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

It is the season to relax on the sofa and demolish a box of holiday pastries in front of a terrific flick, a bad movie, or one that’s terrible yet terrific.

As always, a batch of fresh holiday movies aims to become part of our seasonal watchlist—perhaps even earning a place alongside beloved favorites like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (we won’t debate it).

Therefore, in a noble effort to sort the crackers from the turkeys, and to get into the festive feeling, I binged as many new holiday releases as possible in a single day.

Early Morning: A Very Jonas Christmas Movie

Starting, ideally, on a positive note. This release is the only 2025 title on a famous website's list of the best 100 festive features of all time.

The Jonas Brothers find themselves trapped in the UK after concluding their international trek and must get home for Christmas. Their attempts are hampered by an villainous Saint Nick, who bursts into melody 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 followers will certainly pick up on lots of easter eggs 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 good start to the day.

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

Next: A Star in Panto

Hollywood star Kiefer Sutherland has been cast as a Hollywood star tricked into a pantomime.

“A panto-what?” asks Sutherland’s “difficult” and ageing action hero Brad Mack, who has seen better days and whose representative has tricked him into thinking he’s performing in high-class London stage.

His pantomime fellow actors let him know he’s playing Buttons. “No I'm not,” he insists angrily. You can guess their retort. That is, unless you’re unfamiliar with traditional panto catchphrases.

There are some hilarious moments, some cockle-warming sub-plots, and the rest of the cast is brilliant, too.

It’s the type of film that would be a bit naff at any other time of year, but is a lot of fun at Christmas.

Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄🎄

10.19am - Christmas Karma

An actor appears at the start of this film, too, delivering a signature line for the second film in a row. Might this become a budding festive ritual?

This time, he’s a crooning chauffeur who collects Mr Sood, the latest spin 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 classic narrative unfolds as the stingy Mr Sood is haunted by the spirits 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 acting is lifeless—a problem when he’s so the main character.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄

Lunchtime: Stuffed

There’s time for a major broadcaster's Christmas comedy-drama—which stars Guz Khan as a endearingly grumpy man who “avoids Christmas.”

But after he gets an £8,000 Christmas bonus at work, his wife (played by Morgana Robinson) persuades him blowing the money on a holiday to Lapland.

There’s just one snag—he discovers there was an mix-up with his bonus, which should have been £800, and he has to devise a plan for how to pay back the excess.

Pleasant yet unmemorable.

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄

Early Afternoon: Champagne Problems

This is one of those holiday movies where the decorations and snow are in the setting—Christmas is the scene of the film rather than its raison d’etre—but it feels cosy and festive all the same.

Ambitious executive Sydney (starring Minka Kelly) is assigned to a French chateau to do a deal for a sparkling wine company. On the way, she meets a guy in a book store who vows to show her a festive Paris.

A commentator recently stated this is the top new Christmas film of the past few years. That’s a bit of a exaggeration, but it is a festive dalliance with a touch of class and gives the necessary cozy feelings.

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

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄

3.29pm - 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 reality.

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

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

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄

A Star-Studded Family Drama

Michelle Pfeiffer is the head of a bickering American family who reunite for the holidays—including other Oscar nominee Felicity Jones, Chloe Grace Moretz, Jason Schwartzman, and dad Denis Leary.

Pfeiffer opens by name-dropping Christmas classics like National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, It’s A Wonderful Life and Home Alone, before stating: “They need to make a movie about the true heroes of the holidays—moms.”

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

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄

Formulaic Fun

The day’s waned in quality, but fortunately here’s a new addition in the packed genre of formulaic, schmaltzy, badly acted—and highly entertaining—seasonal comfort food.

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

In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher