Devouring The Latest Christmas Films: The Hits, The Misses, and The Guilty Pleasures.

It is the time of year to slob out on the sofa and devour a tin of mince pies in front of a great film, a awful feature, or one that’s terrible yet terrific.

This year, a batch of latest Christmas films aims to become part of our seasonal watchlist—perhaps even joining the ranks alongside beloved favorites like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (we won’t debate it).

So, in a vital public service to sort the crackers from the turkeys, and to embrace the holiday mood, I watched as many new Christmas films as possible in a single day.

First Up: The Jonas Brothers' Holiday Flick

Beginning, optimistically, on a positive note. This release is the only 2025 movie on a well-known aggregator's list of the top 100 holiday films of all time.

The Jonas Brothers find themselves stranded in the UK after wrapping up their world tour and must get home for Christmas. Their efforts are hampered by an evil Santa, who sings to announce they won’t get home until they “rekindle their familial spark.”

The back-and-forth between the bickering brothers is entertaining even for the non-fan, while followers will certainly notice lots of references as they endeavor to get back using all transportation available.

It’s a travelogue of mishaps.

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

Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their relatives who will have to sit through it.

Late Morning: Tinsel Town

Hollywood star Kiefer Sutherland has been cast as a Hollywood star tricked into a pantomime.

“A what's a panto??” asks Sutherland’s “temperamental” and ageing lead Brad Mack, who has fallen on hard times and whose manager has misled him into thinking he’s starring in high-class London stage.

His Aladdin fellow actors tell him he’s playing Buttons. “No I'm not,” he insists angrily. It's easy to predict their response. Except if you’re not acquainted with traditional stage call-and-response.

There are some hilarious moments, some cockle-warming storylines, and the ensemble is brilliant, too.

It’s the kind of movie that would be a bit naff at a different time, but is a great entertainment at Christmas.

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄🎄

10.19am - Christmas Karma

An actor appears at the start 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 encounters Mr Sood, the latest spin 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 classic narrative unfolds as the miserly 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 sadly he’s not very charismatic and Nayyar’s acting is flat—a major flaw when he’s so central to everything.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄

Noon: A BBC Special

There’s time for a channel's original festive film—which stars Guz Khan as a charmingly cantankerous character who “isn't big on Christmas.”

But after he is awarded an sizable holiday payout at work, his wife (starring Morgana Robinson) convinces him spending the sum on a holiday to Lapland.

There’s just one snag—he discovers there was an mistake with his bonus, which should have been £800, and he has to determine how to return the remainder.

Pleasant yet unmemorable.

Festive score: 🎄🎄

Early Afternoon: Champagne Problems

This is one of those Christmas films where the tree, fairy lights and snow are in the background—Christmas is the setting of the film rather than its core purpose—but it feels comfortable and seasonal all the same.

Driven corporate star Sydney (played by Minka Kelly) is dispatched to a country estate to secure an acquisition for a sparkling wine company. En route, she meets a guy in a bookshop who vows to show her a festive Paris.

A commentator recently stated this is the top new Christmas film of the recent era. That’s a bit of a exaggeration, but it is a festive dalliance with a touch of class and gives the necessary heartwarming sensation.

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

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄

A Charming Quest

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

The truth is to be discovered, and Chris embarks on a quest to find it with the guidance of a group of well-known scientists and personalities.

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

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄

4.39pm - Oh. What. Fun.

Michelle Pfeiffer is the head of a bickering American family who come back together for the holidays—including other Oscar nominee 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 saying: “They need to make a movie about the real champions of the holidays—moms.”

So that’s what this is, but in reality 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 gone downhill, but happily here’s a new entry in the packed genre of cliched, saccharine, over-the-top—and highly entertaining—seasonal comfort food.

It’s a tale as familiar as can be: An American woman journeys to a distant snowy land and ends up finding romance.

In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher