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

‘Tis the time of year to slob out on the sofa and consume a box of mince pies in front of a great film, a awful feature, or one that’s terrible yet terrific.

As always, a batch of new Christmas films strives to join part of our holiday traditions—perhaps even earning a place alongside enduring classics like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (we won’t debate it).

So, in a vital public service to separate the winners from the losers, and to embrace the Christmas spirit, I binged as many fresh holiday releases as possible in a single day.

Early Morning: A Very Jonas Christmas Movie

Starting, ideally, on a good foot. This film is the sole 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 wrapping up their world tour and must make it back for Christmas. Their attempts are thwarted by an malevolent Father Christmas, who sings to announce they won’t get home until they “find their brotherly magic.”

The banter between the arguing trio is amusing even for the uninitiated, while fans will certainly catch lots of easter eggs as they endeavor to get back using any means of transport necessary.

It’s a travelogue of mishaps.

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

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their relatives who are obliged to sit through it.

Next: A Star in Panto

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

“A panto-what??” asks Sutherland’s “difficult” and ageing action hero Brad Mack, who has hit a rough patch and whose agent has deceived him into thinking he’s appearing in renowned British drama.

His pantomime fellow actors inform him he’s playing Buttons. “Oh no I’m not,” he insists angrily. One can imagine their reply. Unless you’re not acquainted with traditional stage call-and-response.

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

It’s the type of film that would be a bit tacky at a different time, but is a highly enjoyable at Christmas.

Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄🎄

A New Spin on Scrooge

Danny Dyer shows up at the start of this film, too, calling someone a mug for the second consecutive movie. Might this become a budding festive ritual?

This time, he’s a singing black cab driver who collects Mr Sood, the latest spin on Mr Scrooge from Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol.

Mr Sood is played by an actor from Kunal Nayyar and Christmas Karma is directed by the director of Gurinder Chadha. The familiar story develops as the tight-fisted Mr Sood is confronted by the ghosts of Christmas yesterday, today, and tomorrow, played by Hugh Bonneville, Billy Porter, and Boy George.

This cultural adaptation is at least unique from all the others, but sadly he’s not very captivating and Nayyar’s portrayal is wooden—a problem when he’s so central to everything.

Festive score: 🎄🎄

12.04pm - Stuffed

There’s time for a major broadcaster's original festive film—which stars Guz Khan as a charmingly cantankerous character who “doesn’t really do Christmas.”

But after he receives an large festive windfall at work, his wife (starring Morgana Robinson) persuades him spending the sum on a family trip to Lapland.

There’s just one snag—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 remainder.

Enjoyable but forgettable.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄

A Classy Netflix Romance

This is one of those holiday movies where the festive trappings are in the backdrop—Christmas is the scene of the film rather than its core purpose—but it feels warm and holiday-like all the same.

High-powered businesswoman Sydney (starring Minka Kelly) is sent to a country estate to negotiate a purchase for a sparkling wine company. On the way, she encounters a guy in a book store who promises to show her the holidays in the City of Light.

A commentator recently declared this is the finest new Christmas film of the recent era. That’s a bit of a overstatement, but it is a Christmas romance with a touch of class and gives the necessary warm and fuzzy feels.

The scene with a extended debate about Die Hard is notable too.

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄

A Charming Quest

Teenage Chris, played by Lenny Rush, refuses to stop believing in Father Christmas, in spite of the persuasion of his dad (starring James Buckley) to tell him the truth.

The answer is to be discovered, and Chris sets out to find it with the expert help of a group of well-known figures.

It’s gentle but endearing, and good viewing while anticipating Santa to visit.

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄

4.39pm - Oh. What. Fun.

Michelle Pfeiffer is the matriarch of a quarrelling American family who come back together for the holidays—including other acclaimed actress 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 true heroes of the holidays—moms.”

So that’s what this is, but in execution it’s really a jumble of those forerunner films, at least until Pfeiffer’s character at last takes center stage.

Festive score: 🎄🎄

6.43pm - A Scottish Christmas Secret

The day’s gone downhill, but thankfully here’s a new addition in the packed genre of cliched, saccharine, over-the-top—and highly entertaining—festive fodder.

It’s a tale as familiar as can be: An American woman goes on a quest to a distant snowy land and ends up stumbling across romance.

In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher