Kurt Russell Takes Over Netflix’s Top 10 With Two Movies

Kurt Russell‘s new fans are already in full Christmas mode, as his 2018 Netflix hit The Christmas Chronicles is back in the streamer’s Top 10 movies chart. The sequel, The Christmas Chronicles 2, which gave his longtime partner Goldie Hawn‘s Mrs. Claus an even bigger role has also started to climb Netflix’s charts. Both movies feature the movie legend as Santa Claus. 

The Christmas Chronicles is now at number nine on Netflix’s Top 10 Movies in the U.S. Today chart, while The Christmas Chronicles 2 sits at number 10. After watching those two movies, families can check out a few other movies starring Russell. The 2006 disaster movie Poseidon and the 1994 science-fiction film Stargate are both available. Quentin Tarantino’s The Hateful Eight is still on Netflix, but that is definitely not kid-friendly. Russell is also featured in the 2014 sports documentary The Battered Bastards of Baseball, which is about the Portland, Oregon team owned by Russell’s father, the late actor Bing Russell.

The first Christmas Chronicles movie was released in November 2018 and was directed by Clay Klaytis. It centers on two children, Kate and Teddy, who team up with Santa to deliver presents after his sleigh malfunctions. The movie was a family affair, as Hawn’s son Oliver Hudson also had a major role as Teddy and Kate’s late father. The movie ends with a surprise cameo from Hawn as Mrs. Claus.

Since the first film was such a big hit, Netflix quickly commissioned the sequel. It was released in November 2020 and even had a limited theatrical release. It featured even more stars, with Malcolm McDowell, Darlene Love, and Tyrese Gibson joining the cast. Chris Columbus, who co-produced the first film, directed the sequel.

When asked if a third film is in the works, Russell told The New York Times last year he had “no idea” if Netflix was planning another one. “I’ve never been big on sequels, but that was 50, 40, 30 years ago. Now sequels aren’t even sequels anymore,” Russell said at the time. “We’ve just cyclically found our way around to making television. You go to the movies and you’re seeing television because there’s a serial aspect to it.”

The sequel was the first time Russell and Hawn starred in a movie together since Overboard. When asked why it took them so long, the two said they just waited for the right material. “I thought we’d work together much sooner than this, but Goldie and I are pretty choosy,” Russell told the Times. “And generally, Goldie Hawn movies and movies that Kurt Russell is in are pretty different things.”