Devouring The Latest Christmas Films: The Hits, The Misses, and The Guilty Pleasures.

It is the season to slob out on the sofa and devour a packet of holiday pastries in front of a good movie, a awful feature, or one that’s terrible yet terrific.

This year, a batch of new seasonal stories aims to become part of our seasonal watchlist—perhaps even earning a place alongside beloved favorites like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (don’t start).

Therefore, in a helpful attempt to distinguish the gems from the coal, and to embrace the Christmas spirit, I binged as many recent festive movies as possible in a single day.

7.17am - A Very Jonas Christmas Movie

Beginning, hopefully, on a high. This release is the exclusive 2025 movie on a popular review site's list of the top 100 Christmas movies of all time.

The musical trio are stuck in the UK after wrapping up their global concert series and must get home for Christmas. Their attempts are hampered by an malevolent Father Christmas, who bursts into melody to announce they won’t get home until they “rediscover their brotherly magic.”

The back-and-forth between the squabbling siblings is entertaining even for the uninitiated, while followers will undoubtedly notice lots of easter eggs as they try 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 fans and a good start to the day.

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

Late Morning: Tinsel Town

Famous performer Kiefer Sutherland appears as a celebrity cast a pantomime.

“A what's a panto??” asks Sutherland’s “temperamental” and older star Brad Mack, who has fallen on hard times and whose representative has misled him into thinking he’s performing in high-class London stage.

His Aladdin fellow actors inform him he’s playing Buttons. “Absolutely not,” he insists angrily. You can guess their reply. That is, unless you’re unfamiliar with traditional stage call-and-response.

There are some hilarious moments, some heartwarming sub-plots, and the ensemble 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.

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄🎄

A New Spin on Scrooge

A familiar face pops up at the beginning of this film, too, insulting someone for the second film in a row. Could this be a fresh holiday staple?

This time, he’s a crooning chauffeur who collects Mr Sood, the newest interpretation 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 well-known tale develops as the tight-fisted Mr Sood is visited by the spirits of Christmas yesterday, today, and tomorrow, played by Hugh Bonneville, Billy Porter, and Boy George.

This Indian Scrooge is at least different from all the others, but sadly he’s not very compelling and Nayyar’s acting is lifeless—a significant issue when he’s so central to everything.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄

Lunchtime: Stuffed

There’s time for a major broadcaster's Christmas comedy-drama—which stars Guz Khan as a endearingly grumpy man who “avoids Christmas.”

But after he receives an sizable holiday payout at work, his wife (played by Morgana Robinson) talks him into blowing the money on a vacation to Lapland.

There’s just one problem—he discovers there was an mix-up with his bonus, which should have been £800, and he has to figure out how to return the excess.

Enjoyable but forgettable.

Festive score: 🎄🎄

1.12pm - Champagne Problems

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

Ambitious executive Sydney (starring Minka Kelly) is sent to a French chateau to negotiate a purchase for a sparkling wine company. During her travels, she runs into a guy in a bookshop who promises to show her a festive Paris.

A commentator recently stated this is the finest new Christmas film of the past few years. That’s a bit of a exaggeration, but it is a Christmas romance with a touch of class and gives the obligatory cozy feelings.

The scene with a detailed conversation about Die Hard is particularly strong too.

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄

Mid-Afternoon: Finding Father Christmas

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

The secret is to be discovered, and Chris embarks on a quest to find it with the expert help of a group of well-known experts and celebrities.

It’s low-key but charming, and perfect viewing while expecting Santa to visit.

Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄

Late Afternoon: Oh. What. Fun.

Michelle Pfeiffer is the mother of a dysfunctional American family who reunite for the holidays—including other acclaimed actress Felicity Jones, Chloe Grace Moretz, Jason Schwartzman, and dad Denis Leary.

Pfeiffer opens by name-dropping holiday staples 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 the premise, but in reality it’s really a mash-up of those aforementioned movies, at least until Pfeiffer’s character eventually comes into her own.

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄

6.43pm - A Scottish Christmas Secret

The day’s taken a dip, but thankfully here’s a new offering in the crowded field of formulaic, schmaltzy, badly acted—and strangely compelling—festive fodder.

It’s a narrative as old as time: An American woman travels to a picturesque cold country and ends up discovering romance.

In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher