Surprise! 62 Percent of People Say Die Hard is Not a Christmas Movie

Yippee-ki ... what?

When Die Hard was released in the summer of 1988, it ignited what would become one of Hollywood's most lasting and controversial debates: Is Die Hard a Christmas movie?

Sure, it was released in July, but John McClane saves the day and bests Hans Gruber and his merry band of terrorists on Christmas Eve. It takes place at an office holiday party. Santa hats are worn. "Christmas in Hollis" is played. Gruber delivers a chilling "ho, ho, ho." Should the answer really be that complicated?

For Steven E. de Souza, the film's screenwriter, it's simple:

For Bruce Willis, however, it's a resounding no. During a Comedy Central roast of the actor, he declared, "Die Hard is not a Christmas movie! It is a g**damn Bruce Willis movie."

As a holiday gift to movie lovers everywhere, The Hollywood Reporter and Morning Consult took it upon themselves to come up with a definitive answer—or at least a majority one. They surveyed 2200 people and came back with some surprising results: 62 percent of those surveyed say that no, Die Hard is not a Christmas movie.

Only 25 percent of respondents said they would classify Die Hard as a Christmas movie, while 13 percent said they didn’t know or didn’t have an opinion. Men were slightly more likely to deem it a holiday movie than women (32 percent versus 20 percent), and those men were even more likely to say so if they were between the ages of 30 and 44 (37 percent of male respondents in that age group said it was a holiday movie).

While the survey is certainly thorough, it's not likely to silence the Die Hard truthers. 'Tis the season, after all.