Marathon Viewing This Year's Festive Features: Highlights, Lowlights, and Unexpected Delights.

‘Tis the time of year to slob out on the couch and demolish a tin of mince pies in front of a terrific flick, a bad movie, or one that’s terrible yet terrific.

As always, a batch of new seasonal stories aims to become part of our festive viewing—perhaps even finding a spot alongside timeless staples 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 marathoned as many recent festive movies as possible in a single day.

Early Morning: A Very Jonas Christmas Movie

Beginning, optimistically, on a high. This release is the only 2025 movie on a well-known aggregator's list of the best 100 festive features of all time.

The musical trio find themselves stranded in the UK after finishing their global concert series and must return for Christmas. Their endeavors are thwarted by an villainous Saint Nick, who sings to state they won’t get home until they “rediscover their brotherly magic.”

The banter between the arguing trio is enjoyable even for the non-fan, while devotees will undoubtedly catch lots of easter eggs as they try to get back using every mode of travel possible.

It’s a journey of epic proportions.

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

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their family members who must sit through it.

Late Morning: Tinsel Town

Famous performer Kiefer Sutherland has been cast as a Hollywood star roped into a traditional British stage show.

“A panto-what??” asks Sutherland’s “hard-to-work-with” and older star Brad Mack, who has fallen on hard times and whose manager has deceived him into thinking he’s performing in high-class London stage.

His Aladdin co-stars tell him he’s playing Buttons. “Oh no I’m not,” he protests. You can guess their response. Unless you’re not acquainted with traditional panto catchphrases.

There are some very funny lines, some cockle-warming side stories, and the supporting actors is brilliant, too.

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

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄🎄

10.19am - Christmas Karma

An actor appears at the beginning of this film, too, insulting someone for the second film in a row. Might this become a budding festive ritual?

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 filmmaker behind Gurinder Chadha. The familiar story progresses as the miserly Mr Sood is visited by the spirits of Christmas yesterday, today, and tomorrow, played by Hugh Bonneville, Billy Porter, and Boy George.

This cultural adaptation is at least distinct from all the others, but sadly he’s not very captivating and Nayyar’s acting is wooden—a problem when he’s so the focal point.

Festive score: 🎄🎄

12.04pm - Stuffed

Before lunch for a major broadcaster's original festive film—which stars Guz Khan as a lovably grouchy guy who “avoids Christmas.”

But after he receives an sizable holiday payout at work, his wife (starring Morgana Robinson) talks him into blowing the money on a vacation to Lapland.

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

Enjoyable but forgettable.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄

1.12pm - Champagne Problems

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

Ambitious executive Sydney (played by Minka Kelly) is assigned to a French chateau to do a deal for a champagne business. During her travels, she meets a man in a book store who offers to show her the holidays in the City of Light.

An expert recently claimed 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 hint of sophistication and gives the required cozy feelings.

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

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄

3.29pm - Finding Father Christmas

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

The answer is somewhere, and Chris embarks on a quest to find it with the guidance of a group of well-known figures.

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

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄

A Star-Studded Family Drama

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

Pfeiffer opens by name-dropping classic festive films like National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, It’s A Wonderful Life and Home Alone, before saying: “They need to make a movie about the unsung heroes of the holidays—moms.”

So that’s the concept, but in practice it’s really a mash-up of those inspirations, at least until Pfeiffer’s character eventually takes center stage.

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄

Formulaic Fun

The day’s gone downhill, but fortunately here’s a new addition in the packed genre of cliched, saccharine, over-the-top—and strangely compelling—seasonal comfort food.

It’s a narrative as familiar as can be: An American woman goes on a quest to a distant snowy land and ends up discovering romance.

In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher