Best Holiday Movies, Ranked (2.0)
May Your Days Be Merry and Bright
Happy Holidays to you and yours! As promised, I am revisiting last year's holiday ranking, a list that was met with a great deal of derision (some might even say vitriol). Rather than cower and run away from the heat, I'm embracing the flames and doubling down on the project I started. This past week, I re-opened this giant can of worms, moved some things around, and am excited to re-release our list with updated rankings. Last year, I talked about including other Christmas-adjacent films, some B-side honorable mentions (and maybe some dishonorable mentions, too). You'll notice that instead of getting messy and getting in too deep, I opted to include ten films that were not previously mentioned last year, which gives us an even Top 50. For the sake of your precious time, I chose to not talk about each film individually (though I again point you to Version 1.0 from last year if you're looking for a bit of light reading). How and why things are placed where they are is based on repeat viewings, anecdotal evidence, and completely arbitrary gut feelings. This ranking if fluid, and I'm sure it will change again next year. Without further ado, here is the new and improved, bound-to-piss-you-off, please-don't-hate-me, 2024 Version 2.0 of the official Film & Froth Holiday Movies, Ranked.
Disclaimer: These lists are typically conceived whilst having an adult beverage or two. They're flawed. I reserve the right to change my mind and alter my rankings at any point in the future for any reason whatsoever. That being said, please send your grievances to film.froth@gmail.com
50. The Night Before (2015)
Dir. Jonathan Levine 101 min. Letterboxd synopsis: In New York City for their annual tradition of Christmas Eve debauchery, three lifelong best friends set out to find the Holy Grail of Christmas parties since their yearly reunion might be coming to an end.
49. Love Actually (2003)
Dir. Richard Curtis 135 min. Letterboxd synopsis: Eight London couples try to deal with their relationships in different ways. Their tryst with love makes them discover how complicated relationships can be.
48. The Polar Express (2004)
Dir. Robert Zemeckis 100 min. Letterboxd synopsis: When a doubting young boy takes an extraordinary train ride to the North Pole, he embarks on a journey of self-discovery that shows him that the wonder of life never fades for those who believe.
47. Jack Frost (1998)
Dir. Troy Miller 101 min. Letterboxd synopsis: A father, who can't keep his promises, dies in a car accident. One year later, he returns as a snowman, who has the final chance to put things right with his son before he is gone forever.
46. The Santa Clause (1994)
Dir. John Pasquin 97 min. Letterboxd synopsis: Scott Calvin is an ordinary man, who accidentally causes Santa Claus to fall from his roof on Christmas Eve and is knocked unconscious. When he and his young son finish Santa's trip and deliveries, they go to the North Pole, where Scott learns he must become the new Santa and convince those he loves that he is indeed, Father Christmas.
45. Happiest Season (2020)
Dir. Clea DuVall 102 min. Letterboxd synopsis: A young woman's plans to propose to her girlfriend while at her family's annual holiday party are upended when she discovers her partner hasn't yet come out to her conservative parents.
44. Four Christmases (2008)
Dir. Seth Gordon 89 min. Letterboxd synopsis: Brad and Kate have made something of an art form out of avoiding their families during the holidays, but this year their foolproof plan is about go bust -- big time. Stuck at the city airport after all departing flights are canceled, the couple is embarrassed to see their ruse exposed to the world by an overzealous television reporter. Now, Brad and Kate are left with precious little choice other than to swallow their pride and suffer the rounds...
43. Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992)
Dir. Chris Columbus 120 min. Letterboxd synopsis: Instead of flying to Florida with his folks, Kevin ends up alone in New York, where he gets a hotel room with his dad's credit card—despite problems from a clerk and meddling bellboy. But when Kevin runs into his old nemeses, the Wet Bandits, he's determined to foil their plans to rob a toy store on Christmas Eve.
42. Krampus (2015)
Dir. Michael Dougherty 97 min. Letterboxd synopsis: A horror comedy based on the ancient legend about a pagan creature who punishes children on Christmas.
41. On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969)
Dir. Peter R. Hunt 142 min. Letterboxd synopsis: James Bond tracks his archnemesis, Ernst Blofeld, to a mountaintop retreat where he is training an army of beautiful, lethal women. Along the way, Bond falls for Italian contessa Tracy Draco, and marries her in order to get closer to Blofeld.
40. Remember the Night (1940)
Dir. Mitchell Leisen 94 min. Letterboxd synopsis: When Jack, an assistant District Attorney, takes Lee, a shoplifter caught in the act, home with him for Christmas, the unexpected happens and love blossoms.
39. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005)
Dir. Shane Black 103 min. Letterboxd synopsis: A petty thief posing as an actor is brought to Los Angeles for an unlikely audition and finds himself in the middle of a murder investigation along with his high school dream girl and a detective who's been training him for his upcoming role...
38. Scrooged (1988)
Dir. Richard Donner 100 min. Letterboxd synopsis: In this modern take on Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol," Frank Cross is a wildly successful television executive whose cold ambition and curmudgeonly nature has driven away the love of his life, Claire Phillips. But after firing a staff member, Eliot Loudermilk, on Christmas Eve, Frank is visited by a series of ghosts who give him a chance to re-evaluate his actions and right the wrongs of his past.
37. Black Christmas (1974)
Dir. Bob Clark 98 min. Letterboxd synopsis: A sorority house is terrorized by a stranger who makes frightening phone calls and then murders the sorority sisters during Christmas break.
36. The Holiday (2006)
Dir. Nancy Meyers 136 min. Letterboxd synopsis: In New York City for their annual tradition of Christmas Eve debauchery, three lifelong best friends set out to find the Holy Grail of Christmas parties since their yearly reunion might be coming to an end.
35. Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)
Dir. Ron Howard 105 min. Letterboxd synopsis: Inside a snowflake exists the magical land of Whoville. In Whoville, live the Whos, an almost mutated sort of Munchkin-like people. All the Whos love Christmas, yet just outside of their beloved Whoville lives the Grinch. The Grinch is a nasty creature that hates Christmas, and plots to steal it away from the Whos, whom he equally abhors. Yet a small child, Cindy Lou Who, decides to try befriending the Grinch.
34. A Christmas Carol (1984)
Dir. Clive Donner 100 min. Letterboxd synopsis: Miser Ebenezer Scrooge is awakened on Christmas Eve by spirits who reveal to him his own miserable existence, what opportunities he wasted in his youth, his current cruelties, and the dire fate that awaits him if he does not change his ways. Scrooge is faced with his own story of growing bitterness and meanness, and must decide what his own future will hold: death or redemption.
33. Little Women (2019)
Dir. Greta Gerwig 135 min. Letterboxd synopsis: Four sisters come of age in America in the aftermath of the Civil War.
32. Trading Places (1983)
Dir. John Landis 116 min. Letterboxd synopsis: A snobbish investor and a wily street con-artist find their positions reversed as part of a bet by two callous millionaires.
31. Christmas Eve in Miller's Point (2024)
Dir. Tyler Thomas Taormina 106 min. Letterboxd synopsis: A rambunctious extended family descends upon their small Long Island hometown for the holidays where hijinks, generational squabbles, and family traditions ensue.
30. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964)
Dir. Larry Roemer 52 min. Letterboxd synopsis: Sam the snowman tells us the story of a young red-nosed reindeer who, after being ousted from the reindeer games because of his glowing nose, teams up with Hermey, an elf who wants to be a dentist, and Yukon Cornelius, the prospector. They run into the Abominable Snowman and find a whole island of misfit toys. Rudolph vows to see if he can get Santa to help the toys, and he goes back to the North Pole on Christmas Eve. But Santa's sleigh is fogged in. But when Santa looks over Rudolph, he gets a very bright idea...
29. The Preacher's Wife (1996)
Dir. Penny Marshall 124 min. Letterboxd synopsis: Good-natured Reverend Henry Biggs finds that his marriage to choir mistress Julia is flagging, due to his constant absence caring for the deprived neighborhood they live in. On top of all this, his church is coming under threat from property developer Joe Hamilton. In desperation, Biggs prays to God for help – which arrives in the form of an angel named Dudley.
28. Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas (1977)
Dir. Jim Henson 48 min. Letterboxd synopsis: A poor otter family risks everything for the chance to win the cash prize of a talent contest for Christmas.
27. Tokyo Godfathers (2003)
Dir. Satoshi Kon 92 min. Letterboxd synopsis: During a Christmas Eve in Tokyo, three homeless people, middle-aged alcoholic Gin, former drag queen Hana, and dependent runaway girl Miyuki, discover an abandoned newborn while looking through the garbage. With only a handful of clues to the baby's identity, the three misfits search the city to find its parents.
26. Gremlins (1984)
Dir. Joe Dante 106 min. Letterboxd synopsis: When Billy Peltzer is given a strange but adorable pet named Gizmo for Christmas, he inadvertently breaks the three important rules of caring for a Mogwai, and unleashes a horde of mischievous gremlins on a small town.
25. Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
Dir. George Seaton 96 min. Letterboxd synopsis:Kris Kringle, seemingly the embodiment of Santa Claus, is asked to portray the jolly old fellow at Macy's following his performance in the Thanksgiving Day parade. His portrayal is so complete that many begin to question if he truly is Santa Claus, while others question his sanity.
24. The Year Without a Santa Claus (1974)
Dir. Jules Bass / Arthur Rankin Jr. 51 min. Letterboxd synopsis: Feeling forgotten by the children of the world, old St. Nick decides to skip his gift-giving journey and take a vacation. Mrs. Claus and two spunky little elves, Jingle and Jangle, set out to see to where all the season's cheer has disappeared. Aided by a magical snowfall, they reawaken the spirit of Christmas in children's hearts and put Santa back in action.
23. Fanny and Alexander (1982)
Dir. Ingmar Bergman 188 min. Letterboxd synopsis:Through the eyes of ten-year-old Alexander, we witness the delights and conflicts of the Ekdahl family, a sprawling bourgeois clan in turn-of-the-twentieth-century Sweden.
22. Klaus (2019)
Dir. Sergio Pablos 97 min. Letterboxd synopsis: When Jesper distinguishes himself as the Postal Academy's worst student, he is sent to Smeerensburg, a small village located on an icy island above the Arctic Circle, where grumpy inhabitants barely exchange words, let alone letters. Jesper is about to give up and abandon his duty as a postman when he meets local teacher Alva and Klaus, a mysterious carpenter who lives alone in a cabin full of handmade toys.
21. Eyes Wide Shut (1999)
Dir. Stanley Kubrick 159 min. Letterboxd synopsis: After Dr. Bill Harford's wife, Alice, admits to having sexual fantasies about a man she met, Bill becomes obsessed with having a sexual encounter. He discovers an underground sexual group and attends one of their meetings -- and quickly discovers that he is in over his head.
20. The Shop Around the Corner (1940)
Dir. Ernst Lubitsch 99 min. Letterboxd synopsis: Two employees at a gift shop can barely stand one another, without realizing that they are falling in love through the post as each other's anonymous pen pal.
19. Bad Santa (2003)
Dir. Terry Zwigoff 92 min. Letterboxd synopsis: 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, and the security boss discovers the plot.
18. A Christmas Story (1983)
Dir. Bob Clark 84 min. Letterboxd synopsis: The comic mishaps and adventures of a young boy named Ralph, trying to convince his parents, teachers, and Santa that a Red Ryder B.B. gun really is the perfect Christmas gift for the 1940s.
17. Batman Returns (1992)
Dir. Tim Burton 126 min. Letterboxd synopsis: Having defeated the Joker, Batman now faces the Penguin—a warped and deformed individual who is intent on being accepted into Gotham society, with the help of Max Schreck, a crooked businessman, whom he coerces into helping him run for the position of Mayor of Gotham, while they both attempt to frame Batman in a different light. Batman must attempt to clear his name, all while also deciding just what must be done with the mysterious Catwoman slinking about.
16. Jingle All the Way (1996)
Dir. Brian Levant 89 min. Letterboxd synopsis: Meet Howard Langston, a salesman for a mattress company who is constantly busy at his job, and he also constantly disappoints his son, after he misses his son's karate exposition, his son tells Howard that he wants for Christmas is an action figure of his son's television hero, he tries hard to make it up to him. Unfortunately for Howard, it is Christmas Eve, and every store is sold out of Turbo Man, now Howard must travel all over town and compete with everybody else to find a Turbo Man action figure.
15. The Holdovers (2023)
Dir. Alexander Payne 133 min. Letterboxd synopsis: A curmudgeonly instructor at a New England prep school is forced to remain on campus during Christmas break to babysit the handful of students with nowhere to go. Eventually, he forms an unlikely bond with one of them — a damaged, brainy troublemaker — and with the school’s head cook, who has just lost a son in Vietnam.
14. Elf (2003)
Dir. Jon Favreau 96 min. Letterboxd synopsis: When young Buddy falls into Santa's gift sack on Christmas Eve, he's transported back to the North Pole and raised as a toy-making elf by Santa's helpers. But as he grows into adulthood, he can't shake the nagging feeling that he doesn't belong. Buddy vows to visit Manhattan and find his real dad, a workaholic publisher.
13. The Green Knight (2021)
Dir. David Lowery 130 min. Letterboxd synopsis: An epic fantasy adventure based on the timeless Arthurian legend, The Green Knight tells the story of Sir Gawain, King Arthur's reckless and headstrong nephew, who embarks on a daring quest to confront the eponymous Green Knight, a gigantic emerald-skinned stranger and tester of men.
12. Carol (2015)
Dir. Todd Haynes 119 min. Letterboxd synopsis: In 1950s New York, a department-store clerk who dreams of a better life falls for an older, married woman.
11. A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965)
Dir. Bill Melendez 25 min. Letterboxd synopsis: When Charlie Brown complains about the overwhelming materialism that he sees amongst everyone during the Christmas season, Lucy suggests that he become director of the school Christmas pageant. Charlie Brown accepts, but is a frustrating struggle. When an attempt to restore the proper spirit with a forlorn little fir Christmas tree fails, he needs Linus' help to learn the meaning of Christmas.
10. The Apartment (1960)
Dir. Billy Wilder 125 min. Letterboxd synopsis: Bud Baxter is a minor clerk in a huge New York insurance company, until he discovers a quick way to climb the corporate ladder. He lends out his apartment to the executives as a place to take their mistresses. Although he often has to deal with the aftermath of their visits, one night he's left with a major problem to solve.
9. Home Alone (1990)
Dir. Chris Columbus 103 min. Letterboxd synopsis: Eight-year-old Kevin McCallister makes the most of the situation after his family unwittingly leaves him behind when they go on Christmas vacation. But when a pair of bungling burglars set their sights on Kevin's house, the plucky kid stands ready to defend his territory. By planting booby traps galore, adorably mischievous Kevin stands his ground as his frantic mother attempts to race home before Christmas Day.
8. The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
Dir. Henry Selick 76 min. Letterboxd synopsis: Tired of scaring humans every October 31 with the same old bag of tricks, Jack Skellington, the spindly king of Halloween Town, kidnaps Santa Claus and plans to deliver shrunken heads and other ghoulish gifts to children on Christmas morning. But as Christmas approaches, Jack's rag-doll girlfriend, Sally, tries to foil his misguided plans.
7. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989)
Dir. Jeremiah S. Chechik 97 min. Letterboxd synopsis: It's Christmas time and the Griswolds are preparing for a family seasonal celebration, but things never run smoothly for Clark, his wife Ellen and their two kids. Clark's continual bad luck is worsened by his obnoxious family guests, but he manages to keep going knowing that his Christmas bonus is due soon.
6. How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1966)
Dir. Chuck Jones 26 min. Letterboxd synopsis: Bitter and hateful, the Grinch is irritated at the thought of a nearby village having a happy time celebrating Christmas. Disguised as Santa Claus, with his dog made to look like a reindeer, he decides to raid the village to steal all the Christmas things.
5. White Christmas (1954)
Dir. Michael Curtiz 120 min. director Letterboxd synopsis: Two talented song-and-dance men team up after the war to become one of the hottest acts in show business. In time they befriend and become romantically involved with the beautiful Haynes sisters who comprise a sister act.
4. Die Hard (1988)
Dir. John McTiernan 132 min. Letterboxd synopsis: NYPD cop John McClane's plan to reconcile with his estranged wife is thrown for a serious loop when, minutes after he arrives at her office, the entire building is overtaken by a group of terrorists. With little help from the LAPD, wisecracking McClane sets out to single-handedly rescue the hostages and bring the bad guys down.
3. The Muppets Christmas Carol (1992)
Dir. Brian Henson 86 min. Letterboxd synopsis: A retelling of the classic Dickens tale of Ebenezer Scrooge, miser extraordinaire. He is held accountable for his dastardly ways during night-time visitations by the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and future.
2. It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
Dir. Frank Capra 131 min. Letterboxd synopsis: A holiday favorite for generations... George Bailey has spent his entire life giving to the people of Bedford Falls. All that prevents rich skinflint Mr. Potter from taking over the entire town is George's modest building and loan company. But on Christmas Eve the business's $8,000 is lost and George's troubles begin..*
1. The Snowman (1982)
Dir. Dianne Jackson 26 min. Letterboxd synopsis: A young boy makes a snowman one Christmas Eve, which comes to life at midnight and takes him on a magical adventure to the North Pole to meet Santa Claus.
