Christmas

What's Illinois' Most Popular Christmas Movie? A New List Reveals Answer

NBC 5 News

'Tis the season when holiday flicks squeeze back into the movie-watching rotation, and one film with Chicago ties seems to be popular nationwide, according to a new list.

From a collection of IMDb's top 25 Christmas movies, lifestyle platform Wishlisted found the most popular one in each state using search data from Google Trends. The batch of high-rated films includes "The Grinch," "Die Hard," "Elf," "The Polar Express," "The Nightmare Before Christmas" and more.

In Illinois, many may think the 1990 holiday hit "Home Alone," which was filmed in the Chicago suburb of Winnetka, is the state's favored flick. But "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation" remains top-of-mind for holiday movie watchers, according to the list.

In fact, "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation" is one of the most popular holiday movies across the nation, with Wishlisted finding increased searches for the movie in 40 states.

The 1989 cult classic follows the Griswold family who hosts a chaotic Christmas in welcoming relatives into their home in the suburbs of Chicago.

Actor and comedian Chevy Chase, who brought Clark Griswold to life, is set to pay homage to his iconic role by recreating a scene from the film at a restaurant in Morton Grove.

Several other holiday staples were also filmed or set in Illinois: "Christmas with the Kranks" and "Fred Claus."

The full list can be found here.

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