This is my extremely biased opinion of holiday movies I like to watch on Christmas (Saturnalia). This is not a list of the best holiday movies or even best Christmas movies – just the fun ones I’ve liked popping on while caught up in the holiday season – which I do not get too excited about like with Halloween. Check out the best scary, alternative, classic, and comedic holiday films, plus the best Christmas movies for kids.
Top Christmas Movies to Watch During the 2024 Holiday Season
5 Best Christmas Horror Movies
5. A Christmas Carol (2009)
This will be the first of three variations of Dickenson’s novel you’ll find on this list. It’s a wonderful tale on many levels and this is probably my third favorite film adaptation. Is it scary? Well, I honestly thought there were more horror-themed Christmas movies. A Christmas Carol features a ghost and three spirits, so it fits the bill. Better Watch Out (2016) and A Black Christmas (2019) were just not memorable enough to include.
4. Violent Night (2022)
David Harbour gives a great performance as a kick-ass Santa. The movie is a lot of fun and as the title promises, very violent. This is one I probably need to watch again, but as I recall, Harbour is a drinking, smoking, cursing Santa who ends up fighting to save a kid from some sort of murderous plot.
3. The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
For my top 25 Halloween movies, I chose not to include this and instead chose Frankenweenie and the reason was because I didn’t want it on both lists. This is a marvelous, darkly funny (for a kid’s flick) take on the holiday traditions of western cultures. Unfortunately, I wasn’t exposed to this movie until my college years so I don’t have as much nostalgia for this animated movie as some of my peers.
2. Silent Night (2021)
There have been a lot of recent entries into the horror-themed Christmas movie genre and this one is top notch. Starring the kid from the Babadook, it is the only scary holiday film that is actually, well, scary. It is an apocalyptic nightmare about parents and their children attempting ritualized suicide to escape an impending attack that will choke the countryside with toxic gas. While the film would work without the Christmas setting, it certainly adds to creepiness.
1. Terrifier 3 (2024)
If you are not familiar with the Terrifier series, then I will warn to tread lightly. These are gory, sickeningly violent movies that are not for the faint of heart. Art the Clown puts on one hell of a bloody show, though. The movies are like simulated traumatic experiences. I had shut the events of the first 2 movies out of my mind, but the third one does a great job of reminding you what horror was to be witnessed in the previous episodes. This is the only entry in the trilogy that is Christmas-themed and it stands on its own in comparison with parts 1 and 2. This is one fucked up movie and I loved it.
5 Best Christmas Movies: Action or Drama
5. Iron Man 3 (2013)
I’m starting this section right off the bat: I’ve never watched Die Hard or Die Hard 2. I for some reason saw Live Free or Die Hard in theatres, but that’s about it. I know Bruce Willis and Professor Snape have some sort of tussle, and I’m sure it’s a Christmas movie. And this would be the section that it would fit in. So I’ve picked Iron Man 3. Honorable mentions to Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and The Ice Harvest but I get the two mixed up honestly. So Robert Downey, Jr. makes the list anyway. The subplot with the kid in Tennessee helping Tony Stark establishes this film as a solid holiday movie. And for the record, I like Ben Kinsley as “the Mandarin.”
4. Batman Returns (1992)
Another Tim Burton finds its way onto the list. This is a divisive film among Batman fans, from the depiction of the Penguin to penguins with rocket launchers to a villain invented just for
the screen, played by Christopher Walken… but it is surely a weird movie that takes place during the holidays.Keaton reprises his role with another great job and Danny Devito relishes in the odd interpretation of the Penguin’s character. (And Peifer’s Cat-Woman provides a compelling love interest for Bruce Wayne.)
3. Eyes Wide Shut (1999)
I’m a sucker for Kubrick. I think he was a genius director. 2001: A Space Odyssey is one of my top 5 favorite films and while I debated including The Shining on the list of Halloween movies but decided against it, I will not shun Stanley here. This definitely has elements of Christmas, but it focuses mostly on fidelity, love, and marriage. Kidman and Cruse hold their own and then, there’s, well… that scene. The film is a provocative conclusion to a genius’ stellar career.
2. The Holdovers (2023)
Alexander Payne is another filmmaker I’m fond of. And even though he isn’t on the same level as Kubrick, in terms of the holiday season, this movie is more emblematic of what Christmas means for a good chunk of the population… loneliness and boredom. Giamatti gives his all as the strict teacher watching over students who don’t go home for winter break (or, “holdover”). This movie provides more warmth and depth than the other four titles in this section.
1. Go (1999)
This movie is a blast. Ecstasy, pyramid schemes, Vegas hotel rooms aflame… the viewer is taken on a fast-paced ride. About several young adults trying to have fun and get by, the movie intertwines three main storylines brilliantly. Doug Liman is an underrated director and this early effort displays his potential. Katie Holmes and Olyphant make their mark as talented actors and the soundtrack provides a good time. The movie takes place on a Christmas and one of the main settings is a rave called “Mary Xmas” or something. Like her name is Mary.
5 Best Christmas Movie Classics
5. A Christmas Story (1983)
I didn’t really start watching this one until TBS started showing nonstop on TV all Christmas day. I’m not sure if they still do that, but back in the day when we were relying on cable, flipping occasionally to watch snippets of this movie throughout the day became an odd tradition there for a few years. Not sure if the channel still does that these days. The leg lamp is funny for sure.
4. It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)
Is it, though? Okay, so you’ve got James Stewart who has that voice and is a Hollywood legend. Then there’s the motif that sort of flips A Christmas Carol on its head. Instead of spirits showing a crappy rich person all the mistakes he’s made, an angel shows a suicidal broke person how much better the world is with him in it. At its heart, the movie mostly stands up almost 8 decades after it was released. And of course, every time a bell rings… You fix the banister.
3. Twelfth Night (1996)
Ben Kinsley strikes again! This time as Feste in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. I would be remiss if I didn’t include m favorite comedy written by the Bard. The character Malvolio and his subsequent treatment is complex and, not only provided fodder for a 15-page essay I had to write in college, but remains compelling to this day. This adaptation, starring Helena Bonham Carter as Olivia, is wonderful and worth a watch if you’re a Shakespeare nerd. (Twelfth Night as in the Twelve Nights of Christmas, in case you were wondering why it was on this list.)
2. A Christmas Carol (1951)
As a kid, it was traditional in our house to watch this movie every Christmas eve. And it had to be this version, which is the quintessential film adaptation. Far superior to the 1938 version or anything that came after, this fantastic black-and-white film is the second of three appearances of Dickenson’s novel in this article but, like the ghost of Christmas present, outshines both what came before and what will come after. Alastair Sim is the best Scrooge you’ll find, both pre- and post-epiphany. Glyn Dearman is tiniest and most crippled of all Tiny Tims to be put to the screen. Mervyn Johns as Bob Cratchit is… well, you get the picture.
1. National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989)
This is a better Christmas classic than both Dickenson and Shakespeare’s holiday tales – perhaps because it was written for the screen. And while a certain Scrooge (or should I say Shirley?) in my past was a rabid fan of this movie, and he turned out to be as big of an asshole as Chevy Chase allegedly is in real life, I will let none of that deter my love for this epitomal Christmas film – which, ironically, closes its curtain on the night of Christmas Eve, before the story can even reach December 25.
5 Best Christmas Movie Comedies
5. The Hebrew Hammer (2003)
It’s Shaft, but you know… Jewish. This movie is a relic of its time, but in many ways, so am I. Andy Dick is an awful human being (allegedly) and that makes his terrible performance, as a villainous child of Santa name Damien, actually kind of effective in creating a dislikable antagonist. The Hebrew Hammer also marks the best Adam Goldberg offering in a holiday-themed project other than Christmas on Mars (2008). Side note: I did not like that Seth Rogen movie The Night Before – what a letdown.
4. Elf (2003)
Perhaps 2003 was the last holiday season where I truly felt joy, or maybe it’s a coincidence that three of my favorite holiday comedies came out in the same year… with another from just one year earlier. Who knows?
Will Ferrel was at his peak when this gem was unleashed. Peter Dinklage puts on a hilarious show as a narcissistic children’s author and Bob Newhart makes an appearance. Ultimately, though, the flick just has an innocent charm that’s hard to resist. It didn’t make the other lists for best kids movies during the holidays or the Christmas classics… but here it landed and is decidedly better than The Hebrew Hammer.
3. Hot Frosty (2024)
Perhaps this made this list because I watched it recently and still have a good taste in my mouth. Or maybe I just had very low expectations going into this movie and found myself cracking up for most of it. The premise is stupid as hell, but in a good way, like how movies were in the 90s; there’s an element of magic where logic is dismissed. Craig Ferguson is an over-the-top Sherrif, the actress from Mean Girls plays the lead perfectly, and it leans in hard to any aspect that could’ve ruined the movie had they instead shied away. Katy Mixon is also always a treat on screen and that remains true here.
2. 8 Crazy Nights (2002)
If you’re an Adam Sandler fan, then you can sit through this movie and enjoy it. When this movie came out, animated deer poop was right in line with my preteen sense of humor. I still say “technical foul” like the character Whitey. At the time, everything Sandler touched was box office gold except this cartoon and I was a fierce defendant of the movie, probably much more than was warranted. It still makes me chuckle today and I’m glad it has found its way into some modern holiday memes. Happy Hanukkah!
1. Bad Santa (2003)
To pick up on my earlier thoughts about 2003, I have now concluded that it was simply the funniest year to be alive, before social media’s rise, but after the internet started picking up steam. And here we have Billy Bob along with the late greats, John Ritter and Bernie Mac, in this low-brow masterpiece. There’s booze, crime, and even anal. The relationship our perpetually drunk Santa develops with the oddball Thurman ends up being pretty heartfelt, giving emotional gravity to a holiday comedy that would otherwise seem too bleak and devoid of hope.
Top 5 Christmas Kids Movies
5. Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmas (1999)
For whatever reason, the current tradition for our family has been to watch Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmas on the morning of December 25, after all the presents have been ripped open. The movie is comprised of three separate stories, the first features Donald Duck where everyday becomes Christmas day. The second story stars Goofy, and the third part is retelling of The Gift of the Magi with Mickey and Minnie Mouse. There’s not much that makes this one stand out, but it is easy to digest after an eventful morning.
4. Jingle All the Way (1996)
This might be out of place, but Star Wars superfans have not only ruined the franchise they obsess over (case-in-point: Episode IX)
but they have wrecked actual lives of those involved with its creation. In Jingle All the Way, the main little boy is the kid who plays young Anakin in The Phantom Menace and every time I watch this movie, I think about how harsh criticism following his Star Wars role led to a deteriorated mental state in his adulthood. Also sort of depressing, Phil Hartman is in this movie. You may remember his comedic genius from such shows as The Simpsons and Saturday Night Live. While Hartman makes this worth the watch, the commentary on the commercialization of the holidays and the prevalent theme of capitalism’s impact on a family’s integral structure make it one of the better Christmas flicks for kids.
3. How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)
Obviously, I am partial to children’s movies that were in theatres when I was a child. This is the most recent movie on this section’s list, and it was technically still released in the previous millennium (if you’re one who believe our current millennium began on January 1, 2001). While Carey’s voice acting was proficient for the previously mentioned Christmas Carol adaptation from 2009, his life-action portrayal of the Dr. Suess character is enthralling. Ron Howard brings the book to life in an imaginative fashion that outshines the modern computer-animated retelling in practically every way.
2. The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)
As promised, a third version of the Dickenson novel, this time with Muppets. Not much else to say about Scrooge and company. With the mastery of Jim Henson bringing Kermit, Ms. Piggy, Gonzo, and the rest of the gang to life, this film adaptation is easiest one to watch with smaller kids. The 2009 version boasts a dreary aesthetic while tip-toeing along the uncanny valley and other versions worth watching are geared toward an older audience. If you want to see a dark version of the tale that skews significant details of the original work, Steven Knight’s 3-part series from 2019 is… interesting. Also, honorable mention for kids Christmas movies: Hook (1991).
1. The Santa Clause (1994)
Tim Allen is pretty funny in this movie, and if it weren’t for Galaxy Quest, I’d say his role as Scott Calvin was the pinnacle of his hilarity. Nostalgia played a large role in selecting this movie for top prize the family-friendly category. Like in Jingle All the Way and Hook, a prominent theme in this film is the importance of spending time with loved ones, and taking the time to enjoy life, while not getting too consumed with work and money.
25 Best Christmas Movies to Watch in 2024 Holiday Season, written by BW Derge
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