🔗 Share this article Marathon Viewing This Year's Christmas Films: The Hits, The Misses, and The Guilty Pleasures. It is the season to slob out on the sofa and demolish a box of holiday pastries in front of a good movie, a bad movie, or one that’s awesomely awful. As always, a selection of new Christmas films aims to become part of our seasonal watchlist—maybe even finding a spot alongside timeless staples like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (don’t start). Thus, in a helpful attempt to separate the winners from the losers, and to find the holiday mood, I watched as many new festive movies as possible in a single day. Early Morning: A Very Jonas Christmas Movie Starting, ideally, on a high. This release is the exclusive 2025 movie on a popular review site's list of the best 100 holiday films of all time. The musical trio end up stranded in the UK after wrapping up their world tour and must make it back for Christmas. Their efforts are hampered by an villainous Saint Nick, who bursts into melody to declare they won’t get home until they “rekindle their familial spark.” The banter between the arguing trio is enjoyable even for the uninitiated, while fans will undoubtedly catch lots of references as they attempt to get back using all transportation available. It’s private planes, trains and automobiles. It’s not legendary, but is superb for fans and a solid start to the day. Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their loved ones who will have to sit through it. 8.45am - Tinsel Town Famous performer Kiefer Sutherland has been cast as a Hollywood star cast a traditional British stage show. “A panto-what?” asks Sutherland’s “hard-to-work-with” and older star Brad Mack, who has fallen on hard times and whose representative has deceived him into thinking he’s performing in high-class London stage. His pantomime cast-mates let him know he’s playing Buttons. “Oh no I’m not,” he protests. It's easy to predict their response. Unless you’re not acquainted with traditional British theatre traditions. There are some very funny lines, some touching storylines, and the ensemble is cracking, too. It’s the sort of feature that would be a bit tacky at another season, but is a highly enjoyable at Christmas. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄🎄 Mid-Morning: Christmas Karma Danny Dyer pops up at the beginning of this film, too, calling someone a mug for the second consecutive movie. Is this a new Christmas tradition? This time, he’s a singing black cab driver who collects Mr Sood, the newest interpretation on Mr Scrooge from Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. Mr Sood is played by a star of Kunal Nayyar and Christmas Karma is directed by Bend It Like Beckham’s Gurinder Chadha. The familiar story develops as the stingy Mr Sood is haunted by the spirits of Christmas yesterday, today, and tomorrow, played by Hugh Bonneville, Billy Porter, and Boy George. This cultural adaptation is at least distinct from all the others, but unfortunately he’s not very charismatic and Nayyar’s acting is wooden—a major flaw when he’s so the focal point. Festive score: 🎄🎄 Noon: A BBC Special There’s time for a channel's original festive film—which stars Guz Khan as a lovably grouchy guy who “isn't big on Christmas.” But after he is awarded an large festive windfall at work, his wife (played by Morgana Robinson) talks him into splurging the cash on a vacation to Lapland. There’s just one snag—he discovers there was an error with his bonus, which should have been £800, and he has to figure out how to pay back the excess. Fun while it lasts but not lasting. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄 Early Afternoon: Champagne Problems This is one of those Christmas films where the festive trappings are in the background—Christmas is the environment of the film rather than its raison d’etre—but it feels warm and holiday-like all the same. Driven corporate star Sydney (played by Minka Kelly) is sent to a vineyard to secure an acquisition for a champagne business. During her travels, she encounters a man in a literary haven who promises to show her the holidays in the City of Light. An expert recently declared this is the top new Christmas film of the past few years. That’s a bit of a overstatement, but it is a holiday love story with a touch of class and gives the necessary warm and fuzzy feels. The scene with a extended debate about Die Hard is very good too. Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄 Mid-Afternoon: Finding Father Christmas Young Chris, played by Lenny Rush, holds onto his belief in Father Christmas, despite the efforts of his dad (played by James Buckley) to tell him the reality. The truth is to be discovered, and Chris embarks on a quest to find it with the guidance of a group of well-known experts and celebrities. It’s understated but sweet, and ideal viewing while waiting for Santa to visit. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄 4.39pm - Oh. What. Fun. Michelle Pfeiffer is the mother of a bickering American family who come back together for the holidays—including fellow Oscar nominee Felicity Jones, Chloe Grace Moretz, Jason Schwartzman, and dad Denis Leary. Pfeiffer starts by mentioning classic festive films like National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, It’s A Wonderful Life and Home Alone, before saying: “They need to make a movie about the real champions of the holidays—moms.” So that’s the premise, but in reality it’s really a combination of those forerunner films, at least until Pfeiffer’s character at last comes into her own. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄 6.43pm - A Scottish Christmas Secret The day’s gone downhill, but fortunately here’s a new addition in the saturated market of cliched, saccharine, over-the-top—and strangely compelling—holiday fare. It’s a story as familiar as can be: An American woman goes on a quest to a picturesque cold country and ends up finding romance. In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher
It is the season to slob out on the sofa and demolish a box of holiday pastries in front of a good movie, a bad movie, or one that’s awesomely awful. As always, a selection of new Christmas films aims to become part of our seasonal watchlist—maybe even finding a spot alongside timeless staples like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (don’t start). Thus, in a helpful attempt to separate the winners from the losers, and to find the holiday mood, I watched as many new festive movies as possible in a single day. Early Morning: A Very Jonas Christmas Movie Starting, ideally, on a high. This release is the exclusive 2025 movie on a popular review site's list of the best 100 holiday films of all time. The musical trio end up stranded in the UK after wrapping up their world tour and must make it back for Christmas. Their efforts are hampered by an villainous Saint Nick, who bursts into melody to declare they won’t get home until they “rekindle their familial spark.” The banter between the arguing trio is enjoyable even for the uninitiated, while fans will undoubtedly catch lots of references as they attempt to get back using all transportation available. It’s private planes, trains and automobiles. It’s not legendary, but is superb for fans and a solid start to the day. Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their loved ones who will have to sit through it. 8.45am - Tinsel Town Famous performer Kiefer Sutherland has been cast as a Hollywood star cast a traditional British stage show. “A panto-what?” asks Sutherland’s “hard-to-work-with” and older star Brad Mack, who has fallen on hard times and whose representative has deceived him into thinking he’s performing in high-class London stage. His pantomime cast-mates let him know he’s playing Buttons. “Oh no I’m not,” he protests. It's easy to predict their response. Unless you’re not acquainted with traditional British theatre traditions. There are some very funny lines, some touching storylines, and the ensemble is cracking, too. It’s the sort of feature that would be a bit tacky at another season, but is a highly enjoyable at Christmas. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄🎄 Mid-Morning: Christmas Karma Danny Dyer pops up at the beginning of this film, too, calling someone a mug for the second consecutive movie. Is this a new Christmas tradition? This time, he’s a singing black cab driver who collects Mr Sood, the newest interpretation on Mr Scrooge from Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. Mr Sood is played by a star of Kunal Nayyar and Christmas Karma is directed by Bend It Like Beckham’s Gurinder Chadha. The familiar story develops as the stingy Mr Sood is haunted by the spirits of Christmas yesterday, today, and tomorrow, played by Hugh Bonneville, Billy Porter, and Boy George. This cultural adaptation is at least distinct from all the others, but unfortunately he’s not very charismatic and Nayyar’s acting is wooden—a major flaw when he’s so the focal point. Festive score: 🎄🎄 Noon: A BBC Special There’s time for a channel's original festive film—which stars Guz Khan as a lovably grouchy guy who “isn't big on Christmas.” But after he is awarded an large festive windfall at work, his wife (played by Morgana Robinson) talks him into splurging the cash on a vacation to Lapland. There’s just one snag—he discovers there was an error with his bonus, which should have been £800, and he has to figure out how to pay back the excess. Fun while it lasts but not lasting. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄 Early Afternoon: Champagne Problems This is one of those Christmas films where the festive trappings are in the background—Christmas is the environment of the film rather than its raison d’etre—but it feels warm and holiday-like all the same. Driven corporate star Sydney (played by Minka Kelly) is sent to a vineyard to secure an acquisition for a champagne business. During her travels, she encounters a man in a literary haven who promises to show her the holidays in the City of Light. An expert recently declared this is the top new Christmas film of the past few years. That’s a bit of a overstatement, but it is a holiday love story with a touch of class and gives the necessary warm and fuzzy feels. The scene with a extended debate about Die Hard is very good too. Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄 Mid-Afternoon: Finding Father Christmas Young Chris, played by Lenny Rush, holds onto his belief in Father Christmas, despite the efforts of his dad (played by James Buckley) to tell him the reality. The truth is to be discovered, and Chris embarks on a quest to find it with the guidance of a group of well-known experts and celebrities. It’s understated but sweet, and ideal viewing while waiting for Santa to visit. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄 4.39pm - Oh. What. Fun. Michelle Pfeiffer is the mother of a bickering American family who come back together for the holidays—including fellow Oscar nominee Felicity Jones, Chloe Grace Moretz, Jason Schwartzman, and dad Denis Leary. Pfeiffer starts by mentioning classic festive films like National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, It’s A Wonderful Life and Home Alone, before saying: “They need to make a movie about the real champions of the holidays—moms.” So that’s the premise, but in reality it’s really a combination of those forerunner films, at least until Pfeiffer’s character at last comes into her own. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄 6.43pm - A Scottish Christmas Secret The day’s gone downhill, but fortunately here’s a new addition in the saturated market of cliched, saccharine, over-the-top—and strangely compelling—holiday fare. It’s a story as familiar as can be: An American woman goes on a quest to a picturesque cold country and ends up finding romance. In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher