Devouring 2025's Holiday Movies: The Good, The Bad and The So-Bad-It's-Good.

It is the season to relax on the sofa and consume a box of holiday pastries in front of a good movie, a bad movie, or one that’s awesomely awful.

Once again, a selection of fresh holiday movies strives to join part of our festive viewing—potentially even earning a place alongside beloved favorites like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (we won’t debate it).

Thus, in a vital public service to distinguish the gems from the coal, and to get into the festive feeling, I watched as many recent holiday releases as possible in a single day.

First Up: The Jonas Brothers' Holiday Flick

Starting, hopefully, on a high. This is the exclusive 2025 entry on a popular review site's list of the best 100 Christmas movies of all time.

The popular band find themselves stranded in the UK after finishing their world tour and must make it back for Christmas. Their attempts are thwarted by an malevolent Father Christmas, who sings to declare they won’t get home until they “rediscover their brotherly magic.”

The banter between the arguing trio is amusing even for the uninitiated, while devotees will certainly notice lots of in-jokes as they endeavor to get back using every mode of travel possible.

It’s a travelogue of mishaps.

It’s not a timeless masterpiece, but is excellent for devotees and a solid start to the day.

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their relatives who must sit through it.

Late Morning: Tinsel Town

Famous performer Kiefer Sutherland has been cast as a Hollywood star cast a traditional British stage show.

“A panto-what??” asks Sutherland’s “hard-to-work-with” and aging star Brad Mack, who has seen better days and whose manager has tricked him into thinking he’s performing in renowned British drama.

His Aladdin fellow actors tell him he’s playing Buttons. “No I'm not,” he protests. It's easy to predict their reply. That is, unless you’re unfamiliar with traditional panto catchphrases.

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

It’s the sort of feature that would be a bit tacky at any other time of year, but is a lot of fun at Christmas.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄🎄

Mid-Morning: Christmas Karma

Danny Dyer shows up at the outset of this film, too, calling someone a mug for the second film in a row. Could this be a fresh holiday staple?

This time, he’s a musical taxi operator who collects 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 filmmaker behind Gurinder Chadha. The familiar story progresses as the tight-fisted Mr Sood is confronted by the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future, played by Hugh Bonneville, Billy Porter, and Boy George.

This Indian Scrooge is at least distinct from all the others, but regrettably he’s not very charismatic and Nayyar’s portrayal is lifeless—a significant issue when he’s so the main character.

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄

Noon: A BBC Special

There’s time for a major broadcaster's original festive film—which stars Guz Khan as a endearingly grumpy man who “doesn’t really do Christmas.”

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

There’s just one problem—he finds out there was an mix-up with his bonus, which should have been £800, and he has to figure out how to reimburse the difference.

Pleasant yet unmemorable.

Festive score: 🎄🎄

1.12pm - Champagne Problems

This is one of those Christmas films where the festive trappings are in the backdrop—Christmas is the scene of the film rather than its main point—but it feels warm and holiday-like all the same.

Driven corporate star Sydney (played by Minka Kelly) is assigned to a country estate to secure an acquisition for a sparkling wine company. During her travels, she encounters a guy in a literary haven who promises to show her the holidays in the City of Light.

A critic recently stated this is the top new Christmas film of the past few years. That’s a bit of a overstatement, but it is a holiday love story with a touch of class and gives the required warm and fuzzy feels.

The scene with a extended debate about Die Hard is very good too.

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄

A Charming Quest

Sixteen-year-old 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 truth.

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

It’s gentle but endearing, and ideal viewing while expecting Santa to visit.

Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄

4.39pm - Oh. What. Fun.

Michelle Pfeiffer is the head 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 starts by mentioning 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 real champions of the holidays—moms.”

So that’s what this is, but in execution it’s really a jumble of those inspirations, at least until Pfeiffer’s character eventually finds her strength.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄

6.43pm - A Scottish Christmas Secret

The day’s gone downhill, but thankfully here’s a new offering in the crowded field of formulaic, schmaltzy, badly acted—and strangely compelling—festive fodder.

It’s a tale as well-worn: An American woman journeys to a picturesque cold country and ends up finding romance.

In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher