Bulldogz Team
3 min
The Group Stages are over and the last 16 are in place. On the day of rest, the 13th, the defeated to hit the road home and the qualifiers to take a breather before moving forward into the knock out stages.
Day 13: A day of rest
The Group Stages are at an end and the qualifiers for the Last 16 are known!
Group A was quite a contest, with Four Christmases, the fourth seed tearing up the form book to finish first. Love Actually, a consistent performer, had to scramble for survival in the closing stages while White Christmas and the Grinch are sent packing. White Christmas continue to be group stage fodder and the Grinch fails to make the Last 16 for the first time in competition history. It is probably of little consolation to these two that this was the tightest margin between first and fourth place, with just 27 points the difference.
In Bruges ran out of steam and the fairy-tale is over. Last Christmas has impressed on a wild card debut and will go on to face Love Actually in a London Last 16 face off!. The Holiday has taken the second spot and Scrooge fell short.
Home Alone has given a solid display, but the fight between Muppets and Miracle was astonishing. Miracle has not emerged from the group stages since 2010 and fans will feel frustrated that a score that would have been enough to qualify in other groups this year has left them short in Group C. 8 Bit Christmas will find a fan base and put in a respectful performance in a tough group.
Group D saw the Goliath that is Die Hard and the persistent Last 16 contender Trading places drawn with two Netflix debutants. In the end the power of the pair of well established performers saw off the new comers but a Netflix peoples final took place all the same. A Boy Called Christmas will probably need to come through pre qualifying net time round after a poor showing this year.
Elf has some big support this year and it has performed strongly in the group stages, with a joint best performance alongside Gremlins. Jingle managed to see off the spirited performance of the Kranks but Bad Santa is the big loser in this group. Kranks had not been at the finals since a 2010 group stage showing and clearly has more love than would be expected. Jamie Lee Curtis continues with Trading Places but for Tim Allen the championship is over. Bad Santa has once again become group stage fodder, with a Last 16 elimination by Die Hard in 2014 being the best showing.
The Tomorrow World has been a fun watch but in the end was narrowly seen off by scare fest Krampus which has improved on previous showing at group stages in 2018. Nightmare is one of the three second seeds that has not made it out of the groups this year
Gremlins put in a joint best performance in the group stages and is joined by shock Brit Flick performer Get Santa which heads through to the Last 16 as the lowest placed film in the remaining rankings. Having made it through pre qualifying in 5th place and now at the dizzying heights of the knockout stages. Polar Express has once again gone home at the Group stages and Klaus, despite an Oscar nomination has not impressed.
An extraordinary group that saw It's A Wonderful Life take top spot in the last moments of voting on the night of the 12th to ensure that all former winners of the championship have made it through to the Last 16. Tim Allen and crew are devastated with that turn of events that see them heading home at group stages for the first time. The Family Man gave a brave effort to try and break out of the group stage for only the second time but this was a veritable group of death.