It is the season to relax on the sofa and demolish a packet of mince pies in front of a great film, a poor film, or one that’s awesomely awful.
Once again, a selection of new Christmas films strives to join part of our festive viewing—perhaps even joining the ranks alongside timeless staples like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (we won’t debate it).
Thus, in a vital public service to separate the winners from the losers, and to get into the Christmas spirit, I watched as many fresh holiday releases as possible in a single day.
Starting, ideally, on a positive note. This release is the only 2025 entry on a famous website's list of the greatest 100 festive features of all time.
The musical trio end up stuck in the UK after concluding their global concert series and must make it back for Christmas. Their endeavors are hindered by an villainous Saint Nick, who breaks into song to announce they won’t get home until they “rekindle their sibling bond.”
The repartee between the squabbling siblings is amusing even for the casual viewer, while devotees will certainly catch lots of easter eggs as they attempt to get back using every mode of travel possible.
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.
Hollywood star Kiefer Sutherland has been cast as a Hollywood star roped into a traditional British stage show.
“A panto-what?” asks Sutherland’s “hard-to-work-with” and ageing action hero Brad Mack, who has fallen on hard times and whose representative has tricked him into thinking he’s appearing in prestigious English theatre.
His pantomime fellow actors inform him he’s playing Buttons. “Absolutely not,” he insists angrily. One can imagine their retort. Unless you’re not acquainted with traditional British theatre traditions.
There are some very funny lines, some heartwarming storylines, and the ensemble is brilliant, too.
It’s the type of film that would be a bit naff at a different time, but is a lot of fun at Christmas.
Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄🎄
Danny Dyer shows up at the outset of this film, too, insulting someone for the second consecutive movie. 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 the filmmaker behind Gurinder Chadha. The familiar story progresses as the miserly 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 different from all the others, but regrettably he’s not very compelling and Nayyar’s portrayal is flat—a major flaw when he’s so central to everything.
Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄
Before lunch for a network's original festive film—which stars Guz Khan as a charmingly cantankerous character who “avoids Christmas.”
But after he is awarded an sizable holiday payout at work, his wife (played by Morgana Robinson) talks him into splurging the cash on a holiday to Lapland.
There’s just one snag—he discovers there was an error 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: 🎄🎄
This is one of those holiday movies where the festive trappings are in the setting—Christmas is the scene of the film rather than its main point—but it feels warm and holiday-like all the same.
High-powered businesswoman Sydney (starring Minka Kelly) is dispatched to a vineyard to do a deal for a sparkling wine company. On the way, she meets a fellow in a literary haven who offers to show her a festive Paris.
An expert recently claimed this is the top new Christmas film of the past few years. That’s a bit of a stretch, but it is a holiday love story with a hint of sophistication and gives the obligatory warm and fuzzy feels.
The scene with a extended debate about Die Hard is particularly strong too.
Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄
Teenage Chris, played by Lenny Rush, holds onto his belief in Father Christmas, despite the attempts of his dad (starring James Buckley) to tell him the reality.
The secret is somewhere, and Chris embarks on a quest to find it with the expert help of a group of well-known scientists and personalities.
It’s gentle but charming, and perfect viewing while expecting Santa to visit.
Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄
Michelle Pfeiffer is the matriarch of a bickering 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 begins by referencing 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 real champions of the holidays—moms.”
So that’s the premise, but in execution it’s really a combination of those aforementioned movies, at least until Pfeiffer’s character eventually comes into her own.
Festive score: 🎄🎄
The day’s gone downhill, but thankfully here’s a new entry in the crowded field of cliched, saccharine, over-the-top—and strangely compelling—festive fodder.
It’s a narrative as old as time: An American woman journeys to a picturesque cold country and ends up finding romance.
In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher
Elara Vance is a seasoned sports analyst with over a decade of experience in betting strategies and statistical analysis.
