🔗 Share this article Devouring 2025's Holiday Movies: Highlights, Lowlights, and Unexpected Delights. It is the time of year to relax on the sofa and consume a box of holiday pastries in front of a terrific flick, a awful feature, or one that’s awesomely awful. This year, a selection of fresh holiday movies strives to join part of our festive viewing—maybe even joining the ranks alongside beloved favorites like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (don’t start). Thus, in a noble effort to distinguish the gems from the coal, and to embrace the holiday mood, I marathoned as many new Christmas films as possible in a single day. First Up: The Jonas Brothers' Holiday Flick Kicking off, optimistically, on a positive note. This film is the exclusive 2025 entry on a well-known aggregator's list of the greatest 100 festive features of all time. The popular band find themselves stuck in the UK after finishing their global concert series and must get home for Christmas. Their attempts are hindered by an villainous Saint Nick, who sings to state they won’t get home until they “rediscover their sibling bond.” The repartee between the arguing trio is amusing even for the non-fan, while devotees will no doubt catch lots of in-jokes as they attempt to get back using all transportation available. It’s a travelogue of mishaps. It’s not an all-time classic, but is excellent for devotees and a good start to the day. Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their loved ones who are obliged to sit through it. 8.45am - Tinsel Town A-list actor Kiefer Sutherland has been cast as a movie actor roped into a "panto". “A panto-what??” asks Sutherland’s “hard-to-work-with” and older star Brad Mack, who has fallen on hard times and whose manager has deceived him into thinking he’s performing in high-class London stage. His pantomime cast-mates tell him he’s playing Buttons. “Oh no I’m not,” he retorts. One can imagine their retort. That is, unless you’re ignorant of traditional stage call-and-response. There are some great jokes, some cockle-warming side stories, and the ensemble is excellent, too. It’s the kind of movie that would be a bit naff at any other time of year, but is a lot of fun at Christmas. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄🎄 A New Spin on Scrooge An actor appears at the beginning of this film, too, calling someone a mug for the second film in a row. Might this become a new Christmas tradition? This time, he’s a crooning chauffeur who picks up Mr Sood, the modern take on Mr Scrooge from Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. Mr Sood is played by The Big Bang Theory’s Kunal Nayyar and Christmas Karma is directed by the director of Gurinder Chadha. The well-known tale progresses as the miserly Mr Sood is visited by the spirits 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 compelling and Nayyar’s portrayal is wooden—a major flaw when he’s so central to everything. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄 Noon: A BBC Special Before lunch for a channel's original festive film—which stars Guz Khan as a lovably grouchy guy who “avoids Christmas.” But after he gets an large festive windfall at work, his wife (starring Morgana Robinson) persuades him splurging the cash on a family trip to Lapland. There’s just one issue—he finds out there was an error with his bonus, which should have been £800, and he has to figure out how to pay back the remainder. Enjoyable but forgettable. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄 1.12pm - Champagne Problems This is one of those holiday movies where the tree, fairy lights and snow are in the backdrop—Christmas is the environment of the film rather than its main point—but it feels cosy and festive all the same. High-powered businesswoman Sydney (played by Minka Kelly) is dispatched to a French chateau to do a deal for a sparkling wine company. During her travels, she encounters a fellow in a book store who offers to show her Christmas in Paris. An expert recently declared this is the finest new Christmas film of the recent era. That’s a bit of a stretch, but it is a holiday love story with a dash of elegance and gives the required warm and fuzzy feels. The scene with a lengthy discussion about Die Hard is very good too. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄 3.29pm - Finding Father Christmas Teenage Chris, played by Lenny Rush, refuses to stop believing in Father Christmas, despite the persuasion of his dad (starring James Buckley) to tell him otherwise. The truth is out there, and Chris ventures forth to find it with the expert help of a panel of well-known scientists and personalities. It’s gentle but endearing, and ideal viewing while waiting for Santa to visit. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄 A Star-Studded Family Drama Michelle Pfeiffer is the mother of a quarrelling American family who gather for the holidays—including fellow acclaimed actress 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 declaring: “They need to make a movie about the unsung heroes of the holidays—moms.” So that’s the premise, but in reality it’s really a mash-up of those aforementioned movies, at least until Pfeiffer’s character eventually takes center stage. Festive score: 🎄🎄 Evening: A Scottish Christmas Secret The day’s taken a dip, but happily here’s a new addition in the packed genre of formulaic, schmaltzy, badly acted—and highly entertaining—festive fodder. It’s a narrative as well-worn: An American woman goes on a quest to a distant snowy land and ends up finding romance. In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher
It is the time of year to relax on the sofa and consume a box of holiday pastries in front of a terrific flick, a awful feature, or one that’s awesomely awful. This year, a selection of fresh holiday movies strives to join part of our festive viewing—maybe even joining the ranks alongside beloved favorites like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (don’t start). Thus, in a noble effort to distinguish the gems from the coal, and to embrace the holiday mood, I marathoned as many new Christmas films as possible in a single day. First Up: The Jonas Brothers' Holiday Flick Kicking off, optimistically, on a positive note. This film is the exclusive 2025 entry on a well-known aggregator's list of the greatest 100 festive features of all time. The popular band find themselves stuck in the UK after finishing their global concert series and must get home for Christmas. Their attempts are hindered by an villainous Saint Nick, who sings to state they won’t get home until they “rediscover their sibling bond.” The repartee between the arguing trio is amusing even for the non-fan, while devotees will no doubt catch lots of in-jokes as they attempt to get back using all transportation available. It’s a travelogue of mishaps. It’s not an all-time classic, but is excellent for devotees and a good start to the day. Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their loved ones who are obliged to sit through it. 8.45am - Tinsel Town A-list actor Kiefer Sutherland has been cast as a movie actor roped into a "panto". “A panto-what??” asks Sutherland’s “hard-to-work-with” and older star Brad Mack, who has fallen on hard times and whose manager has deceived him into thinking he’s performing in high-class London stage. His pantomime cast-mates tell him he’s playing Buttons. “Oh no I’m not,” he retorts. One can imagine their retort. That is, unless you’re ignorant of traditional stage call-and-response. There are some great jokes, some cockle-warming side stories, and the ensemble is excellent, too. It’s the kind of movie that would be a bit naff at any other time of year, but is a lot of fun at Christmas. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄🎄 A New Spin on Scrooge An actor appears at the beginning of this film, too, calling someone a mug for the second film in a row. Might this become a new Christmas tradition? This time, he’s a crooning chauffeur who picks up Mr Sood, the modern take on Mr Scrooge from Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. Mr Sood is played by The Big Bang Theory’s Kunal Nayyar and Christmas Karma is directed by the director of Gurinder Chadha. The well-known tale progresses as the miserly Mr Sood is visited by the spirits 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 compelling and Nayyar’s portrayal is wooden—a major flaw when he’s so central to everything. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄 Noon: A BBC Special Before lunch for a channel's original festive film—which stars Guz Khan as a lovably grouchy guy who “avoids Christmas.” But after he gets an large festive windfall at work, his wife (starring Morgana Robinson) persuades him splurging the cash on a family trip to Lapland. There’s just one issue—he finds out there was an error with his bonus, which should have been £800, and he has to figure out how to pay back the remainder. Enjoyable but forgettable. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄 1.12pm - Champagne Problems This is one of those holiday movies where the tree, fairy lights and snow are in the backdrop—Christmas is the environment of the film rather than its main point—but it feels cosy and festive all the same. High-powered businesswoman Sydney (played by Minka Kelly) is dispatched to a French chateau to do a deal for a sparkling wine company. During her travels, she encounters a fellow in a book store who offers to show her Christmas in Paris. An expert recently declared this is the finest new Christmas film of the recent era. That’s a bit of a stretch, but it is a holiday love story with a dash of elegance and gives the required warm and fuzzy feels. The scene with a lengthy discussion about Die Hard is very good too. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄 3.29pm - Finding Father Christmas Teenage Chris, played by Lenny Rush, refuses to stop believing in Father Christmas, despite the persuasion of his dad (starring James Buckley) to tell him otherwise. The truth is out there, and Chris ventures forth to find it with the expert help of a panel of well-known scientists and personalities. It’s gentle but endearing, and ideal viewing while waiting for Santa to visit. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄 A Star-Studded Family Drama Michelle Pfeiffer is the mother of a quarrelling American family who gather for the holidays—including fellow acclaimed actress 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 declaring: “They need to make a movie about the unsung heroes of the holidays—moms.” So that’s the premise, but in reality it’s really a mash-up of those aforementioned movies, at least until Pfeiffer’s character eventually takes center stage. Festive score: 🎄🎄 Evening: A Scottish Christmas Secret The day’s taken a dip, but happily here’s a new addition in the packed genre of formulaic, schmaltzy, badly acted—and highly entertaining—festive fodder. It’s a narrative as well-worn: An American woman goes on a quest to a distant snowy land and ends up finding romance. In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher