Marathon Viewing This Year's Holiday Movies: The Good, The Bad and The So-Bad-It's-Good.

It is the time of year to slob out on the sofa and demolish a box of mince pies in front of a terrific flick, a poor film, or one that’s terrible yet terrific.

As always, a selection of new holiday movies hopes to be part of our holiday traditions—perhaps even joining the ranks alongside beloved favorites like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (don’t start).

Therefore, in a vital public service to sort the crackers from the turkeys, and to embrace the holiday mood, I binged as many recent festive movies as possible in a single day.

7.17am - A Very Jonas Christmas Movie

Kicking off, optimistically, on a high. This film is the sole 2025 entry on a famous website's list of the top 100 Christmas movies of all time.

The popular band find themselves stranded in the UK after wrapping up their international trek and must return for Christmas. Their attempts are hampered by an villainous Saint Nick, who sings to announce they won’t get home until they “rekindle their brotherly magic.”

The back-and-forth between the bickering brothers is enjoyable even for the non-fan, while followers will no doubt catch lots of references as they try to get back using every mode of travel possible.

It’s private planes, trains and automobiles.

It’s not an all-time classic, but is excellent for devotees and a positive start to the day.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their family members who will have to sit through it.

Next: A Star in Panto

A-list actor Kiefer Sutherland stars as a Hollywood star cast a "panto".

“A what's a panto??” asks Sutherland’s “hard-to-work-with” and aging star Brad Mack, who has hit a rough patch and whose manager has deceived him into thinking he’s appearing in high-class London stage.

His Aladdin cast-mates let him know he’s playing Buttons. “Oh no I’m not,” he protests. One can imagine their retort. Unless you’re unfamiliar with traditional panto catchphrases.

There are some great jokes, some cockle-warming side stories, and the rest of the cast is cracking, too.

It’s the type of film that would be a bit cheesy at any other time of year, but is a great entertainment at Christmas.

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄🎄

A New Spin on Scrooge

Danny Dyer appears at the start of this film, too, delivering a signature line for the second consecutive movie. Might this become a budding festive ritual?

This time, he’s a singing black cab driver who encounters 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 unfolds as the stingy Mr Sood is visited by the apparitions of Christmas past, present and future, played by Hugh Bonneville, Billy Porter, and Boy George.

This Indian Scrooge is at least unique from all the others, but unfortunately he’s not very captivating and Nayyar’s acting is flat—a major flaw when he’s so the main character.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄

Noon: A BBC Special

Before lunch for a channel's original festive film—which stars Guz Khan as a lovably grouchy guy who “avoids Christmas.”

But after he is awarded an large festive windfall at work, his wife (starring Morgana Robinson) talks him into blowing the money on a family trip to Lapland.

There’s just one problem—he discovers there was an mistake with his bonus, which should have been £800, and he has to determine how to pay back the difference.

Pleasant yet unmemorable.

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄

Early Afternoon: Champagne Problems

This is one of those Christmas films where the tree, fairy lights and snow are in the backdrop—Christmas is the scene of the film rather than its core purpose—but it feels cosy and festive all the same.

Driven corporate star Sydney (starring Minka Kelly) is dispatched to a country estate to secure an acquisition for a champagne business. En route, she runs into a man in a bookshop who offers to show her Christmas in Paris.

A commentator recently declared this is the top new Christmas film of the last several seasons. That’s a bit of a overstatement, but it is a holiday love story with a hint of sophistication and gives the obligatory cozy feelings.

The scene with a detailed conversation about Die Hard is very good too.

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄

Mid-Afternoon: Finding Father Christmas

Teenage Chris, played by Lenny Rush, holds onto his belief in Father Christmas, regardless of the efforts of his dad (starring James Buckley) to tell him the truth.

The secret is to be discovered, and Chris sets out to find it with the assistance of a team of well-known figures.

It’s understated but sweet, and good viewing while waiting for Santa to visit.

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄

A Star-Studded Family Drama

Michelle Pfeiffer is the mother of a bickering American family who come back together for the holidays—including other Oscar nominee Felicity Jones, Chloe Grace Moretz, Jason Schwartzman, and dad Denis Leary.

Pfeiffer starts by mentioning holiday staples like National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, It’s A Wonderful Life and Home Alone, before declaring: “They need to make a movie about the true heroes 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 finally finds her strength.

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄

Evening: A Scottish Christmas Secret

The day’s gone downhill, but fortunately here’s a new entry in the packed genre of cliched, saccharine, over-the-top—and strangely compelling—festive fodder.

It’s a narrative as well-worn: An American woman journeys to a distant snowy land and ends up discovering romance.

In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher