Copyright Parade
Key Points Google’s Holiday 100 reveals the fastest-rising search trends for the 2025 season. “Movie projectors” searches surged 945%, reflecting major shifts in movie-watching habits. Americans increasingly prefer streaming at home over visiting theaters, influencing trending searches. The pumpkins are packed up, Mariah Carey’s defrost cycle has officially begun, and that means one thing: the season of cozy chaos and last-minute gift searches has arrived. Just in time, Google released its annual Holiday 100, a data-driven look at what the internet has been obsessively typing into the search bar. The 2025 edition — which dropped Monday, November 3 — analyzed billions of searches to identify the fastest-rising trends of the season. According to Google, “Holiday 100 insights are based on US Google Trends data from trends.google.com, and were measured and validated from May through September 2025 using the Google Trends Explore tool and Google’s proprietary internal tools.” 🎬 SIGN UP for Parade’s Daily newsletter to get the latest pop culture news & celebrity interviews delivered right to your inbox 🎬 To make the cut, each search trend had to check at least one of these boxes: Hit an “all-time high” in search interest across the U.S. Blew up as a breakout trend with a huge spike compared to normal searches Ranked among the top or trending terms dominating Google this season Saw a major jump in search traffic versus past years Surged in certain regions, becoming a standout in specific states And this year, the results are wild. “Drop waist dresses” and “crescent bags” surged in searches — two Y2K throwback styles making their way back into the spotlight. “Weighted vests” climbed the wellness charts, “red light therapy” saw record-breaking interest, and even travel gear got its moment as “packing cubes” took off across the U.S. 💪 SIGN UP for tips to stay healthy & fit with the top moves, clean eats, health trends & more delivered right to your inbox twice a week 💪 But arguably the most surprising trend on the list? “Movie projectors.” Searches skyrocketed by 945 percent, and “home projectors” rose another 60 percent, according to Google Trends. It’s one of the steepest hikes in the report, but when you factor in how moviegoing habits have shifted, it makes sense. A U.S. Kagan Consumer Insights survey, published by S&P Global on October 16, found that the number of adults who go to the movies at least once a month has dropped by more than half since 2019. Recent polling from the AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research backs that up: most Americans now say they’d rather stream new releases than go to the theater, and streaming’s share of total viewing hit record highs this year, reaching nearly 45 percent of total TV viewing. When ticket prices are climbing and comfort is closer to home, the surge in searches for “movie projectors” lines up perfectly with how people are spending their screen time.
