Marathon Viewing The Latest Festive Features: The Good, The Bad and The So-Bad-It's-Good.

It is the season to lounge on the couch and devour a box of festive treats in front of a great film, a bad movie, or one that’s terrible yet terrific.

This year, a selection of latest seasonal stories aims to become part of our seasonal watchlist—potentially even joining the ranks alongside enduring classics like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (we won’t debate it).

Therefore, in a helpful attempt to separate the winners from the losers, and to embrace the holiday mood, I binged as many fresh holiday releases as possible in a single day.

7.17am - A Very Jonas Christmas Movie

Kicking off, ideally, on a positive note. This is the sole 2025 movie on a well-known aggregator's list of the top 100 holiday films of all time.

The Jonas Brothers end up trapped in the UK after concluding their world tour and must return for Christmas. Their endeavors are hampered by an villainous Saint Nick, who bursts into melody to state they won’t get home until they “rediscover their brotherly magic.”

The back-and-forth between the arguing trio is amusing even for the uninitiated, while fans will certainly notice lots of easter eggs as they try to get back using any means of transport necessary.

It’s private planes, trains and automobiles.

It’s not a timeless masterpiece, but is superb for devotees and a positive start to the day.

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

Next: A Star in Panto

Famous performer Kiefer Sutherland appears as a celebrity cast a "panto".

“A panto-what?” asks Sutherland’s “hard-to-work-with” and aging star Brad Mack, who has fallen on hard times and whose representative has misled him into thinking he’s performing in prestigious English theatre.

His pantomime co-stars tell him he’s playing Buttons. “Absolutely not,” he protests. It's easy to predict their reply. Unless you’re not acquainted with traditional stage call-and-response.

There are some hilarious moments, some touching storylines, and the supporting actors is brilliant, too.

It’s the sort of feature that would be a bit cheesy at another season, but is a highly enjoyable at Christmas.

Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄🎄

A New Spin on Scrooge

A familiar face pops up at the outset of this film, too, calling someone a mug for the next movie straight. Might this become a fresh holiday staple?

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 an actor from Kunal Nayyar and Christmas Karma is directed by the filmmaker behind Gurinder Chadha. The well-known tale develops as the tight-fisted Mr Sood is haunted by the apparitions of Christmas yesterday, today, and tomorrow, played by Hugh Bonneville, Billy Porter, and Boy George.

This cultural adaptation is at least unique from all the others, but regrettably he’s not very charismatic and Nayyar’s acting is flat—a problem when he’s so the main character.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄

Lunchtime: Stuffed

Before lunch for a channel's original festive film—which stars Guz Khan as a lovably grouchy guy who “isn't big on Christmas.”

But after he is awarded an large festive windfall at work, his wife (played by Morgana Robinson) persuades him blowing the money on a vacation to Lapland.

There’s just one snag—he learns there was an mix-up with his bonus, which should have been £800, and he has to figure out how to reimburse the remainder.

Pleasant yet unmemorable.

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄

A Classy Netflix Romance

This is one of those Christmas films where the festive trappings are in the background—Christmas is the setting of the film rather than its core purpose—but it feels warm and holiday-like all the same.

High-powered businesswoman Sydney (starring Minka Kelly) is sent to a French chateau to negotiate a purchase for a sparkling wine company. On the way, she encounters a fellow in a literary haven who offers 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 stretch, but it is a festive dalliance with a hint of sophistication and gives the obligatory warm and fuzzy feels.

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

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄

A Charming Quest

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

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

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

Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄

A Star-Studded Family Drama

Michelle Pfeiffer is the head of a bickering American family who gather for the holidays—including other Oscar nominee 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 true heroes of the holidays—moms.”

So that’s the premise, but in execution it’s really a mash-up of those forerunner films, at least until Pfeiffer’s character finally finds her strength.

Festive score: 🎄🎄

Formulaic Fun

The day’s taken a dip, but thankfully here’s a new offering in the packed genre of formulaic, schmaltzy, badly acted—and utterly watchable—holiday fare.

It’s a narrative as familiar as can be: An American woman journeys to a far-off wintery locale and ends up finding romance.

In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher