of the many flicks set or filmed in Illinois and the Chicago area.
Instead, the classic Miracle on 34th Street makes the top of the list for the state.
Illinois was one of only two states to feature the holiday classic as its top movie, according to the ranking.
Other films that were listed across the U.S. were "The Santa Claus," "How The Grinch Stole Christmas," "Four Christmases," "Christmas with the Kranks," "Home Alone," "Elf," "A Christmas Story" and more.
The ranking looked only at the top-rated 100 Christmas movies on IMDb, according to the list. It then narrowed the list down to the 25 most-searched films using Google Trends. From there, the group analyzed which films saw search traffic increase in the last month to determine which spiked in popularity in each state.
"As the holiday season approached, it became clear who was victorious this season," the publication stated.
Local
In the Midwest, the top films were "Christmas With the Kranks" in Indiana, "It's a Wonderful Life" in Iowa, "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" in Minnesota, "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" in Missouri and "Four Christmases" in Wisconsin.
See the full ranking here.
Feeling out of the loop? We'll catch you up on the Chicago news you need to know. Sign up for the weekly Chicago Catch-Up newsletter.
