🔗 Share this article Binge-Watching The Latest Christmas Films: The Hits, The Misses, and The Guilty Pleasures. It is the season to relax on the couch and devour a tin of holiday pastries in front of a great film, a poor film, or one that’s awesomely awful. This year, a crop of fresh holiday movies aims to become part of our festive viewing—potentially even finding a spot alongside beloved favorites like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (no arguments). Thus, in a vital public service to separate the winners from the losers, and to embrace the holiday mood, I watched as many fresh Christmas films as possible in a single day. Early Morning: A Very Jonas Christmas Movie Kicking off, hopefully, on a good foot. This is the sole 2025 movie on a well-known aggregator's list of the top 100 festive features of all time. The popular band are trapped in the UK after wrapping up their world tour and must make it back for Christmas. Their attempts are thwarted by an villainous Saint Nick, who sings to declare they won’t get home until they “rekindle their sibling bond.” The back-and-forth between the bickering brothers is amusing even for the non-fan, while fans will no doubt catch lots of references as they try to get back using any means of transport necessary. It’s a journey of epic proportions. It’s not legendary, but is superb for devotees and a positive start to the day. Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their loved ones who will have to sit through it. Next: A Star in Panto Hollywood star Kiefer Sutherland has been cast as a celebrity roped into a "panto". “A panto-what?” asks Sutherland’s “hard-to-work-with” and older action hero Brad Mack, who has hit a rough patch and whose agent has deceived him into thinking he’s performing in renowned British drama. His pantomime co-stars tell him he’s playing Buttons. “Oh no I’m not,” he insists angrily. You can guess their reply. Except if you’re not acquainted with traditional panto catchphrases. There are some hilarious moments, some touching storylines, and the ensemble is brilliant, too. It’s the type of film that would be a bit naff at a different time, but is a great entertainment at Christmas. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄🎄 10.19am - Christmas Karma Danny Dyer appears at the beginning of this film, too, insulting someone for the second film in a row. Could this be a new Christmas tradition? This time, he’s a crooning chauffeur who collects Mr Sood, the latest spin 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 classic narrative unfolds as the miserly Mr Sood is visited by the ghosts of Christmas yesterday, today, and tomorrow, played by Hugh Bonneville, Billy Porter, and Boy George. This Indian Scrooge is at least unique from all the others, but regrettably he’s not very captivating and Nayyar’s portrayal is flat—a major flaw when he’s so the main character. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄 Lunchtime: Stuffed There's just enough time for a network's Christmas comedy-drama—which stars Guz Khan as a lovably grouchy guy 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 snag—he learns there was an error with his bonus, which should have been £800, and he has to determine how to return the excess. Enjoyable but forgettable. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄 1.12pm - Champagne Problems This is one of those holiday movies where the tree, fairy lights and snow are in the setting—Christmas is the setting 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 sent to a country estate to secure an acquisition for a champagne business. During her travels, she encounters a man in a bookshop who vows to show her a festive Paris. An expert recently declared this is the best new Christmas film of the last several seasons. That’s a bit of a overstatement, but it is a Christmas romance with a hint of sophistication and gives the necessary heartwarming sensation. The scene with a lengthy discussion about Die Hard is particularly strong too. Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄 A Charming Quest Young Chris, played by Lenny Rush, continues to believe in Father Christmas, regardless of the efforts of his dad (starring James Buckley) to tell him the truth. The truth is somewhere, and Chris embarks on a quest to find it with the expert help of a group of well-known experts and celebrities. It’s low-key but endearing, and good viewing while expecting Santa to visit. Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄 4.39pm - Oh. What. Fun. Michelle Pfeiffer is the matriarch of a bickering American family who come back together for the holidays—including other acclaimed actress 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 declaring: “They need to make a movie about the unsung heroes of the holidays—moms.” So that’s what this is, but in reality it’s really a mash-up of those forerunner films, at least until Pfeiffer’s character finally comes into her own. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄 6.43pm - A Scottish Christmas Secret The day’s taken a dip, but thankfully here’s a new offering in the saturated market of cliched, saccharine, over-the-top—and utterly watchable—festive fodder. It’s a tale as well-worn: An American woman journeys to a far-off wintery locale and ends up stumbling across romance. In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher
It is the season to relax on the couch and devour a tin of holiday pastries in front of a great film, a poor film, or one that’s awesomely awful. This year, a crop of fresh holiday movies aims to become part of our festive viewing—potentially even finding a spot alongside beloved favorites like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (no arguments). Thus, in a vital public service to separate the winners from the losers, and to embrace the holiday mood, I watched as many fresh Christmas films as possible in a single day. Early Morning: A Very Jonas Christmas Movie Kicking off, hopefully, on a good foot. This is the sole 2025 movie on a well-known aggregator's list of the top 100 festive features of all time. The popular band are trapped in the UK after wrapping up their world tour and must make it back for Christmas. Their attempts are thwarted by an villainous Saint Nick, who sings to declare they won’t get home until they “rekindle their sibling bond.” The back-and-forth between the bickering brothers is amusing even for the non-fan, while fans will no doubt catch lots of references as they try to get back using any means of transport necessary. It’s a journey of epic proportions. It’s not legendary, but is superb for devotees and a positive start to the day. Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their loved ones who will have to sit through it. Next: A Star in Panto Hollywood star Kiefer Sutherland has been cast as a celebrity roped into a "panto". “A panto-what?” asks Sutherland’s “hard-to-work-with” and older action hero Brad Mack, who has hit a rough patch and whose agent has deceived him into thinking he’s performing in renowned British drama. His pantomime co-stars tell him he’s playing Buttons. “Oh no I’m not,” he insists angrily. You can guess their reply. Except if you’re not acquainted with traditional panto catchphrases. There are some hilarious moments, some touching storylines, and the ensemble is brilliant, too. It’s the type of film that would be a bit naff at a different time, but is a great entertainment at Christmas. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄🎄 10.19am - Christmas Karma Danny Dyer appears at the beginning of this film, too, insulting someone for the second film in a row. Could this be a new Christmas tradition? This time, he’s a crooning chauffeur who collects Mr Sood, the latest spin 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 classic narrative unfolds as the miserly Mr Sood is visited by the ghosts of Christmas yesterday, today, and tomorrow, played by Hugh Bonneville, Billy Porter, and Boy George. This Indian Scrooge is at least unique from all the others, but regrettably he’s not very captivating and Nayyar’s portrayal is flat—a major flaw when he’s so the main character. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄 Lunchtime: Stuffed There's just enough time for a network's Christmas comedy-drama—which stars Guz Khan as a lovably grouchy guy 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 snag—he learns there was an error with his bonus, which should have been £800, and he has to determine how to return the excess. Enjoyable but forgettable. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄 1.12pm - Champagne Problems This is one of those holiday movies where the tree, fairy lights and snow are in the setting—Christmas is the setting 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 sent to a country estate to secure an acquisition for a champagne business. During her travels, she encounters a man in a bookshop who vows to show her a festive Paris. An expert recently declared this is the best new Christmas film of the last several seasons. That’s a bit of a overstatement, but it is a Christmas romance with a hint of sophistication and gives the necessary heartwarming sensation. The scene with a lengthy discussion about Die Hard is particularly strong too. Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄 A Charming Quest Young Chris, played by Lenny Rush, continues to believe in Father Christmas, regardless of the efforts of his dad (starring James Buckley) to tell him the truth. The truth is somewhere, and Chris embarks on a quest to find it with the expert help of a group of well-known experts and celebrities. It’s low-key but endearing, and good viewing while expecting Santa to visit. Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄 4.39pm - Oh. What. Fun. Michelle Pfeiffer is the matriarch of a bickering American family who come back together for the holidays—including other acclaimed actress 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 declaring: “They need to make a movie about the unsung heroes of the holidays—moms.” So that’s what this is, but in reality it’s really a mash-up of those forerunner films, at least until Pfeiffer’s character finally comes into her own. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄 6.43pm - A Scottish Christmas Secret The day’s taken a dip, but thankfully here’s a new offering in the saturated market of cliched, saccharine, over-the-top—and utterly watchable—festive fodder. It’s a tale as well-worn: An American woman journeys to a far-off wintery locale and ends up stumbling across romance. In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher