It is the season to slob out on the sofa and devour a box of festive treats in front of a great film, a poor film, or one that’s terrible yet terrific.
As always, a selection of new holiday movies aims to become part of our seasonal watchlist—perhaps even joining the ranks alongside enduring classics like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (we won’t debate it).
So, in a noble effort to sort the crackers from the turkeys, and to embrace the festive feeling, I binged as many new holiday releases as possible in a single day.
Beginning, ideally, on a positive note. This is the exclusive 2025 movie on a famous website's list of the greatest 100 festive features of all time.
The musical trio are stranded in the UK after concluding their international trek and must make it back for Christmas. Their endeavors are thwarted by an villainous Saint Nick, who breaks into song to state they won’t get home until they “rekindle their sibling bond.”
The repartee between the arguing trio is amusing even for the uninitiated, while fans will undoubtedly pick up on lots of in-jokes as they endeavor to get back using all transportation available.
It’s a journey of epic proportions.
It’s not an all-time classic, but is excellent for devotees and a solid start to the day.
Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their loved ones who must sit through it.
Hollywood star Kiefer Sutherland has been cast as a movie actor tricked into a "panto".
“A panto-what??” asks Sutherland’s “hard-to-work-with” and ageing action hero Brad Mack, who has hit a rough patch and whose representative has deceived him into thinking he’s appearing in high-class London stage.
His pantomime fellow actors inform him he’s playing Buttons. “Absolutely not,” he insists angrily. One can imagine their retort. That is, unless you’re ignorant of traditional British theatre traditions.
There are some very funny lines, some cockle-warming storylines, and the supporting actors is brilliant, too.
It’s the type of film that would be a bit tacky at any other time of year, but is a great entertainment at Christmas.
Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄🎄
Danny Dyer pops up at the beginning of this film, too, calling someone a mug for the next movie straight. Could this be a fresh holiday staple?
This time, he’s a singing black cab driver who picks up Mr Sood, the latest spin 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 the filmmaker behind Gurinder Chadha. The well-known tale unfolds as the tight-fisted Mr Sood is visited by the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future, played by Hugh Bonneville, Billy Porter, and Boy George.
This South Asian reinterpretation is at least different from all the others, but sadly he’s not very captivating and Nayyar’s performance is wooden—a problem when he’s so the focal point.
Festive score: 🎄🎄
There’s time for a major broadcaster's original festive film—which stars Guz Khan as a lovably grouchy guy who “doesn’t really do Christmas.”
But after he is awarded an large festive windfall at work, his wife (starring Morgana Robinson) convinces him blowing the money on a vacation to Lapland.
There’s just one snag—he discovers there was an mistake with his bonus, which should have been £800, and he has to determine how to reimburse the remainder.
Enjoyable but forgettable.
Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄
This is one of those holiday movies where the tree, fairy lights and snow are in the setting—Christmas is the setting of the film rather than its main point—but it feels comfortable and seasonal all the same.
Driven corporate star Sydney (starring Minka Kelly) is sent to a vineyard to secure an acquisition for a champagne business. During her travels, she meets a guy in a book store who vows to show her Christmas in Paris.
A commentator recently claimed this is the top new Christmas film of the last several seasons. That’s a bit of a stretch, but it is a holiday love story with a hint of sophistication and gives the required warm and fuzzy feels.
The scene with a lengthy discussion about Die Hard is particularly strong too.
Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄
Sixteen-year-old Chris, played by Lenny Rush, continues to believe in Father Christmas, despite the efforts of his dad (played by James Buckley) to tell him otherwise.
The secret is somewhere, and Chris ventures forth to find it with the assistance of a group of well-known scientists and personalities.
It’s gentle but sweet, and perfect viewing while waiting for Santa to visit.
Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄
Michelle Pfeiffer is the head of a quarrelling 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 Christmas classics 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 what this is, but in reality it’s really a combination of those forerunner films, at least until Pfeiffer’s character at last takes center stage.
Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄
The day’s taken a dip, but happily here’s a new entry in the packed genre of cliched, saccharine, over-the-top—and utterly watchable—seasonal comfort food.
It’s a tale as familiar as can be: An American woman journeys to a distant snowy land and ends up stumbling across romance.
In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher
Milan is een ervaren opticien met een passie voor visuele technologie en klantgerichtheid.
