Devouring The Latest Holiday Movies: The Hits, The Misses, and The Guilty Pleasures.

It is the time of year to relax on the sofa and demolish a tin of holiday pastries in front of a great film, a bad movie, or one that’s so bad it’s good.

As always, a selection of new seasonal stories hopes to be part of our festive viewing—perhaps even finding a spot alongside beloved favorites like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (no arguments).

So, in a vital public service to separate the winners from the losers, and to find the holiday mood, I marathoned as many fresh holiday releases as possible in a single day.

7.17am - A Very Jonas Christmas Movie

Starting, optimistically, on a good foot. This release is the only 2025 entry on a popular review site's list of the top 100 holiday films of all time.

The popular band are stranded in the UK after concluding their global concert series and must return for Christmas. Their endeavors are thwarted by an malevolent Father Christmas, who sings to state they won’t get home until they “find their familial spark.”

The back-and-forth between the squabbling siblings is enjoyable even for the casual viewer, while devotees will undoubtedly notice lots of references 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.

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their relatives who will have to sit through it.

Late Morning: Tinsel Town

Hollywood star Kiefer Sutherland appears as a movie actor tricked into a "panto".

“A what's a panto??” asks Sutherland’s “difficult” and older star Brad Mack, who has fallen on hard times and whose agent has deceived him into thinking he’s starring in renowned British drama.

His pantomime co-stars let him know he’s playing Buttons. “Absolutely not,” he protests. You can guess their response. That is, unless you’re unfamiliar with traditional British theatre traditions.

There are some very funny lines, some cockle-warming side stories, and the rest of the cast is cracking, too.

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

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄🎄

A New Spin on Scrooge

Danny Dyer pops up at the beginning of this film, too, insulting someone for the second film in a row. Is this 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 Bend It Like Beckham’s Gurinder Chadha. The familiar story unfolds as the miserly Mr Sood is visited 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 sadly he’s not very compelling and Nayyar’s performance is flat—a significant issue when he’s so the focal point.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄

Lunchtime: Stuffed

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

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

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

Pleasant yet unmemorable.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄

1.12pm - Champagne Problems

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

Driven corporate star Sydney (played by Minka Kelly) is sent to a vineyard to secure an acquisition for a champagne business. During her travels, she runs into a fellow in a literary haven who vows to show her Christmas in Paris.

A commentator recently claimed this is the top new Christmas film of the last several seasons. That’s a bit of a stretch, but it is a festive dalliance with a hint of sophistication and gives the necessary cozy feelings.

The scene with a extended debate about Die Hard is particularly strong too.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄

3.29pm - Finding Father Christmas

Sixteen-year-old Chris, played by Lenny Rush, holds onto his belief in Father Christmas, despite the persuasion of his dad (played by James Buckley) to tell him the truth.

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

It’s understated but sweet, and ideal viewing while waiting for Santa to visit.

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄

A Star-Studded Family Drama

Michelle Pfeiffer is the mother of a dysfunctional American family who gather for the holidays—including fellow Oscar nominee 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 declaring: “They need to make a movie about the real champions of the holidays—moms.”

So that’s the premise, but in practice it’s really a combination of those aforementioned movies, at least until Pfeiffer’s character at last comes into her own.

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄

6.43pm - 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 strangely compelling—holiday fare.

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

In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher