Binge-Watching 2025's Holiday Movies: Highlights, Lowlights, and Unexpected Delights.

It is the time of year to lounge on the sofa and devour a tin of holiday pastries in front of a terrific flick, a bad movie, or one that’s terrible yet terrific.

As always, a batch of fresh seasonal stories aims to become part of our holiday traditions—potentially even joining the ranks alongside beloved favorites like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (we won’t debate it).

Therefore, in a vital public service to separate the winners from the losers, and to get into the festive feeling, I binged as many new holiday releases as possible in a single day.

Early Morning: A Very Jonas Christmas Movie

Kicking off, hopefully, on a good foot. This is the only 2025 title on a well-known aggregator's list of the greatest 100 festive features of all time.

The musical trio end up trapped in the UK after concluding their international trek and must get home for Christmas. Their attempts are hindered by an malevolent Father Christmas, who sings to announce they won’t get home until they “find their brotherly magic.”

The back-and-forth between the squabbling siblings is entertaining even for the uninitiated, while fans will certainly catch lots of easter eggs as they attempt to get back using all transportation available.

It’s private planes, trains and automobiles.

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

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their loved ones who will have to sit through it.

Next: A Star in Panto

A-list actor Kiefer Sutherland appears as a Hollywood star tricked into a traditional British stage show.

“A what's a panto??” asks Sutherland’s “difficult” and aging lead Brad Mack, who has hit a rough patch and whose agent has tricked him into thinking he’s appearing in renowned British drama.

His pantomime cast-mates let him know he’s playing Buttons. “Oh no I’m not,” he protests. One can imagine their reply. Except if you’re unfamiliar with traditional stage call-and-response.

There are some great jokes, some cockle-warming sub-plots, and the ensemble is brilliant, too.

It’s the sort of feature that would be a bit tacky at another season, but is a great entertainment at Christmas.

Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄🎄

Mid-Morning: Christmas Karma

Danny Dyer pops up at the start 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 encounters 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 familiar story progresses as the miserly Mr Sood is confronted by the apparitions 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 unfortunately he’s not very captivating and Nayyar’s portrayal is flat—a major flaw when he’s so the focal point.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄

12.04pm - Stuffed

There’s time for a network's original festive film—which stars Guz Khan as a charmingly cantankerous character who “avoids Christmas.”

But after he is awarded an sizable holiday payout at work, his wife (played by Morgana Robinson) talks him into blowing the money on a family trip to Lapland.

There’s just one issue—he learns there was an error with his bonus, which should have been £800, and he has to figure out how to reimburse the excess.

Fun while it lasts but not lasting.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄

1.12pm - Champagne Problems

This is one of those holiday movies where the festive trappings are in the setting—Christmas is the environment of the film rather than its raison d’etre—but it feels comfortable and seasonal all the same.

Driven corporate star Sydney (played by Minka Kelly) is dispatched to a French chateau 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 the holidays in the City of Light.

A commentator recently claimed this is the top new Christmas film of the past few years. That’s a bit of a exaggeration, but it is a festive dalliance with a hint of sophistication and gives the required heartwarming sensation.

The scene with a lengthy discussion about Die Hard is notable too.

Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄

A Charming Quest

Teenage Chris, played by Lenny Rush, refuses to stop believing in Father Christmas, in spite of the attempts of his dad (starring James Buckley) to tell him otherwise.

The secret is to be discovered, and Chris sets out to find it with the guidance of a team of well-known scientists and personalities.

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

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄

Late Afternoon: Oh. What. Fun.

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

Pfeiffer opens by name-dropping 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 true heroes of the holidays—moms.”

So that’s what this is, but in execution it’s really a mash-up of those forerunner films, at least until Pfeiffer’s character eventually finds her strength.

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄

6.43pm - A Scottish Christmas Secret

The day’s taken a dip, but thankfully here’s a new entry in the saturated market of formulaic, schmaltzy, badly acted—and utterly watchable—seasonal comfort food.

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

In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher