The British public has voted for its favourite Christmas film, with It's a Wonderful Life coming out on top.
The 1946 classic beat Christmas comedy Elf, romantic comedy favourite Notting Hill, and comedy caper Home Alone in a survey of more than 7,000 people by RadioTimes.com.
It's a Wonderful Life tells the story of George Bailey (James Stewart), a man who has devoted his life to helping others and whose attempt to take his own life on Christmas Eve prompts the arrival of his guardian angel, Clarence Odbody.
Clarence shows George all the lives he touched, and how different his local community in Bedford Falls would be if he had never been born. The film was produced and directed by Frank Capra and scored five Oscar nominations, including Best Picture.
Elf stars Will Ferrell as a human adopted by Santa, who eventually realises he is not one of his "little helpers" and sets out to New York to find his real father. It came in at second place thanks to Ferrell's beloved performance as the zany central character. At third place was The Muppet Christmas Carol, which interprets Charles Dickens' festive fable with the help of a bunch of wise-cracking puppets (and Michael Caine).
Other films to appear on the list include White Christmas, the 1954 box office smash, which stars Danny Kaye as an aspiring entertainer alongside Bing Crosby. Both Home Alone and Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, starring Macauley Culkin, also proved to be audience favourites.
See the top 20, below:
- It's a Wonderful Life
- Elf
- The Muppet Christmas Carol
- Love Actually
- Home Alone
- Die Hard
- National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
- The Polar Express
- White Christmas
- Scrooge
- A Christmas Carol
- The Snowman
- Miracle on 34th Street
- Santa Claus: The Movie
- The Holiday
- Home Alone 2: Lost in New York
- Scrooged
- Nativity!
- Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
The Independent recently ranked our favourite Christmas films, with It's a Wonderful Life also coming out on top. See the full list here.
