🔗 Share this article Devouring 2025's Holiday Movies: The Hits, The Misses, and The Guilty Pleasures. ‘Tis the time of year to slob out on the couch and demolish a tin of festive treats in front of a good movie, a awful feature, or one that’s terrible yet terrific. Once again, a crop of new Christmas films hopes to be part of our festive viewing—maybe even joining the ranks alongside beloved favorites like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (no arguments). Therefore, in a helpful attempt to separate the winners from the losers, and to get into the festive feeling, I binged as many new festive movies as possible in a single day. Early Morning: A Very Jonas Christmas Movie Kicking off, optimistically, on a high. This is the only 2025 entry on a well-known aggregator's list of the best 100 holiday films of all time. The musical trio end up trapped in the UK after concluding their world tour and must get home for Christmas. Their endeavors are hindered by an villainous Saint Nick, who bursts into melody to announce they won’t get home until they “rekindle their sibling bond.” The banter between the arguing trio is amusing even for the uninitiated, while followers will certainly catch lots of in-jokes as they try to get back using any means of transport necessary. It’s a journey of epic proportions. It’s not a timeless masterpiece, but is great for devotees and a good start to the day. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their family members who will have to sit through it. 8.45am - Tinsel Town Hollywood star Kiefer Sutherland stars as a movie actor tricked into a "panto". “A what's a panto??” asks Sutherland’s “hard-to-work-with” and ageing star Brad Mack, who has fallen on hard times and whose manager has deceived him into thinking he’s appearing in high-class London stage. His Aladdin fellow actors inform him he’s playing Buttons. “No I'm not,” he protests. You can guess their retort. That is, unless you’re ignorant of traditional stage call-and-response. There are some hilarious moments, some cockle-warming sub-plots, and the ensemble is cracking, too. It’s the type of film that would be a bit naff at a different time, but is a highly enjoyable at Christmas. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄🎄 A New Spin on Scrooge An actor pops up at the outset of this film, too, calling someone a mug for the second consecutive movie. Might this become a new Christmas tradition? This time, he’s a singing black cab driver who collects Mr Sood, the modern take on Mr Scrooge from Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. Mr Sood is played by The Big Bang Theory’s Kunal Nayyar and Christmas Karma is directed by Bend It Like Beckham’s Gurinder Chadha. The classic narrative unfolds as the stingy Mr Sood is confronted by the apparitions 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 portrayal is flat—a problem when he’s so the focal point. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄 Lunchtime: Stuffed There's just enough time for a channel's Christmas comedy-drama—which stars Guz Khan as a lovably grouchy guy who “doesn’t really do Christmas.” But after he receives an sizable holiday payout at work, his wife (starring Morgana Robinson) persuades him spending the sum on a holiday to Lapland. There’s just one issue—he finds out there was an mix-up with his bonus, which should have been £800, and he has to figure out how to pay back the excess. Enjoyable but forgettable. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄 1.12pm - Champagne Problems This is one of those Christmas films where the decorations and snow are in the background—Christmas is the scene of the film rather than its core purpose—but it feels comfortable and seasonal all the same. Driven corporate star Sydney (played by Minka Kelly) is dispatched to a vineyard to negotiate a purchase for a sparkling wine company. En route, she runs into a guy in a book store who offers to show her the holidays in the City of Light. A critic recently declared this is the finest new Christmas film of the last several seasons. That’s a bit of a overstatement, but it is a festive dalliance with a touch of class and gives the required cozy feelings. The scene with a lengthy discussion about Die Hard is very good too. Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄 A Charming Quest Young Chris, played by Lenny Rush, refuses to stop believing in Father Christmas, in spite of the efforts of his dad (starring James Buckley) to tell him the reality. The answer is somewhere, and Chris embarks on a quest to find it with the expert help of a group of well-known figures. It’s gentle but sweet, and good viewing while expecting Santa to visit. Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄 4.39pm - Oh. What. Fun. Michelle Pfeiffer is the matriarch of a quarrelling American family who come back together for the holidays—including fellow acclaimed actress Felicity Jones, Chloe Grace Moretz, Jason Schwartzman, and dad Denis Leary. Pfeiffer begins by referencing classic festive films like National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, It’s A Wonderful Life and Home Alone, before stating: “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 jumble of those aforementioned movies, at least until Pfeiffer’s character at last comes into her own. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄 Formulaic Fun The day’s gone downhill, but happily here’s a new offering in the saturated market of cliched, saccharine, over-the-top—and strangely compelling—festive fodder. It’s a narrative as old as time: An American woman journeys to a far-off wintery locale and ends up finding romance. In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher
‘Tis the time of year to slob out on the couch and demolish a tin of festive treats in front of a good movie, a awful feature, or one that’s terrible yet terrific. Once again, a crop of new Christmas films hopes to be part of our festive viewing—maybe even joining the ranks alongside beloved favorites like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (no arguments). Therefore, in a helpful attempt to separate the winners from the losers, and to get into the festive feeling, I binged as many new festive movies as possible in a single day. Early Morning: A Very Jonas Christmas Movie Kicking off, optimistically, on a high. This is the only 2025 entry on a well-known aggregator's list of the best 100 holiday films of all time. The musical trio end up trapped in the UK after concluding their world tour and must get home for Christmas. Their endeavors are hindered by an villainous Saint Nick, who bursts into melody to announce they won’t get home until they “rekindle their sibling bond.” The banter between the arguing trio is amusing even for the uninitiated, while followers will certainly catch lots of in-jokes as they try to get back using any means of transport necessary. It’s a journey of epic proportions. It’s not a timeless masterpiece, but is great for devotees and a good start to the day. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their family members who will have to sit through it. 8.45am - Tinsel Town Hollywood star Kiefer Sutherland stars as a movie actor tricked into a "panto". “A what's a panto??” asks Sutherland’s “hard-to-work-with” and ageing star Brad Mack, who has fallen on hard times and whose manager has deceived him into thinking he’s appearing in high-class London stage. His Aladdin fellow actors inform him he’s playing Buttons. “No I'm not,” he protests. You can guess their retort. That is, unless you’re ignorant of traditional stage call-and-response. There are some hilarious moments, some cockle-warming sub-plots, and the ensemble is cracking, too. It’s the type of film that would be a bit naff at a different time, but is a highly enjoyable at Christmas. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄🎄 A New Spin on Scrooge An actor pops up at the outset of this film, too, calling someone a mug for the second consecutive movie. Might this become a new Christmas tradition? This time, he’s a singing black cab driver who collects Mr Sood, the modern take on Mr Scrooge from Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. Mr Sood is played by The Big Bang Theory’s Kunal Nayyar and Christmas Karma is directed by Bend It Like Beckham’s Gurinder Chadha. The classic narrative unfolds as the stingy Mr Sood is confronted by the apparitions 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 portrayal is flat—a problem when he’s so the focal point. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄 Lunchtime: Stuffed There's just enough time for a channel's Christmas comedy-drama—which stars Guz Khan as a lovably grouchy guy who “doesn’t really do Christmas.” But after he receives an sizable holiday payout at work, his wife (starring Morgana Robinson) persuades him spending the sum on a holiday to Lapland. There’s just one issue—he finds out there was an mix-up with his bonus, which should have been £800, and he has to figure out how to pay back the excess. Enjoyable but forgettable. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄 1.12pm - Champagne Problems This is one of those Christmas films where the decorations and snow are in the background—Christmas is the scene of the film rather than its core purpose—but it feels comfortable and seasonal all the same. Driven corporate star Sydney (played by Minka Kelly) is dispatched to a vineyard to negotiate a purchase for a sparkling wine company. En route, she runs into a guy in a book store who offers to show her the holidays in the City of Light. A critic recently declared this is the finest new Christmas film of the last several seasons. That’s a bit of a overstatement, but it is a festive dalliance with a touch of class and gives the required cozy feelings. The scene with a lengthy discussion about Die Hard is very good too. Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄 A Charming Quest Young Chris, played by Lenny Rush, refuses to stop believing in Father Christmas, in spite of the efforts of his dad (starring James Buckley) to tell him the reality. The answer is somewhere, and Chris embarks on a quest to find it with the expert help of a group of well-known figures. It’s gentle but sweet, and good viewing while expecting Santa to visit. Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄 4.39pm - Oh. What. Fun. Michelle Pfeiffer is the matriarch of a quarrelling American family who come back together for the holidays—including fellow acclaimed actress Felicity Jones, Chloe Grace Moretz, Jason Schwartzman, and dad Denis Leary. Pfeiffer begins by referencing classic festive films like National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, It’s A Wonderful Life and Home Alone, before stating: “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 jumble of those aforementioned movies, at least until Pfeiffer’s character at last comes into her own. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄 Formulaic Fun The day’s gone downhill, but happily here’s a new offering in the saturated market of cliched, saccharine, over-the-top—and strangely compelling—festive fodder. It’s a narrative as old as time: An American woman journeys to a far-off wintery locale and ends up finding romance. In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher