Devouring 2025's Holiday Movies: The Hits, The Misses, and The Guilty Pleasures.

It is the season to lounge on the sofa and consume a tin of holiday pastries in front of a terrific flick, a bad movie, or one that’s terrible yet terrific.

Once again, a selection of fresh holiday movies aims to become part of our festive viewing—maybe even joining the ranks alongside timeless staples like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (don’t start).

Therefore, in a helpful attempt to distinguish the gems from the coal, and to find the holiday mood, I marathoned as many recent holiday releases as possible in a single day.

First Up: The Jonas Brothers' Holiday Flick

Beginning, optimistically, on a positive note. This is the exclusive 2025 title on a popular review site's list of the greatest 100 holiday films of all time.

The Jonas Brothers are trapped in the UK after concluding their global concert series and must make it back for Christmas. Their endeavors are hampered by an malevolent Father Christmas, who sings to announce they won’t get home until they “rediscover their brotherly magic.”

The banter between the arguing trio is entertaining even for the uninitiated, while fans will undoubtedly notice lots of references as they attempt to get back using all transportation available.

It’s private planes, trains and automobiles.

It’s not an all-time classic, but is excellent for devotees and a positive start to the day.

Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their loved ones who must sit through it.

Late Morning: Tinsel Town

A-list actor Kiefer Sutherland stars as a movie actor tricked into a traditional British stage show.

“A what's a panto??” asks Sutherland’s “hard-to-work-with” and ageing action hero Brad Mack, who has fallen on hard times and whose representative has deceived him into thinking he’s starring in prestigious English theatre.

His Aladdin cast-mates let him know he’s playing Buttons. “Oh no I’m not,” he protests. One can imagine their retort. Except if you’re unfamiliar with traditional panto catchphrases.

There are some very funny lines, some cockle-warming side stories, and the supporting actors is cracking, too.

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

Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄🎄

10.19am - Christmas Karma

Danny Dyer shows up at the start of this film, too, insulting someone for the next movie straight. Could this be a budding festive ritual?

This time, he’s a singing black cab driver who picks up Mr Sood, the modern take 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 Bend It Like Beckham’s Gurinder Chadha. The familiar story unfolds as the miserly Mr Sood is confronted by the apparitions of Christmas yesterday, today, and tomorrow, played by Hugh Bonneville, Billy Porter, and Boy George.

This South Asian reinterpretation is at least distinct from all the others, but unfortunately he’s not very compelling and Nayyar’s performance is lifeless—a significant issue when he’s so the main character.

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄

12.04pm - Stuffed

There's just enough time for a major broadcaster's original festive film—which stars Guz Khan as a charmingly cantankerous character who “isn't big on Christmas.”

But after he is awarded an large festive windfall at work, his wife (portrayed by Morgana Robinson) persuades him blowing the money on a holiday to Lapland.

There’s just one snag—he finds out there was an mistake with his bonus, which should have been £800, and he has to figure out how to return the remainder.

Fun while it lasts but not lasting.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄

1.12pm - Champagne Problems

This is one of those holiday movies 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.

High-powered businesswoman Sydney (played by Minka Kelly) is assigned to a vineyard to secure an acquisition for a sparkling wine company. On the way, she encounters a guy in a book store who offers to show her Christmas in Paris.

A commentator recently claimed this is the finest new Christmas film of the recent era. That’s a bit of a exaggeration, but it is a holiday love story with a dash of elegance and gives the required heartwarming sensation.

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

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄

Mid-Afternoon: Finding Father Christmas

Teenage Chris, played by Lenny Rush, continues to believe in Father Christmas, in spite of the persuasion of his dad (starring James Buckley) to tell him otherwise.

The answer is out there, and Chris ventures forth to find it with the guidance of a group of well-known experts and celebrities.

It’s low-key but endearing, and perfect viewing while expecting Santa to visit.

Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄

4.39pm - Oh. What. Fun.

Michelle Pfeiffer is the mother of a dysfunctional 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 opens by name-dropping Christmas classics like National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, It’s A Wonderful Life and Home Alone, before saying: “They need to make a movie about the unsung heroes of the holidays—moms.”

So that’s what this is, but in practice it’s really a mash-up of those forerunner films, at least until Pfeiffer’s character finally takes center stage.

Festive score: 🎄🎄

Evening: A Scottish Christmas Secret

The day’s taken a dip, but thankfully here’s a new entry in the packed genre of cliched, saccharine, over-the-top—and highly entertaining—festive fodder.

It’s a narrative as familiar as can be: An American woman travels to a picturesque cold country and ends up discovering romance.

In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher