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

‘Tis the season to slob out on the couch and devour a tin of holiday pastries in front of a terrific flick, a poor film, or one that’s terrible yet terrific.

This year, a selection of new seasonal stories aims to become part of our holiday traditions—maybe even finding a spot alongside beloved favorites like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (we won’t debate it).

Thus, in a noble effort to distinguish the gems from the coal, and to embrace the festive feeling, I binged as many recent Christmas films as possible in a single day.

Early Morning: A Very Jonas Christmas Movie

Starting, ideally, on a high. This is the exclusive 2025 title on a well-known aggregator's list of the top 100 Christmas movies of all time.

The Jonas Brothers find themselves stuck in the UK after concluding their global concert series and must get home for Christmas. Their efforts are thwarted by an villainous Saint Nick, who breaks into song to announce they won’t get home until they “rediscover their sibling bond.”

The back-and-forth between the bickering brothers is enjoyable even for the casual viewer, while devotees will no doubt notice lots of easter eggs as they attempt to get back using all transportation available.

It’s a journey of epic proportions.

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

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their loved ones who must sit through it.

Next: A Star in Panto

Famous performer Kiefer Sutherland stars as a Hollywood star roped into a "panto".

“A panto-what??” asks Sutherland’s “difficult” and aging action hero Brad Mack, who has hit a rough patch and whose representative has tricked him into thinking he’s performing in renowned British drama.

His Aladdin co-stars let him know he’s playing Buttons. “Absolutely not,” he insists angrily. You can guess their reply. Unless you’re unfamiliar with traditional British theatre traditions.

There are some hilarious moments, some cockle-warming sub-plots, and the ensemble is cracking, too.

It’s the type of film that would be a bit tacky at a different time, but is a great entertainment at Christmas.

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄🎄

A New Spin on Scrooge

Danny Dyer appears at the outset of this film, too, calling someone a mug for the second film in a row. Is this a new Christmas tradition?

This time, he’s a singing black cab driver who picks up Mr Sood, the newest interpretation 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 familiar story progresses as the miserly Mr Sood is visited by the apparitions 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 performance is lifeless—a problem when he’s so the focal point.

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄

12.04pm - Stuffed

There's just enough time for a channel's Christmas comedy-drama—which stars Guz Khan as a charmingly cantankerous character who “avoids Christmas.”

But after he is awarded an £8,000 Christmas bonus at work, his wife (played by Morgana Robinson) convinces him spending the sum on a family trip to Lapland.

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

Enjoyable but forgettable.

Festive score: 🎄🎄

A Classy Netflix Romance

This is one of those holiday movies where the festive trappings 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.

High-powered businesswoman Sydney (starring Minka Kelly) is assigned to a country estate to negotiate a purchase for a champagne business. On the way, she encounters a guy in a literary haven who promises to show her a festive Paris.

A critic recently declared this is the finest new Christmas film of the recent era. That’s a bit of a stretch, but it is a Christmas romance with a touch of class and gives the required heartwarming sensation.

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

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄

3.29pm - Finding Father Christmas

Young Chris, played by Lenny Rush, holds onto his belief in Father Christmas, regardless of the persuasion of his dad (played by James Buckley) to tell him the truth.

The secret is somewhere, and Chris ventures forth to find it with the guidance of a team of well-known experts and celebrities.

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

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄

Late Afternoon: Oh. What. Fun.

Michelle Pfeiffer is the head of a dysfunctional American family who come back together for the holidays—including fellow acclaimed actress Felicity Jones, Chloe Grace Moretz, Jason Schwartzman, and dad Denis Leary.

Pfeiffer opens by name-dropping 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 real champions of the holidays—moms.”

So that’s what this is, but in execution it’s really a mash-up of those forerunner films, at least until Pfeiffer’s character at last comes into her own.

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄

Evening: A Scottish Christmas Secret

The day’s waned in quality, but thankfully here’s a new addition in the packed genre of cliched, saccharine, over-the-top—and utterly watchable—holiday fare.

It’s a tale as old as time: An American woman travels to a far-off wintery locale and ends up discovering romance.

In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher