Die Hard.
Christmas film?

Every December somebody asks, and every December the answers are opinions. Ours is a method. Die Hard is set on Christmas Eve, at an office Christmas party, and its story ends in a reconciliation that only works because of the date. Measured on how Christmassy it is, it does better than most people expect.

The other side's favourite fact is that it opened in American cinemas in July. The rubric does not ask when a film came out. It asks what is on screen and what the story needs.

Whether it counts as a Christmas film is a separate ruling, and the rubric keeps the two apart on purpose. Here the two agree: we rule that it counts. It is also, it should be said, not a cosy watch. The working is below, line by line.