‘A Christmas Carol’ voted favourite festive film of all time
New research from uSwitch.com, the independent price comparison and switching service, reveals that 9 out of 10 Brits (91%) are looking forward to sitting down to watch a film this Christmas.
‘A Christmas Carol' takes the top spot in a poll of Britain's top ten Christmas films - closely followed by ‘It's a Wonderful Life', Wallace and Gromit and ‘The Snowman'. But, with over a quarter of consumers (28%) fed up of watching the same old films year after year, uSwitch.com recommends cost-effective ways to refresh your movie selection this Christmas.
The Top Ten Christmas Films:
1 A Christmas Carol
2 It's a Wonderful Life
3 The Snowman
3= Wallace and Gromit
4 Miracle on 34th Street
5 White Christmas
5= James Bond
6 Santa Claus: The Movie
7 The Muppet Christmas Carol
7= Harry Potter
Source: uSwitch.com survey
The survey highlights how a good Christmas movie can bring out the seasonal spirit in many of us. Nearly a quarter of consumers (22%) say that festive films are a tradition they hold dear as a great way of bringing the family together. A further 22% admit that they offer a real feel-good-factor and over a quarter (28%) say that ‘Christmas wouldn't be Christmas' without enjoying one of their favourite flicks. For the Mums and Dads who spend Christmas running around after the kids, more than one in ten (14%) say relaxing with a movie provides a nice break from the cooking and cleaning!
However, not everyone enjoys watching ‘Christmas classics' - over a quarter of us (28%) are fed up watching the same films year after year and one in five (21%) don't really rate the films that tend to get shown at Christmas. Furthermore, a quarter (25%) say Christmas is so busy they just don't get the time to watch films.
Fortunately, good news is in store for those who don't want to settle down to the same old classics. This Christmas the Digital TV market is more competitive than ever, with companies such as Sky, Virgin Media and BT offering a range of deals to entice customers to watch films via their TV service. And with only 12% of consumers currently paying extra for film channels, the fruit is ripe for picking.
The Best Film Package Deals
Sky customers can get their festive fill by adding the Sky Movies packages 1 and 2 for £8 extra per month. New customers can get a subscription for as little as £17.50 per month and add the same movie options as an extra. As an additional festive perk, if you sign up to Sky before the 17 December you will receive £50 M&S Vouchers.
Existing Virgin Media customers can add the Sky Movies packages 1 and 2 from £16.50 per month or both from £19.50 per month. For new customers Virgin is available from just £5.50 a month if you take a Virgin phone line or £11.50 if you don't. Virgin also offers ‘FilmFlex', an on demand movie library offering a selection of 500 films on a pay per rental basis, and ‘PictureBox', where customers pay a subscription of £5 a month to view up to 28 films.
As well as having access to some of the Freeview movie channels such as Film4, BT Vision offers their ‘PictureBox' film pack or £14.68 per month (£7.34 for the first three months). To access this deal, BT Broadband is required from £7.78 per month. A BT Vision box costs £45 to purchase but a free Vision+ box is available for new or existing broadband customers re-contracting for 12 months or with more than 12 months of their minimum term remaining, who subscribe to a value pack from £7.34 a month for the first 3 months and £14.68 thereafter for 12 months.
TopUp TV gives you access to Freeview channels, PictureBox's 28 movies and many others. It also includes 160GB digital video recorder allowing you to pause, record and rewind live TV. Set up and equipment cost £49.99 and £7 per month thereafter.
uSwitch.com top tip: some providers will allow you to upgrade your package just for the Christmas period - you are not necessarily committed to the whole year.
Jason Glynn, communications expert at uSwitch.com says: "We're used to shopping around for Christmas bargains - and this applies to TV packages too this year. There's a wealth of deals around to give film buffs access to a whole host of movies over the Christmas period - whether they are after the latest releases, high definition films, or family classics. Best of all, you can sign up to many of these packages for just 30 days, which means you can get great films at Christmas without being tied into an annual contract."