Binge-Watching 2025's Christmas Films: Highlights, Lowlights, and Unexpected Delights.

‘Tis the time of year to slob out on the couch and devour a box of holiday pastries in front of a great film, a poor film, or one that’s awesomely awful.

This year, a crop of latest holiday movies strives to join part of our holiday traditions—perhaps even joining the ranks alongside beloved favorites like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (don’t start).

Thus, in a helpful attempt to distinguish the gems from the coal, and to get into the festive feeling, I marathoned as many new holiday releases as possible in a single day.

Early Morning: A Very Jonas Christmas Movie

Kicking off, ideally, on a good foot. This film is the only 2025 entry on a famous website's list of the greatest 100 festive features of all time.

The musical trio find themselves stuck in the UK after finishing their world tour and must make it back for Christmas. Their efforts are hampered by an villainous Saint Nick, who bursts into melody to announce they won’t get home until they “rekindle their sibling bond.”

The back-and-forth between the bickering brothers is entertaining even for the uninitiated, while devotees will certainly pick up on lots of in-jokes as they endeavor to get back using all transportation available.

It’s private planes, trains and automobiles.

It’s not a timeless masterpiece, but is great for fans and a good start to the day.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their loved ones who are obliged to sit through it.

8.45am - Tinsel Town

A-list actor Kiefer Sutherland stars as a Hollywood star tricked into a traditional British stage show.

“A panto-what?” asks Sutherland’s “hard-to-work-with” and aging lead Brad Mack, who has hit a rough patch and whose manager has tricked him into thinking he’s performing in high-class London stage.

His Aladdin cast-mates let him know he’s playing Buttons. “No I'm not,” he protests. You can guess their retort. Except if you’re ignorant of traditional panto catchphrases.

There are some hilarious moments, 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 naff at any other time of year, but is a highly enjoyable at Christmas.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄🎄

10.19am - Christmas Karma

Danny Dyer shows up at the outset of this film, too, insulting someone for the next movie straight. Might this become a fresh holiday staple?

This time, he’s a singing black cab driver who encounters Mr Sood, the newest interpretation 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 Bend It Like Beckham’s Gurinder Chadha. The well-known tale develops as the stingy Mr Sood is haunted by the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future, played by Hugh Bonneville, Billy Porter, and Boy George.

This cultural adaptation is at least distinct from all the others, but regrettably he’s not very compelling and Nayyar’s performance is wooden—a significant issue when he’s so the focal point.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄

Noon: A BBC Special

There’s time for a network's original festive film—which stars Guz Khan as a endearingly grumpy man who “doesn’t really do Christmas.”

But after he receives an sizable holiday payout at work, his wife (played by Morgana Robinson) convinces him splurging the cash on a family trip to Lapland.

There’s just one issue—he learns there was an mistake with his bonus, which should have been £800, and he has to figure out how to return the excess.

Fun while it lasts but not lasting.

Festive score: 🎄🎄

Early Afternoon: Champagne Problems

This is one of those Christmas films where the tree, fairy lights and snow 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.

Driven corporate star Sydney (starring Minka Kelly) is assigned to a vineyard to secure an acquisition for a sparkling wine company. On the way, she encounters a man in a bookshop who vows 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 dash of elegance and gives the obligatory heartwarming sensation.

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

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄

Mid-Afternoon: Finding Father Christmas

Teenage Chris, played by Lenny Rush, continues to believe in Father Christmas, regardless of the attempts of his dad (played by James Buckley) to tell him otherwise.

The answer is out there, and Chris sets out to find it with the assistance of a team of well-known scientists and personalities.

It’s understated but sweet, and perfect viewing while expecting Santa to visit.

Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄

Late Afternoon: Oh. What. Fun.

Michelle Pfeiffer is the matriarch of a quarrelling American family who reunite for the holidays—including other Oscar nominee Felicity Jones, Chloe Grace Moretz, Jason Schwartzman, and dad Denis Leary.

Pfeiffer opens by name-dropping Christmas classics 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 the premise, but in execution it’s really a jumble of those forerunner films, at least until Pfeiffer’s character finally finds her strength.

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄

Formulaic Fun

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 story as well-worn: An American woman travels to a far-off wintery locale and ends up stumbling across romance.

In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher