Devouring 2025's 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 packet of holiday pastries in front of a terrific flick, a bad movie, or one that’s awesomely awful.

As always, a crop of fresh Christmas films hopes to be part of our seasonal watchlist—potentially even finding a spot alongside timeless staples like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (don’t start).

Therefore, in a noble effort to separate the winners from the losers, and to embrace the festive feeling, I watched as many recent Christmas films as possible in a single day.

First Up: The Jonas Brothers' Holiday Flick

Starting, ideally, on a positive note. This film is the sole 2025 movie on a well-known aggregator's list of the greatest 100 festive features of all time.

The musical trio are trapped in the UK after concluding their world tour and must make it back for Christmas. Their endeavors are hindered by an malevolent Father Christmas, who sings to announce they won’t get home until they “find their familial spark.”

The banter between the bickering brothers is entertaining even for the uninitiated, while followers will no doubt notice lots of references as they endeavor to get back using any means of transport necessary.

It’s a journey of epic proportions.

It’s not legendary, but is great for devotees and a solid start to the day.

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

8.45am - Tinsel Town

Hollywood star Kiefer Sutherland stars as a Hollywood star cast a pantomime.

“A panto-what?” asks Sutherland’s “difficult” and aging action hero Brad Mack, who has fallen on hard times and whose manager has misled him into thinking he’s performing in prestigious English theatre.

His pantomime co-stars let him know he’s playing Buttons. “Oh no I’m not,” he insists angrily. You can guess their retort. That is, unless you’re not acquainted with traditional stage call-and-response.

There are some hilarious moments, some heartwarming storylines, and the ensemble is cracking, too.

It’s the type of film that would be a bit tacky at another season, but is a lot of fun at Christmas.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄🎄

A New Spin on Scrooge

A familiar face shows up at the outset of this film, too, delivering a signature line 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 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 well-known tale develops 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 Indian Scrooge is at least unique from all the others, but regrettably he’s not very compelling and Nayyar’s performance is wooden—a major flaw when he’s so the main character.

Festive score: 🎄🎄

Noon: A BBC Special

Before lunch for a major broadcaster's holiday special—which stars Guz Khan as a lovably grouchy guy who “avoids Christmas.”

But after he is awarded an £8,000 Christmas bonus at work, his wife (played by Morgana Robinson) persuades him spending the sum on a family trip to Lapland.

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

Pleasant yet unmemorable.

Festive score: 🎄🎄

A Classy Netflix Romance

This is one of those holiday movies where the decorations and snow are in the background—Christmas is the setting of the film rather than its raison d’etre—but it feels warm and holiday-like all the same.

Ambitious executive Sydney (starring Minka Kelly) is assigned to a country estate to secure an acquisition for a champagne business. During her travels, she meets a man in a bookshop who offers to show her the holidays in the City of Light.

A critic recently declared this is the best new Christmas film of the recent era. That’s a bit of a stretch, but it is a holiday love story with a dash of elegance and gives the required heartwarming sensation.

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

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄

Mid-Afternoon: Finding Father Christmas

Sixteen-year-old Chris, played by Lenny Rush, holds onto his belief in Father Christmas, in spite of the efforts of his dad (played by James Buckley) to tell him the reality.

The truth is out there, and Chris embarks on a quest to find it with the assistance of a team of well-known scientists and personalities.

It’s gentle but sweet, and perfect viewing while anticipating Santa to visit.

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄

Late Afternoon: Oh. What. Fun.

Michelle Pfeiffer is the mother of a dysfunctional American family who gather for the holidays—including other Oscar nominee 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 unsung heroes of the holidays—moms.”

So that’s what this is, but in execution it’s really a combination of those aforementioned movies, at least until Pfeiffer’s character eventually comes into her own.

Festive score: 🎄🎄

Formulaic Fun

The day’s gone downhill, but thankfully here’s a new addition in the crowded field of formulaic, schmaltzy, badly acted—and highly entertaining—festive fodder.

It’s a story as familiar as can be: An American woman journeys to a picturesque cold country and ends up stumbling across romance.

In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher