The Definitive Answer To ‘Is Die Hard A Christmas Movie?’

So one thing that always bothered me about the “Is ‘Die Hard’ a Christmas movie?” discourse is why does it only center on “Die Hard”? Those of us who grew up in the ’80s know that in a decade full of iconic action films, “Die Hard” isn’t the only one set during Christmas. In fact, just over a year before “Die Hard” was released in the summer of 1988, “Lethal Weapon” was released in theaters. Though it’s not quite as beloved as “Die Hard,” it spawned several sequels and was a mega-hit in theaters — it’s probably the film that cemented Mel Gibson’s status as one of the biggest movie stars ever. Despite being released in March, “Lethal Weapon,” about an obsessive and mentally unstable cop and his fussy partner who chase a dangerous band of drug smugglers all over L.A., is quite conspicuously set during Christmas.