It’s the hap-happiest season of all. We bring nature inside as we adorn our living spaces with seasonally appropriate trees, and we light up the longer nights with bright and colourful lights. Music from generations long since passed is re-played and re-contextualised, and centuries old iconography is re-evaluated and repurposed.

There’ll be parties for hosting, marshmallows for toasting, and carolling out in the snow. If we’ve been good, we’ll receive gifts (thanks Santa!), and if we’re lucky we’ll eat so much food we can barely move. Almost certainly, we’ll watch a movie. From the Netflix Originals of the current era to the silver screen classics of wartime Hollywood, Christmastime movie watching doesn’t discriminate based on picture quality, colour or the lack thereof, acting powerhouses or barely trained actors – if it works, it works. And if it’s good, we’ll hold onto it forever.

In this Movie List from The Film Magazine, we’ve scoured the annals of Christmas movie history to bring you the very best of the best to watch this holiday season. These films are Christmas classics and beloved cult hits, some culturally significant and others often overlooked. These films are seasonal treats; two advent calendars worth of movie magic from the big-wigs in Hollywood and beyond.

Short films (those with a runtime of under one hour) will not be included here, nor will films that cross multiple seasons but feel like Christmas movies – sorry You’ve Got Mail and Bridget Jones’s Diary. Debatable Christmas movies like Gremlins have also been omitted because of their inclusion in our alternative list “10 Excellent Non-Christmas Films Set at Christmas“. Seasonal classic The Apartment has also been disqualified on the grounds that it covers Christmas and beyond, and is arguably more of a new year’s movie.

These are 50 Unmissable Christmas Movies as chosen by The Film Magazine team members. Entries by Mark Carnochan, Kieran Judge, Martha Lane, Sam Sewell-Peterson and Joseph Wade.

Follow @thefilmagazine on X (Twitter).

1. Remember the Night (1940)

Golden Era stars Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray (who would go on to star in The Apartment) spark an unlikely romance when Stanwyck’s Lee Leander steals a bracelet from a jewellery store and MacMurray’s John “Jack” Sargent is assigned to prosecute her over the Christmas holidays.

One of the era’s many beloved studio romantic comedies, Remember the Night features all the elements that would come to define the genre while encompassing some screwball comedy and classic transatlantic accents. The tagline read “When good boy meets bad girl they remember the night”, and it’s likely you’ll remember this seasonal treat too. JW

2. The Shop Around the Corner (1940)

Few things signal classic Hollywood Christmases like Jimmy Stewart, and 6 years before arguably his most memorable performance in the iconic Frank Capra Christmas movie It’s a Wonderful Life, he starred in a seasonal favourite that was just as beloved by critics, The Shop Around the Corner.

This holiday romance from Ernst Lubitsch (who also directed Heaven Can Wait) sees Stewart’s Alfred fall in love with his pen pal who, unbeknownst to him, is the colleague he most despises at his gift store job – You’ve Got Mail has got nothing on this. With some hearty moments and all of the circumstantial comedy of the best movies of the era, The Shop Around the Corner will make you laugh and fill your heart in that special way that only the best Christmas movies can. JW

3. Holiday Inn (1942)

Early sound pictures were revolutionised by famed tap dancer Fred Astaire, and by 1942 he was a certified movie musical megastar. In Mark Sandrich’s seasonal musical Holiday Inn, he teams with would-be Christmas icon and man with a voice as sooth as silk, Bing Crosby. The result is one of the most iconic and influential Christmas movies ever made.

The film’s outdated attitude towards race are cringe-inducing and inexcusable in a 21st century context (there’s a whole sequence featuring blackface), but its other dated sensibilities shine bright amongst more modern and commercial Christmas films; its wholesome aura, classic dance scenes, and era-defining songs making for an unmissable experience. To top it all, Bing Crosby sings “White Christmas” for the first time in this film, cementing it in history as a seasonal classic. JW

4. Meet Me in St. Louis (1944)

Widely acknowledged as one of the holiday season’s best-ever films, Vincente Minnelli (An American in Paris) illuminates his would-be wife Judy Garland in arguably her most established performance, bringing Christmas cheer to all without sacrificing any of the harsh realities facing the American people in the first half of the 20th century.

Featuring the original (and arguably the best) rendition of Christmas classic “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”, and being anchored by some heartbreaking story elements, Meet Me In St. Louis maintains its power and relevance 80 years on. It offers a Christmas movie that will forever mark the height of its sub-genre, as well as the two filmmaking careers (of Minnelli and Garland) that helped to define the era. JW

Recommended for you: There’s No Place Like St. Louis at Christmas

5. Christmas in Connecticut (1945)

Remember the Night star Barbara Stanwyck is once again front and centre for a Golden Era Hollywood Christmas movie, this time playing a city magazine editor whose lies about being a perfect housewife are put to the test when her boss and a returning war hero invite themselves to her house.

This is screwball comedy with all the spirit of the festive season is as romantic as it is funny, and prominently features the shadows of World War II to gift the film a unique emotionality that has ensured it is rewatched year on year. JW

IndieWire – 6th Dec 2019

Stephen Graham, the British star of the likes of This Is England and Walk Like a Panther who recently played a memorable role in Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman, is set to join the cast of Venom 2. The film, which will be Sony’s follow up to the 2017 billion dollar hit starring Tom Hardy, is currently keeping details of its plot close to its chest, with Graham’s role yet to be revealed.

Deadline – 5th Dec 2019

New Terrence Malick film A Hidden Life received a rare screening at the Vatican on Wednesday 4th Dec ahead of its North American release on the 13th.

THR – 5th Dec 2019

New DC/Warner Bros project The Batman, from Dawn of the Planet of the Apes screenwriter-director Matt Reeves, has cast Garden State, Green Lantern and An Education character actor Peter Sarsgaard. Though the role Sarsgaard has been given is currently under wraps, suggestions are being made that the actor could be set to play the role of Harvey “Two Face” Dent.

THR – 6th Dec 2019

A new Planet of the Apes movie is being developed at Disney, who now own the rights to the property following their purchase of 20th Century Fox earlier this year. The film, which will be overseen by the director of The Maze Runner 1, 2 & 3 Wes Ball, is suspected to be a franchise reboot, though details are currently unclear in this regard.

THR – 3rd Dec 2019

A Honey, I Shrunk the Kids sequel is in the works at Disney, with the director of the franchise’s original film from 1989, Joe Johnston, being lined up to direct. The project was apparently pitched to Disney by Beauty and the Beast and Frozen star Josh Gad earlier this year, and will reportedly see the actor fill the role of Wayne Szalinksi’s (Rick Moranis’) son.

Variety – 5th Dec 2019

Dakota Fanning and Elle Fanning will co-star as sisters in an adaptation of Kristin Hannah’s “The Nightingale” set to be directed by Inglourious Basterds actress Melanie Laurent.

THR – 4th Dec 2019

Sony’s musical Cinderella, set to star Camila Cabello, has cast ‘Chambers’ actor Nicholas Galitzine as its Prince Charming. Kay Cannon (Blockers) is set to direct.

THR – 5th Dec 2019

The first ever spin-off to one of Disney’s live-action remakes has been given the go-ahead, with Aladdin’s Prince Anders set to get his own standalone film. The film, which will be distributed exclusively by Disney+, will see original actor Billy Magnussen reprise his role.

THR – 6th Dec 2019

Mena Massoud, the lead actor and titular character in Disney’s 2019 live-action remake Aladdin, has said in an interview: “I haven’t had a single audition since Aladdin came out.” Revealing that was tired of keeping quiet about it.

THR – 3rd Dec 2019

Oscar-winning writer of The Big Short, Charles Randolph, is teaming with Blumhouse head Jason Blum to bring a real-to-life story of notorious start-up We Work to the big screen. The film, which is yet to be given a title, will be an adaptation of the reports of Katrina Booker, as well as her upcoming novel.

THR – 2nd Dec 2019

A sequel to 2018 Christmas movie The Christmas Chronicles starring Kurt Russell is heading to Netflix in 2020, with the first movie’s producer, Home Alone and Harry Potter 1 & 2 director Chris Columbus stepping into the director’s chair. Hollywood star Goldie Hawn, the real-life wife of star Kurt Russell, has also been confirmed to be playing the role of Mrs. Claus.

The Christmas Chronicles 2, coming next holiday season pic.twitter.com/zYVPwxKdbk

— See What’s Next (@seewhatsnext) December 6, 2019

The new Ghostbusters film, set to be directed by the son of original Ghostbusters director Ivan Reitman, Jason Reitman, has been given a full title ahead of its Summer 2020 release date: Ghostbusters: Afterlife.

Empire – 6th Dec 2019

Disney have sent out recommendations to movie theaters/cinemas asking them to warn viewers of prolonged flashing light sequences in their upcoming Lucasfilm release Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. The note, put together in conjunction with the Epilepsy Foundation, is something of a rarity in the industry.

THR – 6th Dec 2019

Kathleen Kennedy, the head of Disney subsidiary studio Lucasfilm and the overseer of Star Wars, is set to receive the British Film and Television Academy’s highest accolade, the BAFTA Fellowship award, in recognition of an outstanding and exceptional contribution to film.

BAFTA – 6th Dec 2019

Helen Mirren, the British actress who won an Oscar for her performance as Queen Elizabeth II in The Queen, will be honoured by the Berlin International Film Festival in 2020 with an iconic Golden Bear for the festival’s Lifetime Achievement Award.

4th Dec 2019

Joker actor Joaquin Phoenix has been named the PETA Person of the Year 2019 for promoting welfare rights to animals in trouble. The veteran actor and multi-time Oscar nominee, recently appeared on People for the Ethical Treatment of Animal’s “we are all animals” billboard campaign that looked to raise awareness of the group’s hope to ban travelling animal circuses worldwide.

THR – 2nd Dec 2019

Yorgos Lanthimos’ The Favourite won big at the 2019 European Film Awards this weekend, taking home 8 awards including European Film, European Comedy, Best Director and Best Actress.

TFM – 8th Dec 2019

And finally…

Studio Ghibli films will be available for digital purchase for the first time ever from 17th Dec, following a deal made with GKIDS to make all 21 of the studio’s releases available for purchase through their platform (set to hit HBO Max in 2020).

THR – 2nd Dec 2019

Georgian director Zaza Urushadze, best known for directing 2013 film Tangerines, has passed away aged 53 from a reported heart attack.

Vestink Kavkaza – 7th Dec 2019