Marathon Viewing The Latest Christmas Films: The Good, The Bad and The So-Bad-It's-Good.

It is the season to slob out on the couch and devour a tin of festive treats in front of a terrific flick, a bad movie, or one that’s awesomely awful.

This year, a batch of fresh holiday movies hopes to be part of our holiday traditions—potentially even finding a spot alongside enduring classics like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (we won’t debate it).

Thus, in a helpful attempt to separate the winners from the losers, and to find the holiday mood, I binged as many recent holiday releases as possible in a single day.

Early Morning: A Very Jonas Christmas Movie

Kicking off, ideally, on a high. This release is the only 2025 entry on a famous website's list of the greatest 100 festive features of all time.

The popular band end up stuck in the UK after finishing their world tour and must get home for Christmas. Their attempts are hindered by an villainous Saint Nick, who sings to state they won’t get home until they “find their familial spark.”

The repartee between the squabbling siblings is enjoyable even for the uninitiated, while devotees will no doubt notice lots of in-jokes as they endeavor 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.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their relatives who are obliged to sit through it.

8.45am - Tinsel Town

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

“A panto-what??” asks Sutherland’s “hard-to-work-with” and older action hero Brad Mack, who has seen better days and whose representative has deceived him into thinking he’s starring in renowned British drama.

His pantomime fellow actors inform him he’s playing Buttons. “Absolutely not,” he protests. One can imagine their response. Unless you’re ignorant of traditional British theatre traditions.

There are some great jokes, some heartwarming storylines, and the ensemble is brilliant, too.

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

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄🎄

10.19am - Christmas Karma

A familiar face appears at the outset of this film, too, insulting someone for the next movie straight. Could this be a budding festive ritual?

This time, he’s a crooning chauffeur 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 well-known tale progresses as the stingy Mr Sood is confronted by the ghosts of Christmas yesterday, today, and tomorrow, played by Hugh Bonneville, Billy Porter, and Boy George.

This cultural adaptation is at least unique from all the others, but unfortunately he’s not very compelling and Nayyar’s portrayal is flat—a major flaw when he’s so central to everything.

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄

12.04pm - Stuffed

Before lunch for a network's Christmas comedy-drama—which stars Guz Khan as a endearingly grumpy man who “doesn’t really do Christmas.”

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

There’s just one issue—he finds out there was an mix-up with his bonus, which should have been £800, and he has to determine how to pay back the excess.

Enjoyable but forgettable.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄

1.12pm - Champagne Problems

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

High-powered businesswoman Sydney (played by Minka Kelly) is sent to a French chateau to do a deal for a champagne business. During her travels, she encounters a guy in a book store who promises to show her Christmas in Paris.

A critic recently declared this is the top new Christmas film of the last several seasons. That’s a bit of a exaggeration, but it is a festive dalliance with a touch of class and gives the obligatory heartwarming sensation.

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

Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄

A Charming Quest

Young Chris, played by Lenny Rush, refuses to stop believing in Father Christmas, in spite of the persuasion of his dad (played by James Buckley) to tell him otherwise.

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

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

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄

Late Afternoon: Oh. What. Fun.

Michelle Pfeiffer is the matriarch of a quarrelling American family who reunite for the holidays—including fellow 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 stating: “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 combination of those forerunner films, at least until Pfeiffer’s character eventually finds her strength.

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄

Evening: A Scottish Christmas Secret

The day’s waned in quality, but thankfully here’s a new addition in the saturated market of cliched, saccharine, over-the-top—and strangely compelling—seasonal comfort food.

It’s a tale as well-worn: An American woman journeys to a distant snowy land and ends up discovering romance.

In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher