Devouring The Latest Holiday Movies: The Hits, The Misses, and The Guilty Pleasures.

It is the time of year to lounge on the sofa and demolish a tin of holiday pastries in front of a great film, a awful feature, or one that’s awesomely awful.

Once again, a selection of new Christmas films strives to join part of our festive viewing—potentially even earning a place alongside timeless staples like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (no arguments).

Therefore, in a noble effort to separate the winners from the losers, and to find the Christmas spirit, I watched as many new festive movies as possible in a single day.

First Up: The Jonas Brothers' Holiday Flick

Starting, hopefully, on a positive note. This film is the sole 2025 entry on a popular review site's list of the top 100 holiday films of all time.

The popular band are stuck in the UK after finishing their world tour and must return for Christmas. Their attempts are hindered by an malevolent Father Christmas, who breaks into song to declare they won’t get home until they “rekindle their sibling bond.”

The back-and-forth between the bickering brothers is enjoyable even for the non-fan, while fans will undoubtedly notice lots of references as they attempt to get back using every mode of travel possible.

It’s private planes, trains and automobiles.

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

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

8.45am - Tinsel Town

Famous performer Kiefer Sutherland appears as a celebrity roped into a traditional British stage show.

“A what's a panto??” asks Sutherland’s “temperamental” and aging lead Brad Mack, who has seen better days and whose representative has misled him into thinking he’s starring in prestigious English theatre.

His Aladdin fellow actors inform him he’s playing Buttons. “No I'm not,” he protests. You can guess their reply. Except if you’re not acquainted with traditional British theatre traditions.

There are some great jokes, some heartwarming sub-plots, and the ensemble is brilliant, too.

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

Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄🎄

A New Spin on Scrooge

A familiar face pops up at the outset of this film, too, calling someone a mug for the second film in a row. Could this be a new Christmas tradition?

This time, he’s a singing black cab driver who collects Mr Sood, the modern take 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 the director of Gurinder Chadha. The well-known tale develops as the tight-fisted Mr Sood is haunted by the spirits 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 sadly he’s not very charismatic and Nayyar’s portrayal is lifeless—a major flaw when he’s so the main character.

Festive score: 🎄🎄

Noon: A BBC Special

Before lunch for a channel's original festive film—which stars Guz Khan as a charmingly cantankerous character who “isn't big on Christmas.”

But after he gets an sizable holiday payout at work, his wife (portrayed by Morgana Robinson) convinces him spending the sum on a family trip to Lapland.

There’s just one snag—he learns there was an error with his bonus, which should have been £800, and he has to figure out how to pay back the difference.

Pleasant yet unmemorable.

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄

1.12pm - Champagne Problems

This is one of those Christmas films where the decorations and snow are in the background—Christmas is the scene of the film rather than its main point—but it feels warm and holiday-like all the same.

Ambitious executive Sydney (played by Minka Kelly) is sent to a vineyard to negotiate a purchase for a sparkling wine company. On the way, she meets a fellow in a bookshop who promises to show her a festive Paris.

An expert recently stated this is the finest new Christmas film of the last several seasons. That’s a bit of a exaggeration, but it is a festive dalliance with a hint of sophistication and gives the obligatory warm and fuzzy feels.

The scene with a extended debate about Die Hard is notable too.

Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄

A Charming Quest

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

The secret is to be discovered, and Chris embarks on a quest to find it with the guidance of a group of well-known scientists and personalities.

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

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄

Late Afternoon: Oh. What. Fun.

Michelle Pfeiffer is the matriarch of a bickering American family who reunite for the holidays—including fellow 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 stating: “They need to make a movie about the true heroes of the holidays—moms.”

So that’s what this is, but in practice it’s really a mash-up of those forerunner films, at least until Pfeiffer’s character eventually comes into her own.

Festive score: 🎄🎄

Formulaic Fun

The day’s waned in quality, but thankfully here’s a new offering in the crowded field of predictable, sentimental, cheesy—and strangely compelling—festive fodder.

It’s a narrative as old as time: An American woman travels to a far-off wintery locale and ends up discovering romance.

In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher