🔗 Share this article Devouring 2025's Holiday Movies: The Hits, The Misses, and The Guilty Pleasures. It is the season to lounge on the couch and devour a box of mince pies in front of a terrific flick, a bad movie, or one that’s so bad it’s good. This year, a batch of latest holiday movies strives to join part of our festive viewing—maybe even joining the ranks alongside timeless staples like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (no arguments). Thus, in a noble effort to sort the crackers from the turkeys, and to embrace the festive feeling, I watched as many new festive movies as possible in a single day. Early Morning: A Very Jonas Christmas Movie Beginning, hopefully, on a good foot. This film is the sole 2025 entry on a well-known aggregator's list of the best 100 festive features of all time. The popular band end up stranded in the UK after wrapping up their world tour and must make it back for Christmas. Their efforts are hampered by an malevolent Father Christmas, who bursts into melody to declare they won’t get home until they “find their familial spark.” The banter between the squabbling siblings is enjoyable even for the uninitiated, while fans will no doubt catch lots of easter eggs as they try to get back using any means of transport necessary. It’s a travelogue of mishaps. It’s not legendary, but is great for devotees and a solid 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 Hollywood star Kiefer Sutherland has been cast as a Hollywood star cast a traditional British stage show. “A panto-what??” asks Sutherland’s “temperamental” and ageing lead Brad Mack, who has seen better days and whose representative has misled him into thinking he’s starring in prestigious English theatre. His pantomime fellow actors let him know he’s playing Buttons. “Oh no I’m not,” he retorts. One can imagine their reply. Unless you’re ignorant of traditional British theatre traditions. There are some very funny lines, some cockle-warming sub-plots, and the ensemble is excellent, too. It’s the kind of movie that would be a bit naff at any other time of year, but is a great entertainment at Christmas. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄🎄 Mid-Morning: Christmas Karma A familiar face appears at the start of this film, too, insulting someone for the next movie straight. Might this become a budding festive ritual? This time, he’s a crooning chauffeur who collects Mr Sood, the modern take 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 Bend It Like Beckham’s Gurinder Chadha. The well-known tale progresses 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 South Asian reinterpretation is at least unique from all the others, but regrettably he’s not very captivating and Nayyar’s performance is wooden—a major flaw when he’s so the focal point. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄 12.04pm - Stuffed There's just enough time for a major broadcaster's Christmas comedy-drama—which stars Guz Khan as a endearingly grumpy man who “isn't big on Christmas.” But after he receives an large festive windfall at work, his wife (starring Morgana Robinson) talks him into spending the sum on a vacation to Lapland. There’s just one issue—he learns there was an mistake with his bonus, which should have been £800, and he has to devise a plan for how to return the excess. Enjoyable but forgettable. Festive score: 🎄🎄 1.12pm - Champagne Problems This is one of those Christmas films where the tree, fairy lights and snow are in the setting—Christmas is the environment 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 dispatched to a vineyard to secure an acquisition for a sparkling wine company. During her travels, she runs into a man in a book store who promises to show her the holidays in the City of Light. An expert 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 dash of elegance and gives the required cozy feelings. The scene with a detailed conversation about Die Hard is very good too. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄 A Charming Quest Teenage Chris, played by Lenny Rush, refuses to stop believing in Father Christmas, despite the attempts of his dad (starring James Buckley) to tell him otherwise. The secret is somewhere, and Chris embarks on a quest to find it with the assistance of a group of well-known scientists and personalities. It’s low-key but sweet, and perfect viewing while waiting for Santa to visit. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄 4.39pm - Oh. What. Fun. Michelle Pfeiffer is the head of a dysfunctional American family who come back together for the holidays—including fellow Oscar nominee Felicity Jones, Chloe Grace Moretz, Jason Schwartzman, and dad Denis Leary. Pfeiffer starts by mentioning classic festive films like National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, It’s A Wonderful Life and Home Alone, before declaring: “They need to make a movie about the true heroes of the holidays—moms.” So that’s the concept, but in reality it’s really a jumble of those forerunner films, at least until Pfeiffer’s character at last comes into her own. Festive score: 🎄🎄 Formulaic Fun The day’s waned in quality, but fortunately here’s a new entry in the saturated market of formulaic, schmaltzy, badly acted—and utterly watchable—holiday fare. It’s a narrative as familiar as can be: An American woman journeys to a far-off wintery locale and ends up discovering romance. In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher
It is the season to lounge on the couch and devour a box of mince pies in front of a terrific flick, a bad movie, or one that’s so bad it’s good. This year, a batch of latest holiday movies strives to join part of our festive viewing—maybe even joining the ranks alongside timeless staples like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (no arguments). Thus, in a noble effort to sort the crackers from the turkeys, and to embrace the festive feeling, I watched as many new festive movies as possible in a single day. Early Morning: A Very Jonas Christmas Movie Beginning, hopefully, on a good foot. This film is the sole 2025 entry on a well-known aggregator's list of the best 100 festive features of all time. The popular band end up stranded in the UK after wrapping up their world tour and must make it back for Christmas. Their efforts are hampered by an malevolent Father Christmas, who bursts into melody to declare they won’t get home until they “find their familial spark.” The banter between the squabbling siblings is enjoyable even for the uninitiated, while fans will no doubt catch lots of easter eggs as they try to get back using any means of transport necessary. It’s a travelogue of mishaps. It’s not legendary, but is great for devotees and a solid 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 Hollywood star Kiefer Sutherland has been cast as a Hollywood star cast a traditional British stage show. “A panto-what??” asks Sutherland’s “temperamental” and ageing lead Brad Mack, who has seen better days and whose representative has misled him into thinking he’s starring in prestigious English theatre. His pantomime fellow actors let him know he’s playing Buttons. “Oh no I’m not,” he retorts. One can imagine their reply. Unless you’re ignorant of traditional British theatre traditions. There are some very funny lines, some cockle-warming sub-plots, and the ensemble is excellent, too. It’s the kind of movie that would be a bit naff at any other time of year, but is a great entertainment at Christmas. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄🎄 Mid-Morning: Christmas Karma A familiar face appears at the start of this film, too, insulting someone for the next movie straight. Might this become a budding festive ritual? This time, he’s a crooning chauffeur who collects Mr Sood, the modern take 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 Bend It Like Beckham’s Gurinder Chadha. The well-known tale progresses 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 South Asian reinterpretation is at least unique from all the others, but regrettably he’s not very captivating and Nayyar’s performance is wooden—a major flaw when he’s so the focal point. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄 12.04pm - Stuffed There's just enough time for a major broadcaster's Christmas comedy-drama—which stars Guz Khan as a endearingly grumpy man who “isn't big on Christmas.” But after he receives an large festive windfall at work, his wife (starring Morgana Robinson) talks him into spending the sum on a vacation to Lapland. There’s just one issue—he learns there was an mistake with his bonus, which should have been £800, and he has to devise a plan for how to return the excess. Enjoyable but forgettable. Festive score: 🎄🎄 1.12pm - Champagne Problems This is one of those Christmas films where the tree, fairy lights and snow are in the setting—Christmas is the environment 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 dispatched to a vineyard to secure an acquisition for a sparkling wine company. During her travels, she runs into a man in a book store who promises to show her the holidays in the City of Light. An expert 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 dash of elegance and gives the required cozy feelings. The scene with a detailed conversation about Die Hard is very good too. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄 A Charming Quest Teenage Chris, played by Lenny Rush, refuses to stop believing in Father Christmas, despite the attempts of his dad (starring James Buckley) to tell him otherwise. The secret is somewhere, and Chris embarks on a quest to find it with the assistance of a group of well-known scientists and personalities. It’s low-key but sweet, and perfect viewing while waiting for Santa to visit. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄 4.39pm - Oh. What. Fun. Michelle Pfeiffer is the head of a dysfunctional American family who come back together for the holidays—including fellow Oscar nominee Felicity Jones, Chloe Grace Moretz, Jason Schwartzman, and dad Denis Leary. Pfeiffer starts by mentioning classic festive films like National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, It’s A Wonderful Life and Home Alone, before declaring: “They need to make a movie about the true heroes of the holidays—moms.” So that’s the concept, but in reality it’s really a jumble of those forerunner films, at least until Pfeiffer’s character at last comes into her own. Festive score: 🎄🎄 Formulaic Fun The day’s waned in quality, but fortunately here’s a new entry in the saturated market of formulaic, schmaltzy, badly acted—and utterly watchable—holiday fare. It’s a narrative as familiar as can be: An American woman journeys to a far-off wintery locale and ends up discovering romance. In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher