Why 'Four Christmases' and 'Fred Claus' Aren't on Netflix for Christmas 2023

Many folks are turning to Netflix to catch their favorite Christmas films around the holidays. But, there are two Christmas films — Four Christmases and Fred Claus — that you won't be able to catch on Netflix. There's a straightforward reason as to why the movies aren't on the streaming service.

Netflix's licenses for Four Christmases and Fred Claus expired back in 2021. As a result, both of the films were promptly removed from the streaming service in July 2021. When Netflix's licenses to stream the films lapsed, other streamers picked them up. Currently, you can stream Four Christmases and Fred Claus on Hulu and Max.

Both Four Christmases and Fred Claus, which star Vince Vaughn, left the streaming service in 2021. Four Christmases, which starred Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon, came out in 2008. The holiday film centers on the couple, played by the two actors, who are tasked with visiting each one of their parents over the Christmas holiday. To make matters more difficult, all four of their parents are divorced, so they need to visit all of the houses in quick succession.

While Witherspoon and Vaughn played a happy couple in the film, their relationship reportedly hit a few snags offscreen. Ten years after the film was released, Decider reported that the two actors did not like each other on set. In fact, they allegedly had to cut a sex scene from the movie because Witherspoon and Vaughn did not want to film it together. Decider even shared a report from The Daily News, which described the reported differences between the two on the set of Four Christmases.

A source said, "Vince rolls onto set in the morning looking like he just came in from a night out, while Reese will arrive early looking camera-ready. Then Reese tries to force Vince into blocking out each scene and running through their lines as Vince tries to convince her that he's an ad-libber and wants to play around and see where the scene goes."

Even though Witherspoon and Vaughn reportedly did not get along off of the set, their chemistry in Four Christmases helped the film become a success. It garnered over $160,000,000 worldwide. As for the other film that will be leaving Netflix, Fred Claus, Vaughn also got top billing. Fred Claus premiered in 2007 and starred the actor as Santa's bitter older brother. In the film, Vaughn's character Fred Claus travels to the North Pole to help his brother (played by Paul Giamatti) prepare for the Christmas holiday. Fred Claus was written by Dan Fogelman, who penned the screenplay, and Jessie Nelson, who came up with the story. It was directed by David Dobkin.