This is a long running – and perhaps endless – collection of Christmas movies which include representations of Egypt. This was originally started by Dr Kate Sheppard and Dr Emmet Jackson has also contributed to this utterly bizarre research, so if anyone reading this knows of any other examples let me know and I will happily add them to the list.
Originally, this was a Twitter thread, but I’ve decided to bring this all in-house and host on here to consolidate all the posts and so nothing gets lost.
- Home Alone (1990) – The McCallister family have a steamer trunk in their basement, with a travel sticker for the Shepheard’s Hotel:
- Die Hard (1998) – Holly’s office has a golden Egyptian bust (possibly Hatshepsut?) on a shelf:
- Castle S5:E09 (2012) – A conference room has a replica of a spearfishing Tutankhamun statue:
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004) – Snape’s class on warewolves includes a tomb scene, adapted from of the birding scene from the Tomb-Chapel of Nebamun:
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005) – Alastor ‘Mad-Eye’ Moody uses an Egyptomaniacal bottle for Polyjuice Potion:
- Miracle on 34th Street (1994) – Includes a hieroglyphic inscription:
- Young Sherlock Holmes (1985) – Features a mummification scene, and a newspaper confirms that this takes place on Christmas Day 1870:
- Friends S6:E10 (1999) – Ross states that ‘Now, some people trace the Christmas tree back to the Egyptians, who used to bring green palm branches into their huts on the shortest day of the year, symbolising life’s triumph over death. And that was like 4000 years ago’:
- Love Actually (2003) – There are several Egyptianising elements, from the fictional ‘Nile Street’ gallery, Predynastic D-Ware style pottery, and Andrew Lincoln loving Keira Knightley until she looks like Queen Ahmose Nefertari:
- Last Christmas (2019) – Features a scene set on the north bank of the Thames in London, including Cleopatra’s Needle and its flanking Sphinxes:
- Trading Places (1983) – One of the characters is wearing a silver scarab necklace:
- The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005) – Features a bronze statue of Isis and Horus on the professor’s desk, and the Minotaurs in the eponymous Witch’s army use pseudo-khopesh swords:
- A Castle for Christmas (2021) – The titular castle having a bronze Osiris statue in a bell jar on one of its spiral staircases:
- Futurama S11:E06 I Know What You Did Next Xmas (2023) – The Professor has a pyramid among other historical objects on a shelf:
- When Harry Met Sally (1989) – Includes scene shot in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, featuring Egytpian architecture and statuary:
- The Holiday (2006) – Cameron Diaz’s Amanda chooses a Christmas holiday destination and almost chooses Egypt:
- Four Christmases (2008) – A glass pyramid can be seen on a side-table:
- A Ghost Story for Christmas: Lot 249 (2023) – Features multiple Egyptian references, not least being a rampaging mummy:
- Jumanji: The Next Level (2019) – Events of the movie take place at Christmas (in the real world) and features a treasure room (in the game world) with a Sphinx, a Tutankhamun style Anubis, and two coffins (one upright and one laid down):
- Downton Abbey S2:E9 (2011) – The ‘Christmas at Downton Abbey’ episode includes the hunt for the missing dog Isis:
- Champagne Problems (2025) – The meeting room features a large pair of crystal obelisks on a table:
- Jingle Bell Heist (2025) – Sterling’s office has two black obelisks on a shelf:
- Agatha Christie’s Poirot S3:E9 (1991) – This episode features an Egyptian prince, Egyptologists, Egyptomaniacal architecture, and Poirot wanting not getting the quiet Christmas he wanted:
