Each year around Christmastime, millions of Italians gather around their TVs for the annual broadcast of Una Poltrona Per Due (translation: “An armchair for two”). Those of you in English-speaking countries might be more familiar with its title as Trading Places, the 1983 John Landis comedy starring Dan Aykroyd and Eddie Murphy. The movie takes place between Christmas and New Year’s and features Aykroyd as a Philadelphia commodities broker who runs into a street hustler played by Murphy. Aykroyd’s bosses decide to conduct an experiment in which they fire Aykroyd and hire Murphy in his place, with interesting results.
Originally released in Italy in January 1984, Una Poltrona Per Due was only the 13th most-viewed film in the country that year, despite being a big hit in the U.S. It was first shown on Italian television on Christmas Day, 1989. Almost every year since 1997, it’s popped up like clockwork around that time of year. The movie’s dubbed version has remained popular, and viewership has only grown in recent years.
In 2022, over 1.9 million people tuned in to get their yearly dose of Aykroyd and Murphy. That number jumped from 2 million in 2023 to 2.4 million in 2024. A 4K restoration premiered in Italian theaters last December.
As for the reasoning behind Trading Places/Una Poltrona Per Due being shown every year? Wanted in Rome, a monthly English-language magazine for Italian expatriates, says that it all comes down to economics. At the end of the day, licensing an older movie for television is a lot cheaper than acquiring the rights to a more recent release.
Whatever the case may be, the movie has become a full-on Christmas tradition in Italy and is showing no signs of going away any time soon. There’s even a Facebook page dedicated to its yearly showing, with close to 10,000 followers.
Italian fans can catch it on Italia 1 during its usual prime time broadcast on Christmas Eve this year.
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