Best Christmas Films

by twilight-arctic-fox101 | created - 27 Oct 2013 | updated - 27 Oct 2013 | Public

Feel good movies for the festive season

 Refine See titles to watch instantly, titles you haven't rated, etc
  • Instant Watch Options
  • Genres
  • Movies or TV
  • IMDb Rating
  • In Theaters
  • Release Year
  • Keywords





IMDb user rating (average) to
Number of votes to »




Reset
Release year or range to »




































































































1. The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

PG | 76 min | Animation, Family, Fantasy

82 Metascore

Jack Skellington, king of Halloween Town, discovers Christmas Town, but his attempts to bring Christmas to his home causes confusion.

Director: Henry Selick | Stars: Danny Elfman, Chris Sarandon, Catherine O'Hara, William Hickey

Votes: 375,116 | Gross: $75.08M

2. Elf (2003)

PG | 97 min | Adventure, Comedy, Family

66 Metascore

Raised as an oversized elf, Buddy travels from the North Pole to New York City to meet his biological father, Walter Hobbs, who doesn't know he exists and is in desperate need of some Christmas spirit.

Director: Jon Favreau | Stars: Will Ferrell, James Caan, Bob Newhart, Zooey Deschanel

Votes: 310,782 | Gross: $173.40M

3. Sleepless in Seattle (1993)

PG | 105 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance

72 Metascore

A recently widowed man's son calls a radio talk-show in an attempt to find his father a partner.

Director: Nora Ephron | Stars: Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan, Ross Malinger, Rita Wilson

Votes: 190,840 | Gross: $126.53M

4. Love Actually (2003)

R | 135 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance

55 Metascore

Follows the lives of eight very different couples in dealing with their love lives in various loosely interrelated tales all set during a frantic month before Christmas in London, England.

Director: Richard Curtis | Stars: Hugh Grant, Martine McCutcheon, Liam Neeson, Laura Linney

Votes: 531,486 | Gross: $59.70M

Whether you like it or not, this is one of the most christmassy films I have seen and can be enjoyed by both girls and guys.

5. How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)

PG | 104 min | Comedy, Family, Fantasy

46 Metascore

On the outskirts of Whoville lives a green, revenge-seeking Grinch who plans to ruin Christmas for all of the citizens of the town.

Director: Ron Howard | Stars: Jim Carrey, Taylor Momsen, Kelley, Jeffrey Tambor

Votes: 291,480 | Gross: $260.04M

6. A Christmas Carol (2009)

PG | 96 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy

55 Metascore

An animated retelling of Charles Dickens' classic novel about a Victorian-era miser taken on a journey of self-redemption, courtesy of several mysterious Christmas apparitions.

Director: Robert Zemeckis | Stars: Jim Carrey, Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Steve Valentine

Votes: 129,514 | Gross: $137.86M

7. Home Alone (1990)

PG | 103 min | Comedy, Family

63 Metascore

An eight-year-old troublemaker, mistakenly left home alone, must defend his home against a pair of burglars on Christmas Eve.

Director: Chris Columbus | Stars: Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern, John Heard

Votes: 652,788 | Gross: $285.76M

8. Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992)

PG | 120 min | Adventure, Comedy, Crime

46 Metascore

One year after Kevin McCallister was left home alone and had to defeat a pair of bumbling burglars, he accidentally finds himself stranded in New York City - and the same criminals are not far behind.

Director: Chris Columbus | Stars: Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern, Catherine O'Hara

Votes: 402,482 | Gross: $173.59M

9. Arthur Christmas (2011)

PG | 97 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy

69 Metascore

Santa's clumsy son Arthur sets out on a mission with Grandsanta to give out a misplaced present to a young girl in less than two hours on Christmas Day.

Directors: Sarah Smith, Barry Cook | Stars: James McAvoy, Jim Broadbent, Bill Nighy, Hugh Laurie

Votes: 67,094 | Gross: $46.46M

10. Life of Brian (1979)

R | 94 min | Comedy

77 Metascore

Born on the original Christmas in the stable next door to Jesus Christ, Brian of Nazareth spends his life being mistaken for a messiah.

Director: Terry Jones | Stars: Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Michael Palin, Terry Gilliam

Votes: 421,829 | Gross: $20.05M

This is all about Brian being born on the same day as Jesus: CHRISTMAS!

11. Miracle on 34th Street (1994)

PG | 114 min | Drama, Family, Fantasy

A lawyer and a little girl must prove that a man claiming to be Santa Claus is the real thing.

Director: Les Mayfield | Stars: Richard Attenborough, Elizabeth Perkins, Dylan McDermott, J.T. Walsh

Votes: 43,876 | Gross: $17.19M

12. Die Hard (1988)

R | 132 min | Action, Thriller

72 Metascore

A New York City police officer tries to save his estranged wife and several others taken hostage by terrorists during a Christmas party at the Nakatomi Plaza in Los Angeles.

Director: John McTiernan | Stars: Bruce Willis, Alan Rickman, Bonnie Bedelia, Reginald VelJohnson

Votes: 945,489 | Gross: $83.01M

13. 8 Women (2002)

R | 111 min | Comedy, Crime, Musical

64 Metascore

A man is murdered in an isolated chalet, and the eight female residents are all suspects; their secrets are revealed as they try to determine who is guilty.

Director: François Ozon | Stars: Fanny Ardant, Emmanuelle Béart, Danielle Darrieux, Catherine Deneuve

Votes: 34,334 | Gross: $3.08M

14. It's a Wonderful Life (1946)

PG | 130 min | Drama, Family, Fantasy

89 Metascore

An angel is sent from Heaven to help a desperately frustrated businessman by showing him what life would have been like if he had never existed.

Director: Frank Capra | Stars: James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore, Thomas Mitchell

Votes: 499,093

15. The Snowman (1982 TV Movie)

G | 26 min | Animation, Adventure, Family

On Christmas Eve, a young boy builds a snowman that comes to life and takes him to the North Pole to meet Father Christmas.

Directors: Jimmy T. Murakami, Dianne Jackson | Stars: David Bowie, Raymond Briggs, Mel Smith

Votes: 16,836

16. Edward Scissorhands (1990)

PG-13 | 105 min | Drama, Fantasy, Romance

74 Metascore

The solitary life of an artificial man - who was incompletely constructed and has scissors for hands - is upended when he is taken in by a suburban family.

Director: Tim Burton | Stars: Johnny Depp, Winona Ryder, Dianne Wiest, Anthony Michael Hall

Votes: 523,753 | Gross: $56.36M

17. Lethal Weapon (1987)

R | 109 min | Action, Crime, Thriller

68 Metascore

Two newly paired cops who are complete opposites must put aside their differences in order to catch a gang of drug smugglers.

Director: Richard Donner | Stars: Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, Gary Busey, Mitchell Ryan

Votes: 276,362 | Gross: $65.21M

18. The Polar Express (2004)

G | 100 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy

61 Metascore

On Christmas Eve, a young boy embarks on a magical adventure to the North Pole on the Polar Express, while learning about friendship, bravery, and the spirit of Christmas.

Director: Robert Zemeckis | Stars: Tom Hanks, Chris Coppola, Michael Jeter, Leslie Zemeckis

Votes: 241,289 | Gross: $183.37M

19. The Santa Clause (1994)

PG | 97 min | Comedy, Drama, Family

57 Metascore

When a man inadvertently makes Santa fall off his roof on Christmas Eve, he finds himself magically recruited to take his place.

Director: John Pasquin | Stars: Tim Allen, Judge Reinhold, Wendy Crewson, Eric Lloyd

Votes: 133,411 | Gross: $144.83M

20. Batman Returns (1992)

PG-13 | 126 min | Action, Crime, Fantasy

68 Metascore

While Batman deals with a deformed man calling himself the Penguin wreaking havoc across Gotham with the help of a cruel businessman, a female employee of the latter becomes the Catwoman with her own vendetta.

Director: Tim Burton | Stars: Michael Keaton, Danny DeVito, Michelle Pfeiffer, Christopher Walken

Votes: 327,443 | Gross: $162.83M

21. The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)

G | 85 min | Comedy, Drama, Family

64 Metascore

The Muppets present their own touching rendition of Charles Dickens' classic tale.

Director: Brian Henson | Stars: Michael Caine, Dave Goelz, Steve Whitmire, Jerry Nelson

Votes: 70,642 | Gross: $27.28M

22. Bad Santa (2003)

R | 92 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama

70 Metascore

A miserable conman and his partner pose as Santa and his Little Helper to rob department stores on Christmas Eve. But they run into problems when the conman befriends a troubled kid.

Director: Terry Zwigoff | Stars: Billy Bob Thornton, Bernie Mac, Lauren Graham, John Ritter

Votes: 155,158 | Gross: $60.06M

23. Scrooged (1988)

PG-13 | 101 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy

38 Metascore

A selfish, cynical television executive is haunted by three spirits bearing lessons on Christmas Eve.

Director: Richard Donner | Stars: Bill Murray, Karen Allen, John Forsythe, John Glover

Votes: 116,426 | Gross: $60.33M



Recently Viewed