Devouring This Year's Holiday Movies: Highlights, Lowlights, and Unexpected Delights.

‘Tis the time of year to lounge on the couch and demolish a tin of holiday pastries in front of a terrific flick, a poor film, or one that’s awesomely awful.

As always, a batch of fresh holiday movies strives to join part of our festive viewing—potentially even finding a spot alongside timeless staples like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (don’t start).

Therefore, in a vital public service to separate the winners from the losers, and to embrace the festive feeling, I marathoned as many new holiday releases as possible in a single day.

Early Morning: A Very Jonas Christmas Movie

Beginning, hopefully, on a good foot. This film is the exclusive 2025 title on a famous website's list of the greatest 100 Christmas movies of all time.

The musical trio end up trapped in the UK after wrapping up their global concert series and must get home for Christmas. Their endeavors are hampered by an villainous Saint Nick, who sings to announce they won’t get home until they “rekindle their sibling bond.”

The repartee between the bickering brothers is enjoyable even for the non-fan, while fans will no doubt notice lots of easter eggs as they try to get back using any means of transport necessary.

It’s a travelogue of mishaps.

It’s not legendary, but is great for devotees and a positive start to the day.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their loved ones who will have to sit through it.

Next: A Star in Panto

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

“A what's a panto??” asks Sutherland’s “hard-to-work-with” and ageing star Brad Mack, who has hit a rough patch and whose representative has deceived him into thinking he’s performing in renowned British drama.

His Aladdin co-stars tell him he’s playing Buttons. “Absolutely not,” he retorts. You can guess their reply. That is, unless you’re unfamiliar with traditional British theatre traditions.

There are some very funny lines, some heartwarming sub-plots, and the rest of the cast is excellent, too.

It’s the kind of movie that would be a bit naff at a different time, but is a lot of fun at Christmas.

Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄🎄

10.19am - Christmas Karma

An actor appears at the beginning of this film, too, calling someone a mug for the second consecutive movie. Is this a new Christmas tradition?

This time, he’s a musical taxi operator who encounters Mr Sood, the modern take 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 well-known tale develops as the stingy Mr Sood is visited by the apparitions of Christmas past, present and future, played by Hugh Bonneville, Billy Porter, and Boy George.

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

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄

Noon: A BBC Special

Before lunch for a major broadcaster's holiday special—which stars Guz Khan as a charmingly cantankerous character who “avoids Christmas.”

But after he gets an large festive windfall at work, his wife (portrayed by Morgana Robinson) convinces him splurging the cash on a family trip to Lapland.

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

Enjoyable but forgettable.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄

1.12pm - Champagne Problems

This is one of those Christmas films where the festive trappings are in the background—Christmas is the environment of the film rather than its core purpose—but it feels comfortable and seasonal all the same.

Driven corporate star Sydney (starring Minka Kelly) is dispatched to a French chateau to negotiate a purchase for a champagne business. On the way, she encounters a man in a bookshop who offers to show her a festive Paris.

A critic recently declared this is the top new Christmas film of the past few years. That’s a bit of a exaggeration, but it is a Christmas romance with a dash of elegance and gives the necessary warm and fuzzy feels.

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

Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄

Mid-Afternoon: Finding Father Christmas

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

The truth is out there, and Chris ventures forth to find it with the expert help of a team of well-known experts and celebrities.

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

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄

Late Afternoon: Oh. What. Fun.

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

Pfeiffer begins by referencing holiday staples like National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, It’s A Wonderful Life and Home Alone, before saying: “They need to make a movie about the true heroes of the holidays—moms.”

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

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄

Formulaic Fun

The day’s waned in quality, but thankfully here’s a new addition in the packed genre of formulaic, schmaltzy, badly acted—and highly entertaining—holiday fare.

It’s a story as old as time: An American woman travels to a picturesque cold country and ends up discovering romance.

In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher