Best Christmas Movies
by TimKaye | created - 25 Jan 2012 | updated - 04 Jan 2023 | PublicAlthough they're not ALL family fare, these films all have stories that at least partially take place during the Christmas holidays.
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1. Trading Places (1983)
R | 116 min | Comedy
A snobbish investor and a wily street con artist find their positions reversed as part of a bet by two callous millionaires.
Director: John Landis | Stars: Eddie Murphy, Dan Aykroyd, Ralph Bellamy, Don Ameche
Votes: 165,164 | Gross: $90.40M
2. Six Feet Under (2001–2005)
TV-MA | 60 min | Comedy, Drama
A chronicle of the lives of a dysfunctional family who run an independent funeral home in Los Angeles.
Stars: Peter Krause, Michael C. Hall, Frances Conroy, Lauren Ambrose
Votes: 148,613
OK, this one's not a movie, but the pilot episode of this TV series launches itself with a family tragedy that takes place as they all gather for Christmas. I always felt that one episode could have stood alone as a short film.
3. A Christmas Story (1983)
PG | 93 min | Comedy, Family
In the 1940s, a young boy named Ralphie Parker attempts to convince his parents, teacher, and Santa Claus that a Red Ryder Range 200 Shot BB gun really is the perfect Christmas gift.
Director: Bob Clark | Stars: Peter Billingsley, Melinda Dillon, Darren McGavin, Scott Schwartz
Votes: 168,437 | Gross: $20.61M
4. Joyeux Noel (2005)
PG-13 | 116 min | Drama, History, Music
In December 1914, an unofficial Christmas truce on the Western Front allows soldiers from opposing sides of the First World War to gain insight into each other's way of life.
Director: Christian Carion | Stars: Diane Kruger, Benno Fürmann, Guillaume Canet, Natalie Dessay
Votes: 31,928 | Gross: $1.05M
5. Die Hard (1988)
R | 132 min | Action, Thriller
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: 942,055 | Gross: $83.01M
6. Elf (2003)
PG | 97 min | Adventure, Comedy, Family
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: 310,169 | Gross: $173.40M
7. It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
PG | 130 min | Drama, Family, Fantasy
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: 497,700
8. The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
PG | 76 min | Animation, Family, Fantasy
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: 374,082 | Gross: $75.08M
9. How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1966 TV Movie)
Not Rated | 26 min | Animation, Comedy, Family
A grumpy hermit hatches a plan to steal Christmas from the Whos of Whoville.
Directors: Chuck Jones, Ben Washam | Stars: Boris Karloff, June Foray, Dal McKennon
Votes: 58,873
Once again, it's a TV Special, not really a movie, but it's an absolute classic.
10. Christmas Vacation (1989)
PG-13 | 97 min | Comedy
The Griswold family's plans for a big family Christmas predictably turn into a big disaster.
Director: Jeremiah S. Chechik | Stars: Chevy Chase, Beverly D'Angelo, Juliette Lewis, Johnny Galecki
Votes: 219,718 | Gross: $71.32M
11. The Ref (1994)
R | 97 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
A cat burglar is forced to take a bickering, dysfunctional family hostage on Christmas Eve.
Director: Ted Demme | Stars: Denis Leary, Judy Davis, Kevin Spacey, Robert J. Steinmiller Jr.
Votes: 26,500 | Gross: $11.44M
12. A Christmas Carol (1951)
TV-PG | 86 min | Drama, Family, Fantasy
Ebenezer Scrooge, a curmudgeonly, miserly businessman, has no time for sentimentality and largely views Christmas as a waste of time. However, this Christmas Eve, he will be visited by three spirits who will show him the error of his ways.
Director: Brian Desmond Hurst | Stars: Alastair Sim, Jack Warner, Kathleen Harrison, Mervyn Johns
Votes: 25,689
13. A Christmas Carol (1999 TV Movie)
TV-PG | 95 min | Drama, Fantasy
An old bitter miser who makes excuses for his uncaring nature learns real compassion when three ghosts visit him on Christmas Eve.
Director: David Hugh Jones | Stars: Patrick Stewart, Richard E. Grant, Joel Grey, Ian McNeice
Votes: 10,910
This film is really tied with the 1984 TV movie of the same story, that stars George C Scott. Both Patrick Stewart and George C Scott give wonderful and memorable performances as Ebenezer Scrooge.
14. Love Actually (2003)
R | 135 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
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: 530,331 | Gross: $59.70M
15. Bridget Jones's Diary (2001)
R | 97 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Bridget Jones is determined to improve herself while she looks for love in a year in which she keeps a personal diary.
Director: Sharon Maguire | Stars: Renée Zellweger, Colin Firth, Hugh Grant, Gemma Jones
Votes: 262,510 | Gross: $71.54M
16. While You Were Sleeping (1995)
PG | 103 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A hopelessly romantic Chicago Transit Authority ticket booth operator is mistaken for the fiancée of a comatose patient.
Director: Jon Turteltaub | Stars: Sandra Bullock, Bill Pullman, Peter Gallagher, Peter Boyle
Votes: 113,584 | Gross: $81.06M
17. The Holiday (2006)
PG-13 | 136 min | Comedy, Romance
Two women troubled with guy-problems swap homes in each other's countries, where they each meet a local guy and fall in love.
Director: Nancy Meyers | Stars: Kate Winslet, Cameron Diaz, Jude Law, Jack Black
Votes: 321,967 | Gross: $63.22M
18. Grumpy Old Men (1993)
PG-13 | 103 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A lifelong feud between two neighbors since childhood only gets worse when a new female neighbor moves across the street.
Director: Donald Petrie | Stars: Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau, Ann-Margret, Burgess Meredith
Votes: 53,671 | Gross: $70.17M
19. Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
Not Rated | 96 min | Comedy, Drama, Family
After a divorced New York mother hires a nice old man to play Santa Claus at Macy's, she is startled by his claim to be the genuine article. When his sanity is questioned, a lawyer defends him in court by arguing that he's not mistaken.
Director: George Seaton | Stars: Edmund Gwenn, Maureen O'Hara, John Payne, Gene Lockhart
Votes: 54,848 | Gross: $2.65M
20. Bad Santa (2003)
R | 92 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
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: 154,965 | Gross: $60.06M
21. A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965 TV Movie)
TV-G | 25 min | Animation, Comedy, Drama
Depressed at the commercialism he sees around him, Charlie Brown tries to find a deeper meaning to Christmas.
Director: Bill Melendez | Stars: Ann Altieri, Chris Doran, Sally Dryer, Bill Melendez
Votes: 43,999
Here's another TV special, rather than a full length film, but like The Grinch, this one is a must-see classic at Christmastime.
22. Scrooged (1988)
PG-13 | 101 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
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: 116,243 | Gross: $60.33M
23. The Santa Clause (1994)
PG | 97 min | Comedy, Drama, Family
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: 133,197 | Gross: $144.83M
24. About a Boy (2002)
PG-13 | 101 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Will, who attends single parent meetings to woo women, meets Marcus, a troubled 12-year-old boy. As they become friends, Will learns to be responsible while he helps Marcus with his studies.
Directors: Chris Weitz, Paul Weitz | Stars: Hugh Grant, Nicholas Hoult, Toni Collette, Sharon Small
Votes: 191,383 | Gross: $41.39M
25. Serendipity (2001)
PG-13 | 90 min | Comedy, Romance
A couple search for each other years after the night they first met, fell in love, and separated, convinced that one day they'd end up together.
Director: Peter Chelsom | Stars: John Cusack, Kate Beckinsale, Jeremy Piven, Bridget Moynahan
Votes: 121,047 | Gross: $50.29M
26. First Blood (1982)
R | 93 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller
A veteran Green Beret is forced by a cruel Sheriff and his deputies to flee into the mountains and wage an escalating one-man war against his pursuers.
Director: Ted Kotcheff | Stars: Sylvester Stallone, Brian Dennehy, Richard Crenna, Bill McKinney
Votes: 274,256 | Gross: $47.21M
27. The Family Man (2000)
PG-13 | 125 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
A fast-lane investment broker, offered the opportunity to see how the other half lives, wakes up to find that his sports car and girlfriend have become a mini-van and wife.
Director: Brett Ratner | Stars: Nicolas Cage, Téa Leoni, Don Cheadle, Jeremy Piven
Votes: 119,098 | Gross: $75.79M
28. Die Hard 2 (1990)
R | 124 min | Action, Thriller
John McClane attempts to avert disaster as rogue military operatives seize control of Dulles International Airport in Washington, D.C.
Director: Renny Harlin | Stars: Bruce Willis, William Atherton, Bonnie Bedelia, Reginald VelJohnson
Votes: 382,197 | Gross: $117.54M
29. The Polar Express (2004)
G | 100 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
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: 240,608 | Gross: $183.37M
30. The Christmas Gift (1986 TV Movie)
Not Rated | 120 min | Drama
A widowed New York City architect and his young daughter take a Christmas vacation and end up in a small mystical town in Colorado where everyone believes in Santa Claus.
Director: Michael Pressman | Stars: John Denver, Jane Kaczmarek, Edward Winter, Gennie James
Votes: 787
This isn't all that great a movie, I mostly like it because it has John Denver in it.
31. American Gun (2002)
R | 89 min | Drama
When his daughter is shot just before Christmas, Martin Tillman journeys across the U.S. using the gun's serial number to track down the truth behind Penny's killing.
Director: Alan Jacobs | Stars: James Coburn, Virginia Madsen, Barbara Bain, Alexandra Holden
Votes: 1,288
The performances by James Coburn and Virginia Madsen in this film could definitely be better, but it's an intriguing story. The girl who plays the grand-daughter is pretty good.
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