The votes are in, all 2,882 ballots have been counted and we can now reveal that the best Christmas movie ever made is (drum roll, please - oh, you've already read the headline, haven't you)... It's a Wonderful Life.

Yes, Frank Capra’s heart-warming story of a suicidal man inspired to carry on living by the magic of Christmas is now officially our readers' favourite festive film, having netted nearly a fifth (17.83 per cent) of the total vote.

Its nearest rival, which 10.19 per cent of respondents plumped for, was the The Muppet Christmas Carol, an all-singing, all-dancing adaptation of the classic Charles Dickens fable starring Kermit, Miss Piggy, Michael Caine and the gang.

Other cuddly, family-friendly fare like Love Actually (7.57 per cent), Elf (5.94 per cent) and Home Alone (5.73 per cent) rounded out the rest of the top five.

At the other end of the scale, no one cast their vote for John Waters’s 1974 film Female Trouble, which sees its lead character going mad and becoming a mass murderer after her parents refuse to buy her a pair of cha-cha shoes for Christmas.

Here's the full list of results, and if your favourite film didn’t place as highly as you’d like, why not have a nice cathartic rant in the comments box below?

1. It's a Wonderful Life (1946) 17.83%
2. The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992) 10.19%
3. Love Actually (2003) 7.57%
4. Elf (2003) 5.94%
5. Home Alone (1990) 5.73%
6. Miracle on 34th Street (1994) 4.92%
7. White Christmas (1954) 4.21%
8. Die Hard (1988) 4.1%
9. Scrooge (1951) 3.68%
10. Santa Claus (1985)3.18%
11. The Polar Express (2004) 2.76%
12. Miracle on 34th Street (1947) 2.72%
13. Scrooged (1988) 2.69%
14. A Christmas Carol (1984) 1.8%
15. The Santa Clause (1994) 1.59%
16. The Nightmare before Christmas (1993) 1.56%
17. The Holiday (2006) 1.42%
18. Gremlins (1984) 1.38%
19. Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992) 1.31%
20. The Grinch (2000) 1.2%
21. Bad Santa (2003) 1.17%
22. The Railway Children (1970) 1.13%
23. The Bishop's Wife (1947) 1.06%
24. Meet Me in St Louis (1944) 0.99%
25. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005) 0.88%
26. Trading Places (1983) 0.88%
27. Nativity! (2009) 0.81%
28. Jingle All the Way (1996) 0.78%
29. Bridget Jones’s Diary (2001) 0.74%
30. Holiday Inn (1942) 0.71%
31. While You Were Sleeping (1995) 0.71%
32. A Christmas Story (1983) 0.67%
33. The Apartment (1960) 0.6%
34. Edward Scissorhands (1990) 0.53%
35. Die Hard 2: Die Harder (1990) 0.32%
36. The Lion in Winter (1968) 0.32%
37. On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969) 0.32%
38. Babes in Toyland (1934) 0.28%
39. Black Christmas (1974) 0.25%
40. The French Connection (1971) 0.18%
41. Arthur Christmas (2011) 0.14%
42. The Man Who Came to Dinner (1941) 0.14%
43. The Fabulous Baker Boys (1989) 0.11%
44. Serendipity (2001) 0.11%
45. Tales from the Crypt (1972) 0.11%
46. The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996) 0.07%
47. Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence (1982) 0.07%
48. The Poseidon Adventure (1972) 0.07%
49. Home for the Holidays (1972) 0.04%
50. Female Trouble (1974) 0%