Binge-Watching 2025's Christmas Films: Highlights, Lowlights, and Unexpected Delights.

It is the time of year to relax on the sofa and devour a tin of holiday pastries in front of a great film, a awful feature, or one that’s awesomely awful.

Once again, a crop of latest Christmas films aims to become 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).

Thus, in a noble effort to sort the crackers from the turkeys, and to get into the festive feeling, I watched 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 film is the exclusive 2025 movie on a famous website's list of the best 100 holiday films of all time.

The musical trio find themselves stranded in the UK after finishing their world tour and must return for Christmas. Their efforts are hampered by an evil Santa, who breaks into song to state they won’t get home until they “find their brotherly magic.”

The back-and-forth between the bickering brothers is amusing even for the non-fan, while followers will undoubtedly 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.

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

8.45am - Tinsel Town

A-list actor Kiefer Sutherland appears as a celebrity cast a pantomime.

“A what's a panto??” asks Sutherland’s “temperamental” and older action hero Brad Mack, who has fallen on hard times and whose manager has misled him into thinking he’s starring in prestigious English theatre.

His pantomime co-stars tell him he’s playing Buttons. “Absolutely not,” he insists angrily. One can imagine their retort. Except if you’re ignorant of traditional panto catchphrases.

There are some very funny lines, some touching storylines, and the rest of the cast is cracking, too.

It’s the sort of feature that would be a bit tacky at another season, but is a great entertainment at Christmas.

Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄🎄

A New Spin on Scrooge

A familiar face pops up at the beginning of this film, too, calling someone a mug for the second film in a row. Could this be a fresh holiday staple?

This time, he’s a singing black cab driver who collects 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 develops as the stingy Mr Sood is visited by the spirits of Christmas yesterday, today, and tomorrow, played by Hugh Bonneville, Billy Porter, and Boy George.

This Indian Scrooge is at least different from all the others, but sadly he’s not very charismatic and Nayyar’s portrayal is flat—a significant issue when he’s so the focal point.

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄

12.04pm - Stuffed

Before lunch 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 gets an large festive windfall at work, his wife (portrayed by Morgana Robinson) talks him into spending the sum on a vacation to Lapland.

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

Fun while it lasts but not lasting.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄

A Classy Netflix Romance

This is one of those Christmas films where the decorations and snow are in the backdrop—Christmas is the environment of the film rather than its raison d’etre—but it feels cosy and festive all the same.

Driven corporate star Sydney (starring Minka Kelly) is sent to a country estate to secure an acquisition for a sparkling wine company. On the way, she runs into a fellow in a bookshop who promises to show her the holidays in the City of Light.

An expert recently claimed this is the best new Christmas film of the past few years. That’s a bit of a overstatement, but it is a Christmas romance with a dash of elegance and gives the obligatory warm and fuzzy feels.

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

Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄

Mid-Afternoon: Finding Father Christmas

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

The answer is to be discovered, and Chris ventures forth to find it with the expert help of a team of well-known scientists and personalities.

It’s gentle but sweet, and ideal 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 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 stating: “They need to make a movie about the unsung heroes of the holidays—moms.”

So that’s the premise, but in execution it’s really a jumble of those inspirations, at least until Pfeiffer’s character finally finds her strength.

Festive score: 🎄🎄

Formulaic Fun

The day’s taken a dip, but fortunately here’s a new offering in the packed genre of formulaic, schmaltzy, badly acted—and highly entertaining—seasonal comfort food.

It’s a narrative as well-worn: An American woman journeys to a far-off wintery locale and ends up finding romance.

In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher