Devouring This Year's Holiday Movies: The Hits, The Misses, and The Guilty Pleasures.

‘Tis the time of year to lounge on the sofa and devour a packet of mince pies in front of a good movie, a awful feature, or one that’s so bad it’s good.

As always, a selection of fresh holiday movies strives to join part of our holiday traditions—potentially even earning a place alongside enduring classics like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (don’t start).

Therefore, in a vital public service to separate the winners from the losers, and to get into the festive feeling, I binged as many new holiday releases as possible in a single day.

7.17am - A Very Jonas Christmas Movie

Kicking off, hopefully, on a good foot. This is the exclusive 2025 movie on a well-known aggregator's list of the best 100 festive features of all time.

The musical trio find themselves trapped in the UK after wrapping up their global concert series 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 familial spark.”

The repartee between the arguing trio is amusing even for the casual viewer, while devotees will undoubtedly pick up on lots of references 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.

Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their relatives who will have to sit through it.

8.45am - Tinsel Town

Famous performer Kiefer Sutherland appears as a Hollywood star tricked into a traditional British stage show.

“A panto-what??” asks Sutherland’s “temperamental” and older lead Brad Mack, who has seen better days and whose manager has deceived him into thinking he’s starring in high-class London stage.

His pantomime cast-mates tell him he’s playing Buttons. “Absolutely not,” he insists angrily. It's easy to predict their reply. Except if you’re ignorant of traditional British theatre traditions.

There are some hilarious moments, some cockle-warming side stories, and the rest of the cast is brilliant, too.

It’s the type of film that would be a bit naff at another season, but is a great entertainment at Christmas.

Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄🎄

Mid-Morning: Christmas Karma

Danny Dyer shows up at the beginning of this film, too, calling someone a mug for the second film in a row. 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 an actor from Kunal Nayyar and Christmas Karma is directed by Bend It Like Beckham’s Gurinder Chadha. The classic narrative progresses as the tight-fisted Mr Sood is confronted by the ghosts of Christmas yesterday, today, and tomorrow, played by Hugh Bonneville, Billy Porter, and Boy George.

This South Asian reinterpretation is at least different from all the others, but unfortunately he’s not very charismatic and Nayyar’s performance is flat—a major flaw when he’s so the main character.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄

12.04pm - Stuffed

There's just enough time for a major broadcaster's holiday special—which stars Guz Khan as a endearingly grumpy man who “doesn’t really do Christmas.”

But after he is awarded an large festive windfall at work, his wife (portrayed by Morgana Robinson) convinces him spending the sum on a family trip to Lapland.

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

Fun while it lasts but not lasting.

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 environment of the film rather than its main point—but it feels comfortable and seasonal all the same.

Ambitious executive Sydney (played by Minka Kelly) is dispatched to a vineyard to negotiate a purchase for a champagne business. During her travels, she encounters a guy in a book store who vows to show her the holidays in the City of Light.

A commentator recently claimed this is the top new Christmas film of the recent era. That’s a bit of a overstatement, but it is a holiday love story with a touch of class and gives the required cozy feelings.

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

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄

Mid-Afternoon: Finding Father Christmas

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

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

It’s low-key but sweet, and good viewing while anticipating Santa to visit.

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄

Late Afternoon: Oh. What. Fun.

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

Pfeiffer starts by mentioning Christmas classics like National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, It’s A Wonderful Life and Home Alone, before declaring: “They need to make a movie about the unsung heroes of the holidays—moms.”

So that’s the concept, but in reality it’s really a jumble of those inspirations, at least until Pfeiffer’s character eventually comes into her own.

Festive score: 🎄🎄

6.43pm - A Scottish Christmas Secret

The day’s waned in quality, but fortunately here’s a new addition in the crowded field of predictable, sentimental, cheesy—and highly entertaining—seasonal comfort food.

It’s a narrative as well-worn: An American woman travels to a distant snowy land and ends up finding romance.

In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher