The Beloved Christmas Movie That Flopped
It’s hard for me to imagine going through an entire holiday season without watching certain movies. My must-see list includes A Christmas Story, Elf, Miracle on 34th Street, A Christmas Carol, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and Scrooged. But if I could watch only one holiday film, it would have to be It’s a Wonderful Life.
I remember the first time I saw Frank Capra’s classic. It was December of 1987 and my mother had come to fetch me from school because I wasn’t feeling well. It turned out to be the flu. Once we were home, I crawled into bed and my mother brought me a bowl of soup. I turned on the small non-cable TV in my bedroom just in time for the opening credits of It’s a Wonderful Life. I’ve loved it ever since.
The amazing thing about this movie is how, much like George Bailey (played by James Stewart) and Bedford Falls, it overcame some pretty steep odds to survive. When It’s a Wonderful Life was released in 1946, it was a box office flop. According to BBC Arts, ticket sales were $525,000 short of covering the production, distribution, and promotion costs. Capra’s film was nominated for five Academy Awards, but audiences simply didn’t respond to the redemptive tale of doing the right thing and never giving up. The movie disappeared.
Then, in 1974, the film’s copyright expired, putting it in the public domain, and It’s a Wonderful Life found new life on local television stations across the country. Over the years, it became a holiday staple and has even been ranked among the best movies ever made.
NBC purchased the exclusive television rights to It’s a Wonderful Life in 1994. The network has aired it every holiday season since then. You can see it on Christmas Eve (12/24) at 8:00 PM. If you couldn’t tell by now, I highly recommend it.
