Binge-Watching The Latest Festive Features: The Hits, The Misses, and The Guilty Pleasures.

It is the time of year to relax on the sofa and consume a tin of festive treats in front of a terrific flick, a poor film, or one that’s awesomely awful.

As always, a batch of fresh seasonal stories strives to join part of our holiday traditions—perhaps even earning a place alongside enduring classics like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (don’t start).

Therefore, in a helpful attempt to separate the winners from the losers, and to find the festive feeling, I marathoned as many new festive movies as possible in a single day.

Early Morning: A Very Jonas Christmas Movie

Beginning, optimistically, on a good foot. This is the only 2025 movie on a popular review site's list of the greatest 100 holiday films of all time.

The popular band find themselves trapped in the UK after concluding their world tour and must return for Christmas. Their endeavors are thwarted by an evil Santa, who sings to announce they won’t get home until they “rediscover their familial spark.”

The banter between the arguing trio is enjoyable even for the non-fan, while followers will undoubtedly notice lots of easter eggs as they try to get back using all transportation available.

It’s a journey of epic proportions.

It’s not legendary, but is excellent for fans and a good start to the day.

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

Late Morning: Tinsel Town

Hollywood star Kiefer Sutherland has been cast as a movie actor tricked into a "panto".

“A panto-what?” asks Sutherland’s “difficult” and older action hero Brad Mack, who has hit a rough patch and whose agent has misled him into thinking he’s performing in prestigious English theatre.

His Aladdin co-stars let him know he’s playing Buttons. “Oh no I’m not,” he retorts. You can guess their reply. That is, unless you’re unfamiliar with traditional British theatre traditions.

There are some great jokes, some touching storylines, and the supporting actors is brilliant, too.

It’s the sort of feature that would be a bit naff at another season, but is a lot of fun at Christmas.

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄🎄

A New Spin on Scrooge

An actor pops up at the beginning of this film, too, delivering a signature line for the second consecutive movie. Could this be a fresh holiday staple?

This time, he’s a musical taxi operator who collects 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 director of Gurinder Chadha. The familiar story progresses as the miserly Mr Sood is confronted by the ghosts of Christmas yesterday, today, and tomorrow, played by Hugh Bonneville, Billy Porter, and Boy George.

This Indian Scrooge is at least distinct from all the others, but unfortunately he’s not very compelling and Nayyar’s performance is lifeless—a significant issue when he’s so central to everything.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄

Noon: A BBC Special

There's just enough time for a major broadcaster's holiday special—which stars Guz Khan as a charmingly cantankerous character who “doesn’t really do Christmas.”

But after he receives an large festive windfall at work, his wife (starring Morgana Robinson) talks him into splurging the cash on a family trip to Lapland.

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

Enjoyable but forgettable.

Festive score: 🎄🎄

Early Afternoon: Champagne Problems

This is one of those Christmas films where the tree, fairy lights and snow are in the backdrop—Christmas is the setting of the film rather than its raison d’etre—but it feels comfortable and seasonal all the same.

Driven corporate star Sydney (starring Minka Kelly) is assigned to a French chateau to secure an acquisition for a champagne business. During her travels, she meets a man in a literary haven who offers to show her a festive Paris.

A critic recently declared this is the best new Christmas film of the last several seasons. That’s a bit of a overstatement, but it is a festive dalliance with a touch of class and gives the necessary cozy feelings.

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

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄

Mid-Afternoon: Finding Father Christmas

Young Chris, played by Lenny Rush, holds onto his belief in Father Christmas, despite the efforts of his dad (played by James Buckley) to tell him the reality.

The answer is out there, and Chris ventures forth to find it with the assistance of a group of well-known figures.

It’s understated but endearing, and perfect viewing while anticipating Santa to visit.

Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄

A Star-Studded Family Drama

Michelle Pfeiffer is the head of a bickering American family who reunite 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 declaring: “They need to make a movie about the real champions of the holidays—moms.”

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

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄

6.43pm - A Scottish Christmas Secret

The day’s taken a dip, but thankfully here’s a new offering in the saturated market of predictable, sentimental, cheesy—and strangely compelling—holiday fare.

It’s a tale as well-worn: An American woman goes on a quest to a far-off wintery locale and ends up stumbling across romance.

In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher