🔗 Share this article Binge-Watching 2025's Holiday Movies: Highlights, Lowlights, and Unexpected Delights. It is the time of year to slob out on the couch and devour a packet of festive treats in front of a terrific flick, a awful feature, or one that’s awesomely awful. As always, a batch of fresh seasonal stories strives to join part of our holiday traditions—perhaps even joining the ranks alongside timeless staples like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (don’t start). So, in a noble effort to sort the crackers from the turkeys, and to embrace the festive feeling, I watched as many new holiday releases as possible in a single day. Early Morning: A Very Jonas Christmas Movie Starting, optimistically, on a positive note. This release is the only 2025 movie on a famous website's list of the greatest 100 festive features of all time. The Jonas Brothers end up stuck in the UK after finishing their international trek and must get home for Christmas. Their efforts are hampered by an malevolent Father Christmas, who breaks into song to declare they won’t get home until they “rediscover their familial spark.” The back-and-forth between the arguing trio is enjoyable even for the uninitiated, while fans will undoubtedly notice lots of in-jokes as they endeavor to get back using every mode of travel possible. It’s private planes, trains and automobiles. It’s not a timeless masterpiece, but is excellent for devotees and a positive start to the day. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their loved ones who must sit through it. 8.45am - Tinsel Town Hollywood star Kiefer Sutherland appears as a Hollywood star cast a pantomime. “A panto-what?” asks Sutherland’s “hard-to-work-with” and ageing action hero Brad Mack, who has seen better days and whose agent has tricked him into thinking he’s performing in high-class London stage. His pantomime fellow actors inform him he’s playing Buttons. “Absolutely not,” he retorts. It's easy to predict their reply. That is, unless you’re unfamiliar with traditional panto catchphrases. There are some hilarious moments, some heartwarming storylines, and the rest of the cast is cracking, too. It’s the sort of feature that would be a bit tacky at any other time of year, but is a highly enjoyable at Christmas. Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄🎄 Mid-Morning: Christmas Karma Danny Dyer pops up at the outset of this film, too, insulting someone for the second film in a row. Could this be a new Christmas tradition? This time, he’s a singing black cab driver 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 well-known tale develops as the miserly Mr Sood is haunted by the spirits of Christmas past, present and future, played by Hugh Bonneville, Billy Porter, and Boy George. This South Asian reinterpretation is at least distinct from all the others, but sadly he’s not very charismatic and Nayyar’s portrayal is wooden—a major flaw when he’s so the main character. Festive score: 🎄🎄 Noon: A BBC Special There's just enough time for a channel's original festive film—which stars Guz Khan as a lovably grouchy guy who “avoids Christmas.” But after he receives an large festive windfall at work, his wife (played by Morgana Robinson) talks him into spending the sum on a vacation to Lapland. There’s just one problem—he discovers there was an mistake with his bonus, which should have been £800, and he has to determine how to pay back the remainder. Enjoyable but forgettable. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄 1.12pm - Champagne Problems This is one of those Christmas films where the festive trappings are in the setting—Christmas is the setting of the film rather than its core purpose—but it feels warm and holiday-like all the same. Driven corporate star Sydney (starring Minka Kelly) is assigned to a country estate to negotiate a purchase for a champagne business. On the way, she meets a guy in a bookshop who promises to show her Christmas in Paris. A critic recently stated this is the finest new Christmas film of the recent era. That’s a bit of a exaggeration, but it is a holiday love story with a dash of elegance and gives the necessary warm and fuzzy feels. The scene with a lengthy discussion about Die Hard is very good too. Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄 3.29pm - Finding Father Christmas Young Chris, played by Lenny Rush, refuses to stop believing in Father Christmas, in spite of the persuasion of his dad (starring James Buckley) to tell him the truth. The answer is to be discovered, and Chris ventures forth to find it with the guidance of a group of well-known figures. It’s understated but sweet, and good viewing while anticipating Santa to visit. Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄 A Star-Studded Family Drama Michelle Pfeiffer is the head of a dysfunctional American family who reunite for the holidays—including fellow Oscar nominee Felicity Jones, Chloe Grace Moretz, Jason Schwartzman, and dad Denis Leary. Pfeiffer starts by mentioning Christmas classics 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 concept, but in execution it’s really a combination of those inspirations, at least until Pfeiffer’s character at last finds her strength. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄 6.43pm - A Scottish Christmas Secret The day’s gone downhill, but thankfully here’s a new addition in the saturated market of formulaic, schmaltzy, badly acted—and highly entertaining—seasonal comfort food. It’s a story as old as time: An American woman goes on a quest to a picturesque cold country and ends up discovering romance. In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher
It is the time of year to slob out on the couch and devour a packet of festive treats in front of a terrific flick, a awful feature, or one that’s awesomely awful. As always, a batch of fresh seasonal stories strives to join part of our holiday traditions—perhaps even joining the ranks alongside timeless staples like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (don’t start). So, in a noble effort to sort the crackers from the turkeys, and to embrace the festive feeling, I watched as many new holiday releases as possible in a single day. Early Morning: A Very Jonas Christmas Movie Starting, optimistically, on a positive note. This release is the only 2025 movie on a famous website's list of the greatest 100 festive features of all time. The Jonas Brothers end up stuck in the UK after finishing their international trek and must get home for Christmas. Their efforts are hampered by an malevolent Father Christmas, who breaks into song to declare they won’t get home until they “rediscover their familial spark.” The back-and-forth between the arguing trio is enjoyable even for the uninitiated, while fans will undoubtedly notice lots of in-jokes as they endeavor to get back using every mode of travel possible. It’s private planes, trains and automobiles. It’s not a timeless masterpiece, but is excellent for devotees and a positive start to the day. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their loved ones who must sit through it. 8.45am - Tinsel Town Hollywood star Kiefer Sutherland appears as a Hollywood star cast a pantomime. “A panto-what?” asks Sutherland’s “hard-to-work-with” and ageing action hero Brad Mack, who has seen better days and whose agent has tricked him into thinking he’s performing in high-class London stage. His pantomime fellow actors inform him he’s playing Buttons. “Absolutely not,” he retorts. It's easy to predict their reply. That is, unless you’re unfamiliar with traditional panto catchphrases. There are some hilarious moments, some heartwarming storylines, and the rest of the cast is cracking, too. It’s the sort of feature that would be a bit tacky at any other time of year, but is a highly enjoyable at Christmas. Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄🎄 Mid-Morning: Christmas Karma Danny Dyer pops up at the outset of this film, too, insulting someone for the second film in a row. Could this be a new Christmas tradition? This time, he’s a singing black cab driver 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 well-known tale develops as the miserly Mr Sood is haunted by the spirits of Christmas past, present and future, played by Hugh Bonneville, Billy Porter, and Boy George. This South Asian reinterpretation is at least distinct from all the others, but sadly he’s not very charismatic and Nayyar’s portrayal is wooden—a major flaw when he’s so the main character. Festive score: 🎄🎄 Noon: A BBC Special There's just enough time for a channel's original festive film—which stars Guz Khan as a lovably grouchy guy who “avoids Christmas.” But after he receives an large festive windfall at work, his wife (played by Morgana Robinson) talks him into spending the sum on a vacation to Lapland. There’s just one problem—he discovers there was an mistake with his bonus, which should have been £800, and he has to determine how to pay back the remainder. Enjoyable but forgettable. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄 1.12pm - Champagne Problems This is one of those Christmas films where the festive trappings are in the setting—Christmas is the setting of the film rather than its core purpose—but it feels warm and holiday-like all the same. Driven corporate star Sydney (starring Minka Kelly) is assigned to a country estate to negotiate a purchase for a champagne business. On the way, she meets a guy in a bookshop who promises to show her Christmas in Paris. A critic recently stated this is the finest new Christmas film of the recent era. That’s a bit of a exaggeration, but it is a holiday love story with a dash of elegance and gives the necessary warm and fuzzy feels. The scene with a lengthy discussion about Die Hard is very good too. Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄 3.29pm - Finding Father Christmas Young Chris, played by Lenny Rush, refuses to stop believing in Father Christmas, in spite of the persuasion of his dad (starring James Buckley) to tell him the truth. The answer is to be discovered, and Chris ventures forth to find it with the guidance of a group of well-known figures. It’s understated but sweet, and good viewing while anticipating Santa to visit. Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄 A Star-Studded Family Drama Michelle Pfeiffer is the head of a dysfunctional American family who reunite for the holidays—including fellow Oscar nominee Felicity Jones, Chloe Grace Moretz, Jason Schwartzman, and dad Denis Leary. Pfeiffer starts by mentioning Christmas classics 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 concept, but in execution it’s really a combination of those inspirations, at least until Pfeiffer’s character at last finds her strength. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄 6.43pm - A Scottish Christmas Secret The day’s gone downhill, but thankfully here’s a new addition in the saturated market of formulaic, schmaltzy, badly acted—and highly entertaining—seasonal comfort food. It’s a story as old as time: An American woman goes on a quest to a picturesque cold country and ends up discovering romance. In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher