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

It is the time of year to relax on the couch and consume a packet of festive treats in front of a great film, a poor film, or one that’s awesomely awful.

As always, a selection of fresh Christmas films aims to become part of our holiday traditions—maybe even joining the ranks alongside beloved favorites like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (no arguments).

So, in a helpful attempt to distinguish the gems from the coal, and to find the Christmas spirit, I binged as many fresh Christmas films as possible in a single day.

7.17am - A Very Jonas Christmas Movie

Kicking off, hopefully, on a positive note. This is the sole 2025 entry on a popular review site's list of the greatest 100 festive features of all time.

The Jonas Brothers find themselves stuck in the UK after concluding their global concert series and must return for Christmas. Their efforts are thwarted by an malevolent Father Christmas, who breaks into song to state they won’t get home until they “rekindle their brotherly magic.”

The back-and-forth between the arguing trio is entertaining even for the casual viewer, while followers 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 a timeless masterpiece, but is excellent for devotees and a positive start to the day.

Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their family members who will have to sit through it.

8.45am - Tinsel Town

Hollywood star Kiefer Sutherland has been cast as a Hollywood star roped into a "panto".

“A what's a panto??” asks Sutherland’s “temperamental” and aging action hero Brad Mack, who has fallen on hard times and whose manager has misled him into thinking he’s performing in high-class London stage.

His Aladdin fellow actors let him know he’s playing Buttons. “No I'm not,” he insists angrily. It's easy to predict their response. That is, unless you’re ignorant of traditional stage call-and-response.

There are some hilarious moments, some touching side stories, and the supporting actors is brilliant, too.

It’s the sort of feature that would be a bit naff at another season, but is a lot of fun at Christmas.

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄🎄

10.19am - Christmas Karma

An actor pops up at the beginning of this film, too, insulting someone for the second consecutive movie. Could this be a new Christmas tradition?

This time, he’s a musical taxi operator who collects Mr Sood, the newest interpretation 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 the filmmaker behind Gurinder Chadha. The familiar story progresses as the tight-fisted Mr Sood is confronted by the spirits of Christmas yesterday, today, and tomorrow, played by Hugh Bonneville, Billy Porter, and Boy George.

This cultural adaptation is at least distinct 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.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄

Noon: A BBC Special

There’s time for a network's original festive film—which stars Guz Khan as a charmingly cantankerous character who “doesn’t really do Christmas.”

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

There’s just one issue—he learns there was an mix-up with his bonus, which should have been £800, and he has to devise a plan for how to return the remainder.

Fun while it lasts but not lasting.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄

Early Afternoon: Champagne Problems

This is one of those Christmas films where the tree, fairy lights and snow are in the background—Christmas is the scene of the film rather than its core purpose—but it feels comfortable and seasonal all the same.

Ambitious executive Sydney (played by Minka Kelly) is assigned to a vineyard to negotiate a purchase for a champagne business. En route, she encounters a guy in a bookshop who offers to show her the holidays in the City of Light.

A commentator recently claimed this is the best new Christmas film of the recent era. That’s a bit of a exaggeration, but it is a holiday love story with a touch of class and gives the required cozy feelings.

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

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄

Mid-Afternoon: Finding Father Christmas

Teenage Chris, played by Lenny Rush, refuses to stop believing in Father Christmas, in spite of the attempts of his dad (starring James Buckley) to tell him the truth.

The secret is out there, and Chris sets out to find it with the expert help of a panel of well-known scientists and personalities.

It’s gentle but charming, and ideal viewing while waiting for Santa to visit.

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄

A Star-Studded Family Drama

Michelle Pfeiffer is the matriarch of a bickering American family who gather for the holidays—including other acclaimed actress Felicity Jones, Chloe Grace Moretz, Jason Schwartzman, and dad Denis Leary.

Pfeiffer opens by name-dropping 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 the premise, but in reality it’s really a jumble of those aforementioned movies, at least until Pfeiffer’s character eventually takes center stage.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄

Evening: A Scottish Christmas Secret

The day’s taken a dip, but fortunately here’s a new addition in the saturated market of cliched, saccharine, over-the-top—and utterly watchable—seasonal comfort food.

It’s a narrative as well-worn: An American woman goes on a quest to a picturesque cold country and ends up stumbling across romance.

In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher