The highest-grossing Christmas song, in terms of overall sales and historical significance, is Bing Crosby's "White Christmas," recognized by Guinness World Records as the best-selling single ever, with over 50 million copies sold, and it continues to generate massive revenue. However, Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas Is You" is the top modern earner, dominating streaming, with billions of plays and millions in annual royalties, making it the biggest modern Christmas hit.
The best-selling Christmas song of all time is "White Christmas" by Bing Crosby, recognized by Guinness World Records as the best-selling single ever, with over 50 million physical copies sold worldwide, and its total sales (including covers) exceeding 100 million. For modern digital sales, Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas Is You" is the top earner, dominating streaming charts.
What is the highest grossing Christmas of all time?
The Top 10 Highest Grossing Christmas Movies of All Time: 1. The Grinch (2018) grossed $538,920,602 2. Home Alone (1990) grossed $476,684,675 3. Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992) grossed $358,994,850 4.
What is the number one Christmas song in the world?
With more than 2.3 billion global streams as of 2025, the most popular Christmas song in the digital era is Mariah Carey's “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” an upbeat favorite that first appeared on the pop superstar's 1994 holiday album, Merry Christmas.
The top 5 Christmas songs vary by chart (sales, streams, popularity), but consistently feature Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas Is You," Wham!'s "Last Christmas," and classics like Bing Crosby's "White Christmas," often joined by modern hits like Ariana Grande's "Santa Tell Me" and The Pogues' "Fairytale of New York", reflecting both enduring traditions and streaming-era dominance.
Staggering money behind the highest grossing Christmas songs
What is the #1 song of all time?
There's no single "number one song of all time" because it depends on the criteria (sales, streams, cultural impact, critical acclaim), but Bing Crosby's "White Christmas" is often cited as the best-selling single ever by sales, while Ed Sheeran's "Shape of You" holds records for streaming/digital certifications, and critics' lists (like Rolling Stone's list) favor songs like Aretha Franklin's "Respect" or Bob Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone".
The number one streamed song of all time, primarily on Spotify, is "Blinding Lights" by The Weeknd, holding the top spot with billions of streams, having surpassed Ed Sheeran's "Shape of You" in early 2023 and continuing to set records, with recent counts exceeding 5 billion streams on the platform alone as of early 2026.
What is the highest-grossing Christmas album of all time?
The best-selling Christmas album of all time in the U.S. is Elvis Presley's 1957 album, Elvis' Christmas Album, the only Christmas album to achieve Diamond certification (over 10 million copies sold) and later RIAA certification for 17 million units, solidifying its status as the top-selling holiday album ever in America, followed by major hits from Mariah Carey and Kenny G.
The best-selling single of all time is widely considered to be Bing Crosby's "White Christmas", with estimated sales exceeding 50 million copies, though figures predate modern certifications. For the modern era (post-1950s charts), Elton John's "Candle in the Wind 1997" / "Something About the Way You Look Tonight" is the top seller, with 33 million copies sold. In digital sales, Xiao Zhan's "Spotlight" holds the record for downloads, while Ed Sheeran's "Shape of You" is the highest-certified digital single.
For 30-years, 'All I Want for Christmas' has reigned supreme as the most popular song of the season but now Sia's 'Snowman' has melted more hearts on Spotify's top streaming list. Mariah Carey's three-decade long domination of Spotify's top songs of the season has come to an end.
Don McLean, the singer of the nearly nine-minute-long hit "American Pie," has held the record for longest song to reach No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart since 1972. However, Swift unseated him with her ten- minute version of "All Too Well," which was released in November and hit No.
What is the best selling Christmas song ever recorded?
According to the Guinness Book of World Records, "White Christmas" by Bing Crosby is not only the best-selling Christmas single in the United States, but also the best-selling single of all time since the advent of recorded music, with estimated sales in excess of 50 million copies worldwide.
“Bohemian Rhapsody” by Queen, which reached the number-one spot at Christmas 1975 and 1991, is the only record to have reached the top twice. “Mary's Boy Child” is the only song to be Christmas number one for two artists – Harry Belafonte in 1957 and Boney M.
🎄 The oldest Christmas hymns with surviving texts date to the 4th century, with 'Jesus Refulsit Omnium' ('Jesus, Light of All the Nations'), written by St. Hilary of Poitier, and 'Corde natus ex Parentis' ('Of the Father's Love Begotten') which was composed by Roman Christian poet Prudentius.
The Christmas song earning the most royalties is overwhelmingly Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas Is You", generating millions annually from streams, licensing, and sales, with industry estimates suggesting annual earnings for Carey and co-writer Walter Afanasieff in the millions of dollars (or pounds) and total revenue exceeding $60 million by 2017. Other significant earners include Slade's "Merry Xmas Everybody," Wham!'s "Last Christmas," and Brenda Lee's "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree," which also bring in substantial yearly income.
What is the biggest selling Christmas song not to reach number 1?
For several decades, "Last Christmas" was the highest-selling UK single never to reach number one. It has entered the UK singles chart every year since 2007, reached number one for the first time on New Year's Day 2021, and became Christmas number one in 2023.
