‘They’re so predictable … but, I love them’: Analysing the appeal of Hallmark Christmas movies | Intellect Skip to content
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Volume 10, Issue 3
  • ISSN: 2046-9861
  • E-ISSN: 2046-987X

Abstract

With 60 per cent of American households reporting watching at least one Christmas movie between Halloween and New Year’s Day, the Hallmark Movie Channel has enjoyed a remarkable amount of success. In 2021, the Hallmark channel produced 41 new Christmas movies that drew a remarkable 85 million viewers. The purpose of this study was to identify the different perceptions, attitudes and beliefs of Hallmark Christmas movie fans, by using Q methodology, to determine why people love these movies so much. Our sample was selected from the attendees at the first-ever in 2019, sponsored, in part, by Hallmark. Participants in the study self-identified as true Hallmark Christmas movie fans who were then asked to sort through a group of statements based on the question: ‘Why I love Hallmark Christmas movies?’ The results revealed three factors or groups of like-minded thinkers, the Season’s Greeters, who are the Christmas enthusiasts who watch the movies as a way to celebrate the season; the Rudolphs, who watch to escape the troubles of the world and their busy lives and the Carolers, who watch simply for a wholesome story with happy endings.

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2022-10-01
2024-04-25
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‘They’re so predictable … but, I love them’: Analysing the appeal of Hallmark Christmas movies
Journal of Popular Television, The 10, 285 (2022); https://doi.org/10.1386/jptv_00084_1
/content/journals/10.1386/jptv_00084_1
/content/journals/10.1386/jptv_00084_1
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  • Article Type: Article
Keyword(s): Christmas content; Q methodology; relationship with audience; television dramas; viewer motivations; viewer opinions

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