10 Classic Christmas Films That Actually Came Out In The Summer
4. Gremlins
A classic for those who like their Christmas movies to come with a subversive streak, Gremlins takes place in a town straight out of It's A Wonderful Life, but the chaos unleashed by a misjudged choice of Christmas present is as anarchic as a violent Looney Tunes cartoon.
Gremlins even throws in a character's backstory being that her father died stuck in a chimney dressed as Santa Claus, just for that added blackly comic twist on the mainstays of seasonal entertainment.
The movie even remained subversive of established Christmas film traditions in its release, eschewing the obvious holiday season to come out instead in June.
In fact, Gremlins's release date of June 8th 1984 was an especially esoteric choice given that it put it out slap bang on the same day as one of the era's biggest phenomena: Ghostbusters, another horror-tinged comedy and one with a significantly higher budget and profile than Gremlins. It didn't stop Gremlins from becoming a hit, but who knows if it might have done even better at Christmas itself?