Devouring This Year's Festive Features: The Hits, The Misses, and The Guilty Pleasures.

‘Tis the season to lounge on the sofa and demolish a box of festive treats in front of a good movie, a bad movie, or one that’s awesomely awful.

As always, a selection of fresh holiday movies aims to become 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).

So, in a vital public service to separate the winners from the losers, and to find the Christmas spirit, I watched as many new festive movies as possible in a single day.

First Up: The Jonas Brothers' Holiday Flick

Kicking off, hopefully, on a high. This is the only 2025 entry on a well-known aggregator's list of the top 100 festive features of all time.

The popular band find themselves trapped in the UK after wrapping up their global concert series and must get home for Christmas. Their attempts are hindered by an villainous Saint Nick, who bursts into melody to announce they won’t get home until they “find their brotherly magic.”

The repartee between the bickering brothers is entertaining even for the casual viewer, while devotees will certainly pick up on lots of references as they endeavor to get back using every mode of travel possible.

It’s private planes, trains and automobiles.

It’s not legendary, but is great for devotees and a positive start to the day.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 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 stars as a movie actor tricked into a "panto".

“A what's a panto??” asks Sutherland’s “hard-to-work-with” and ageing lead 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. “Oh no I’m not,” he insists angrily. One can imagine their retort. Unless you’re not acquainted with traditional panto catchphrases.

There are some great jokes, some cockle-warming side stories, and the supporting actors is excellent, too.

It’s the type of film that would be a bit tacky at another season, but is a lot of fun at Christmas.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄🎄

Mid-Morning: Christmas Karma

Danny Dyer shows up at the beginning of this film, too, delivering a signature line for the second consecutive movie. Is this a budding festive ritual?

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 a star of Kunal Nayyar and Christmas Karma is directed by Bend It Like Beckham’s Gurinder Chadha. The familiar story unfolds as the tight-fisted Mr Sood is confronted by the spirits of Christmas yesterday, today, and tomorrow, played by Hugh Bonneville, Billy Porter, and Boy George.

This South Asian reinterpretation is at least distinct from all the others, but unfortunately he’s not very captivating and Nayyar’s performance is wooden—a major flaw when he’s so central to everything.

Festive score: 🎄🎄

Lunchtime: Stuffed

Before lunch for a network's Christmas comedy-drama—which stars Guz Khan as a lovably grouchy guy who “doesn’t really do Christmas.”

But after he receives an sizable holiday payout at work, his wife (portrayed by Morgana Robinson) talks him into splurging the cash on a holiday to Lapland.

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

Enjoyable but forgettable.

Festive score: 🎄🎄

A Classy Netflix Romance

This is one of those Christmas films where the decorations and snow are in the background—Christmas is the setting of the film rather than its raison d’etre—but it feels warm and holiday-like all the same.

Driven corporate star Sydney (played by Minka Kelly) is dispatched to a country estate to negotiate a purchase for a sparkling wine company. On the way, she meets a guy in a literary haven who vows to show her a festive Paris.

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 festive dalliance with a hint of sophistication and gives the obligatory cozy feelings.

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

Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄

A Charming Quest

Young Chris, played by Lenny Rush, continues to believe in Father Christmas, despite the persuasion of his dad (played by James Buckley) to tell him otherwise.

The secret is somewhere, and Chris ventures forth to find it with the guidance of a team of well-known experts and celebrities.

It’s low-key but charming, and good viewing while expecting Santa to visit.

Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄

A Star-Studded Family Drama

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

Pfeiffer starts by mentioning classic festive films like National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, It’s A Wonderful Life and Home Alone, before declaring: “They need to make a movie about the real champions of the holidays—moms.”

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

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄

Formulaic Fun

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

It’s a narrative as well-worn: 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