The action film starring Hollywood star Bruce Willis was first released in 1988 but it still divides the country, as a YouGov poll found 47% of people questioned believe it is not a festive film, while 44% insist it is.

The Oscar-nominated movie sees Willis as New York City police detective John McClane, who is caught up in a terrorist takeover of a Los Angeles skyscraper while visiting his estranged wife for a Christmas Eve party.

More than 2,000 adults took part in the survey, which also found there is a divide between men and women on the film’s genre, with 50% of men who have seen the movie saying it is a Christmas movie, compared with just 37% of women.

The main reason people believe the movie should be a part of the Christmas catalogue is because the movie is set at a Christmas party (72%), while 37% of those who voted believed it fell into the action genre.

During a TV special, Comedy Central Roast of Bruce Willis, in 2018, the actor said: “I did this roast for one reason and for one reason only, to settle something once and for all.

“Die Hard is not a Christmas movie! It’s a goddam Bruce Willis movie. So yippee ki yay to all of your m************”, quoting the character’s catchphrase.

The survey found people debated the topic as much as whether to watch the Queen’s speech or not, and if they should have sprouts with their Christmas dinner, but they were only the joint sixth most popular disputes.

The most hotly discussed things at Christmas, the survey said, were what time to open presents, at number one, what movies to watch, in second place, and who is doing the washing up, in the third spot, according to the YouGov poll.

The entire Die Hard franchise, five films in total, is available to stream on Disney+ from December 3.