Marathon Viewing This Year's Holiday Movies: Highlights, Lowlights, and Unexpected Delights.

It is the season to lounge on the sofa and devour a box of festive treats in front of a great film, a bad movie, or one that’s so bad it’s good.

This year, a selection of new seasonal stories strives to join part of our seasonal watchlist—perhaps even joining the ranks alongside enduring classics like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (no arguments).

Therefore, in a helpful attempt to distinguish the gems from the coal, and to embrace the holiday mood, I marathoned as many fresh holiday releases as possible in a single day.

First Up: The Jonas Brothers' Holiday Flick

Kicking off, hopefully, on a good foot. This is the only 2025 title on a famous website's list of the greatest 100 holiday films of all time.

The popular band are stranded in the UK after wrapping up their international trek and must get home for Christmas. Their endeavors are hampered by an evil Santa, who bursts into melody to announce they won’t get home until they “rekindle their brotherly magic.”

The back-and-forth between the squabbling siblings is entertaining even for the non-fan, while followers will undoubtedly notice lots of in-jokes as they endeavor to get back using any means of transport necessary.

It’s a travelogue of mishaps.

It’s not an all-time classic, but is great for devotees and a good start to the day.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their loved ones who are obliged to sit through it.

Next: A Star in Panto

Famous performer Kiefer Sutherland stars as a Hollywood star tricked into a pantomime.

“A panto-what?” asks Sutherland’s “difficult” and aging lead Brad Mack, who has fallen on hard times and whose representative has deceived him into thinking he’s appearing in high-class London stage.

His Aladdin fellow actors tell him he’s playing Buttons. “Oh no I’m not,” he retorts. You can guess their retort. Unless you’re ignorant of traditional stage call-and-response.

There are some very funny lines, some touching side stories, and the rest of the cast is excellent, too.

It’s the kind of movie that would be a bit tacky at any other time of year, but is a great entertainment at Christmas.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄🎄

Mid-Morning: Christmas Karma

An actor shows up at the beginning of this film, too, insulting someone for the second consecutive movie. Is this a fresh holiday staple?

This time, he’s a musical taxi operator who picks up Mr Sood, the modern take 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 unfolds as the stingy Mr Sood is visited by the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future, 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 acting is flat—a major flaw when he’s so central to everything.

Festive score: 🎄🎄

12.04pm - Stuffed

There's just enough time for a network's Christmas comedy-drama—which stars Guz Khan as a endearingly grumpy man who “isn't big on Christmas.”

But after he is awarded an £8,000 Christmas bonus at work, his wife (portrayed by Morgana Robinson) convinces him blowing the money on a family trip to Lapland.

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

Fun while it lasts but not lasting.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄

A Classy Netflix Romance

This is one of those holiday movies where the festive trappings are in the backdrop—Christmas is the environment 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 sent to a French chateau to secure an acquisition for a sparkling wine company. On the way, she runs into a fellow in a literary haven who promises to show her a festive Paris.

A commentator recently declared this is the top new Christmas film of the recent era. That’s a bit of a overstatement, but it is a holiday love story with a dash of elegance and gives the required cozy feelings.

The scene with a detailed conversation about Die Hard is very good too.

Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄

A Charming Quest

Teenage Chris, played by Lenny Rush, continues to believe in Father Christmas, despite the efforts of his dad (starring James Buckley) to tell him the truth.

The truth is to be discovered, and Chris sets out to find it with the assistance of a team of well-known experts and celebrities.

It’s gentle but charming, and ideal viewing while waiting for Santa to visit.

Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄

Late Afternoon: Oh. What. Fun.

Michelle Pfeiffer is the matriarch of a bickering American family who gather for the holidays—including fellow Oscar nominee 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 declaring: “They need to make a movie about the true heroes of the holidays—moms.”

So that’s what this is, but in reality it’s really a combination of those forerunner films, at least until Pfeiffer’s character finally comes into her own.

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄

Formulaic Fun

The day’s taken a dip, but happily here’s a new addition in the packed genre of cliched, saccharine, over-the-top—and highly entertaining—seasonal comfort food.

It’s a tale as well-worn: An American woman travels to a distant snowy land and ends up stumbling across romance.

In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher