Now we are into the festive season, there’s nothing quite like curling up on the sofa with a Christmas film. Let’s be real, though, there are only so many times we can listen to Kevin scream into the mirror after slapping on some aftershave in Home Alone, or cackle while watching Buddy drizzle maple syrup onto a plate of spaghetti in Elf, before the magic starts to fade.
Thankfully, the age of streaming has unleashed an avalanche of new Christmas movies, with platforms such as Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+ and more transforming themselves into the Hallmark channel, as they race to cook up the best Christmas films in 2024.
This year, Lindsay Lohan continues her transformation into the queen of Christmas, with Netflix’s Our Little Secret; Mean Girls’ Lacey Chabert falls in love with a handsome snowman come to life in Hot Frosty; and Ben Stiller returns to the screen in Disney+’s Nutcrackers.
Without further ado, here’s our round-up of the best new and upcoming Christmas films to watch this season. You can stream them all from home on Netflix, Disney+ and more, including Red One, which has just dropped on Amazon Prime Video.
The best new Christmas movies 2024
‘Red One’
This is a mad-cap festive action-comedy film starring Dwayne ‘the Rock’ Johnson and Chris Evans as Santa Clause’s chief security advisor and a bounty hunter tasked with rescuing Santa (code-named Red One) after he is kidnapped from the North Pole. Ridiculous and outrageous, it’s a $250m blockbuster Christmas film that first dropped in cinemas, but is now streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
‘Meet Me Next Christmas’
While there was a surprising lack of rom-coms on the Christmas streaming calendar last year, Netflix is delivering the goods in 2024. In pursuit of a fairytale romance with the man of her dreams, Layla (Christina Milian) races through New York City to try and get her hands on tickets to the sold-out Pentatonix Christmas Eve concert. Expect lots of harmonies in this mad-dash romantic comedy.
‘A Sudden Case of Christmas’
When learning of her parents’ plan to separate while on a family holiday to Italy, Christmas-obsessed Claire hatches a plan with her grandfather (Danny DeVito) to get her parents back together. The film is available to rent and buy on digital platforms now, including Amazon, Sky Store and Apple TV.
‘Hot Frosty’
Hot Frosty sounds like the sweet spiritual successor to Jack Frost. In this romantic comedy, Mean Girls’ Lacey Chabert takes on the role of a woman who brings her handsome snowman to life, two years after the death of her husband. Expect romance, laughs and, of course, tears when her charming snowman inevitably melts.
‘An Almost Christmas Story’
Produced by Roma and Gravity director Alfonso Cuarón and directed by The Green Knight’s David Lowery, An Almost Christmas Story is an animated short film that follows Moon, a young owl who’s found himself stuck in a Christmas tree destined for New York’s Rockefeller Plaza. Trying to escape the city, Moon befriends a lost young girl named Luna, as they journey back home together.
‘The Merry Gentlemen’
This one turns the Hallmark playbook on its head, mixing Magic Mike with Christmas. Britt Robertson and Chad Michael Murray star in this festive flick. Former big-city dancer Ashley’s on a mission to save the Rhythm Room (her parents’ small-town performing arts venue), by staging an all-male Christmas-themed revue.
‘Wish List Games’
Although not a Christmas movie, this looks like a delightful Christmas-themed reality TV show, if you want something a bit different this season. Wish List Games is hosted by Lele Pons and Emmy-nominated host Nick Cannon, and take the form of a high-energy, half-hour game show that sees contestants play for the chance to win everything on their Amazon wishlist, totalling up to $25,000. Contestants are pulled from the audience to play a series of games, with the show ending with one contestant playing to win a prize for everyone in the audience.
‘Dear Santa’
Jack Black and Shallow Hal director Bobby Farrelly are teaming up once again for what looks like a hilarious Christmas comedy, where Black plays the devil. Things go south when a young boy (with horrendous spelling) writes a letter to Satan instead of Santa, summoning the wrong person down his chimney. Expect high jinks of the highest degree, it also stars Keegan-Michael Key, and there’s a cameo by Post Malone, who plays himself. Note: This isn’t a horror in the slightest.
‘Our Little Secret’
The queen of Christmas is back. After taking on the genre in Netflix’s Falling For Christmas, Lindsay Lohan has returned in Our Little Secret. In the film, two resentful exes are forced to spend Christmas under the same roof, after discovering their current partners are siblings. Awkward.
‘Nutcrackers’
Ben Stiller stars as a high-flying real estate developer in this heartwarming Christmas comedy. When his sister dies in an accident, Michael is forced to step into the role of guardian for her four unruly orphaned sons who live on a farm. Except, he knows nothing about parenting (or rural life, for that matter). Coming to Hulu first in the US on 29 November, the David Gordon Green (Pineapple Express) flick will premiere on Disney+ in the UK sometime this festive season.
‘Jack in Time for Christmas’
In this part scripted comedy, part unscripted travelogue, Jack Whitehall finds himself stranded in the USA with just four days to make it back to the UK for Christmas. With flights cancelled, Whitehall embarks on a journey involving huskies and bobsleighs, and a bunch of famous faces, including Michael Bublé, Dave Bautista, Rebel Wilson, Jimmy Fallon, Daisy May Cooper and Tom Davies, who are either there to help (or hinder) his journey home.
‘That Christmas’
Based on Richard Curtis’s series of children’s books, That Christmas is an animated movie from Locksmith Animation. The film tells a series of intertwined tales about family life during Christmas, love and loneliness. If that hasn’t got you hooked, Brian Cox is also voicing Santa Clause.
‘Carry-On’
This sounds like the Die Hard of 2024 (aka, an action film that takes place at Christmas). Taron Egerton plays an airport security agent who’s been blackmailed by a mysterious Jason Bateman into letting a dangerous bag slip onto a Christmas Eve flight. “One bag for one life,” is Bateman’s blackmail offer.
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