Marathon Viewing 2025's Holiday Movies: The Good, The Bad and The So-Bad-It's-Good.

‘Tis the season to relax on the sofa and demolish a tin of mince pies in front of a good movie, a poor film, or one that’s awesomely awful.

As always, a crop of new holiday movies strives to join part of our holiday traditions—maybe even joining the ranks alongside timeless staples like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (don’t start).

Therefore, in a helpful attempt to separate the winners from the losers, and to find the festive feeling, I binged as many recent holiday releases as possible in a single day.

First Up: The Jonas Brothers' Holiday Flick

Beginning, optimistically, on a positive note. This is the sole 2025 movie on a popular review site's list of the best 100 holiday films of all time.

The popular band end up trapped in the UK after concluding their international trek and must return for Christmas. Their endeavors are thwarted by an evil Santa, who breaks into song to declare they won’t get home until they “rekindle their familial spark.”

The back-and-forth between the squabbling siblings is entertaining even for the casual viewer, while devotees will certainly catch lots of in-jokes as they attempt to get back using all transportation available.

It’s a journey of epic proportions.

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

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

Next: A Star in Panto

A-list actor Kiefer Sutherland has been cast as a Hollywood star tricked into a pantomime.

“A panto-what?” asks Sutherland’s “hard-to-work-with” and ageing star Brad Mack, who has seen better days and whose manager has deceived him into thinking he’s starring in prestigious English theatre.

His Aladdin co-stars tell him he’s playing Buttons. “No I'm not,” he protests. It's easy to predict their retort. Except if you’re unfamiliar with traditional British theatre traditions.

There are some great jokes, some cockle-warming side stories, and the supporting actors is brilliant, too.

It’s the type of film that would be a bit cheesy at any other time of year, but is a highly enjoyable at Christmas.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄🎄

A New Spin on Scrooge

A familiar face pops up at the start of this film, too, calling someone a mug for the next movie straight. Could this be a new Christmas tradition?

This time, he’s a crooning chauffeur who picks up Mr Sood, the latest spin 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 the filmmaker behind 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 unfortunately he’s not very compelling and Nayyar’s performance is wooden—a significant issue when he’s so the main character.

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄

Lunchtime: Stuffed

Before lunch 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 £8,000 Christmas bonus at work, his wife (played by Morgana Robinson) talks him into spending the sum 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 return the excess.

Pleasant yet unmemorable.

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄

1.12pm - Champagne Problems

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

High-powered businesswoman Sydney (starring Minka Kelly) is assigned to a country estate to negotiate a purchase for a champagne business. En route, she encounters a guy in a book store who promises to show her a festive Paris.

A commentator recently claimed this is the finest new Christmas film of the past few years. That’s a bit of a stretch, but it is a Christmas romance with a dash of elegance and gives the required cozy feelings.

The scene with a lengthy discussion about Die Hard is very good too.

Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄

A Charming Quest

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

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

It’s low-key but charming, and ideal viewing while waiting for Santa to visit.

Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄

Late Afternoon: Oh. What. Fun.

Michelle Pfeiffer is the matriarch 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 opens by name-dropping holiday staples like National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, It’s A Wonderful Life and Home Alone, before saying: “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 at last comes into her own.

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄

Formulaic Fun

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

It’s a narrative as familiar as can be: An American woman journeys to a distant snowy land and ends up finding romance.

In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher