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

It is the time of year to lounge on the couch and demolish a tin of festive treats in front of a great film, a poor film, or one that’s so bad it’s good.

As always, a batch of latest Christmas films aims to become part of our festive viewing—perhaps even joining the ranks 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 find the festive feeling, I binged as many new holiday releases as possible in a single day.

Early Morning: A Very Jonas Christmas Movie

Starting, hopefully, on a positive note. This film is the sole 2025 movie on a well-known aggregator's list of the top 100 holiday films of all time.

The musical trio are stuck in the UK after finishing their world tour and must get home for Christmas. Their attempts are hindered by an malevolent Father Christmas, who bursts into melody to declare they won’t get home until they “find their brotherly magic.”

The back-and-forth between the bickering brothers is amusing even for the uninitiated, while fans will no doubt catch lots of references as they try to get back using any means of transport necessary.

It’s a travelogue of mishaps.

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

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

8.45am - Tinsel Town

Hollywood star Kiefer Sutherland has been cast as a movie actor tricked into a "panto".

“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 starring in renowned British drama.

His pantomime co-stars let him know he’s playing Buttons. “Oh no I’m not,” he retorts. It's easy to predict their retort. Unless you’re ignorant of traditional stage call-and-response.

There are some hilarious moments, some heartwarming storylines, and the rest of the cast is cracking, too.

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

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄🎄

A New Spin on Scrooge

An actor pops up at the outset of this film, too, calling someone a mug for the second film in a row. Could this be a budding festive ritual?

This time, he’s a musical taxi operator who picks up Mr Sood, the latest spin 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 the filmmaker behind Gurinder Chadha. The classic narrative progresses 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 South Asian reinterpretation is at least distinct from all the others, but regrettably he’s not very captivating and Nayyar’s performance is flat—a significant issue when he’s so the main character.

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄

12.04pm - Stuffed

There’s time for a major broadcaster's holiday special—which stars Guz Khan as a charmingly cantankerous character who “avoids Christmas.”

But after he is awarded an sizable holiday payout at work, his wife (starring Morgana Robinson) talks him into spending the sum on a holiday to Lapland.

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

Pleasant yet unmemorable.

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄

Early Afternoon: Champagne Problems

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

High-powered businesswoman Sydney (starring Minka Kelly) is assigned to a French chateau to do a deal for a sparkling wine company. During her travels, she encounters a man in a bookshop who offers to show her a festive Paris.

A critic recently claimed this is the finest new Christmas film of the past few years. That’s a bit of a overstatement, but it is a festive dalliance with a dash of elegance and gives the required warm and fuzzy feels.

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

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄

Mid-Afternoon: Finding Father Christmas

Sixteen-year-old Chris, played by Lenny Rush, refuses to stop believing in Father Christmas, regardless of the efforts of his dad (starring James Buckley) to tell him the truth.

The truth is somewhere, and Chris sets out to find it with the guidance of a panel of well-known figures.

It’s understated but charming, and good viewing while anticipating Santa to visit.

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄

A Star-Studded Family Drama

Michelle Pfeiffer is the mother of a bickering American family who come back together for the holidays—including other Oscar nominee Felicity Jones, Chloe Grace Moretz, Jason Schwartzman, and dad Denis Leary.

Pfeiffer starts by mentioning 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 true heroes of the holidays—moms.”

So that’s the concept, but in practice it’s really a jumble of those inspirations, at least until Pfeiffer’s character finally takes center stage.

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄

Evening: A Scottish Christmas Secret

The day’s taken a dip, but thankfully here’s a new offering in the saturated market of predictable, sentimental, cheesy—and highly entertaining—seasonal comfort food.

It’s a story as old as time: An American woman goes on a quest to a far-off wintery locale and ends up stumbling across romance.

In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher