30 great Christmas films from the last 30 years

There are so many great Christmas films, some we watch over and over again every year. And that’s okay! We love nostalgia. But new holiday films come out every year, and some of them are worth checking out. So if you’re still recycling the same handful of Christmas movies from the 20th century, here’s a Christmas movie for every year from 1994 to 2024. Maybe watch one (or more) this holiday season!

2020s

2024: Red (PG-13; Action, Comedy)

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Chris Evans and Lucy Liu star in this wild release about North Pole security forces trying to save a kidnapped Santa Claus (JK Simmons) from dark forces. Available on Prime Video or in theaters.

2023: Candy Cane Alley (PG; comedy, family)

Eddie Murphy plays a man who wants to win his neighborhood’s annual Christmas lights contest and unknowingly makes a deal with an elf to bring the 12 days of Christmas to life. Available on Prime Video.

2022: Violent night (R; Action, Comedy)

David Harbor (Stranger Things, Black Widow) plays a completely different Santa Claus who goes all out Die Hard about a group of mercenaries who took a family hostage on Christmas Eve.

Amazon.com

Add some holiday fright to your holiday spirit with the action thriller Violent Night, available to rent or purchase.

$4 at Amazon.com

2021: 8-Bit Christmas (PG; Family, Comedy)

Basically A Christmas story For Generation X, Neil Patrick Harris plays a father who reminds his young children of his search for the ultimate ’80s toy: a Nintendo Entertainment System.

2020: Happiest Season (PG-13; Comedy, Romance)

Kristen Stewart, Dan Levy, Aubrey Plaza and more star in this LGBTQ+ holiday romance available on Hulu.

2010s

2019: Last Christmas (PG-13; romance, comedy)

Paul Feig (bridesmaids) directs, Emma Thompson (Emma Thompson!) writes and Emilia Clarke (Daenaerys from game of Thrones) and Henry Golding (Crazy rich Asians) stars in this comedy with music by the late George Michael.

2018: The Christmas Chronicles (PG; Family)

Kurt Russell stars as Santa Claus in this kid-friendly Netflix-exclusive holiday fun. The 2020 sequel starring Goldie Hawn as Mrs. Claus is also available, both on Netflix.

2017: A Bad Moms Christmas (R; Comedy)

Mila Kunis, Kristen Bell and Kathryn Hahn star as the evil mothers trying to survive their vacation, which is made worse by unwanted visits from their more evil mothers – Christine Baranski, Cheryl Hines and Susan Sarandon.

2016: Christmas party in the office (R; comedy)

Jason Bateman, Jennifer Aniston, Kate McKinnon, Olivia Munn and a bunch of other people you know star in this raunchy comedy about a corporate party that gets out of control.

2015: Krampus (PG-13; Horror)

The legendary Anti-Santa Claus, a demon who drags bad children to hell, takes the spotlight in this thriller starring Adam Scott and Toni Collette.

2014: Get Santa (PG; Family, Comedy)

A young boy and his father must find Santa’s missing reindeer and sleigh and free old Saint Nick (Jim Broadbent) from prison or Christmas will be ruined. With Warwick Davis.

2013: Tyler Perry’s A Madea Christmas (PG-13; Comedy)

Tyler Perry’s seemingly inexhaustible drag creation stars in the inevitable Christmas entry.

2012: A Christmas Story 2 (PG; Comedy, Family)

In the official sequel to the 1983 classic, Ralphie returns, this time as a teenager, having traded his desire for a pellet gun for a hot set of 1950s wheels.

2011: A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas (D; Comedy)

Kal Penn and John Cho play the titular stoners on a wild vacation adventure. Note that the film focused on a 3D gimmick that probably won’t work in your home, so that will be…weird.

2010: The Nutcracker: The Untold Story (PG; Family)

This alternative telling of the classic ballet, also known as The Nutcracker in 3D, stars a young Elle Fanning and Nathan Lane and John Turturro in supporting roles; Be prepared for some truly horrific visual effects.

2000s

2009: A Christmas Carol (PG; Family, Comedy)

Jim Carrey voices Ebenezer Scrooge – and most of the ghosts – in this computer-animated retelling of the classic Dickens story, with an emphasis on comedy and pratfalls for children.

2008: Four Christmases (PG-13; comedy, romance)

Reese Witherspoon and Vince Vaughn – who really loved a Christmas movie in the late 2000s – play a couple who had avoided their families for years and were forced to see them all in one day.

2007: Fred Claus (PG; comedy, family)

Vince Vaughn plays (again!) Santa’s easy-going big brother (Paul Giamatti), who wreaks havoc at the North Pole and nearly derails Christmas.

2006: Deck the Halls (PG; comedy)

Matthew Broderick and Danny DeVito star as suburban neighbors vying to be the Christmas King of their small town; Attacks occur. With Kristen Davis and Kristin Chenoweth.

2005: The Family Stone (PG-13; comedy, romance)

Sarah Jessica Parker, Rachel McAdams, Claire Danes and Diane Keaton star in this polarized (I love it) drama/comedy about an uptight fiancée trying to fit in with a challenging family.

2004: The Polar Express (D; Family)

Tom Hanks provides the voice for this computer-animated version of the classic children’s story that set a thousand Christmas trains in motion.

2003: Eleven (PG; Comedy, Family)

Will Ferrell plays a human raised by Santa Claus at the North Pole who returns to New York to find his biological father. With Bob Newhart, James Caan, Zooey Deschanel.

2002: Santa Claus 2 (D; family, comedy)

The second part by Tim Allen Santa Claus In the trilogy, Santa Claus is looking for a wife. In addition to the films, a spin-off series from the 2020s is available on Disney+.

2001: Serendipity (PG-13; romantic film)

John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale play a young New York couple who meet on Christmas Eve and then let fate bring them together for the long haul.

2000: How the Grinch Stole Christmas (PG; Family, Comedy)

Jim Carrey and lots of prosthetics star in this live-action version of Dr. Seuss classic that continues the story of the misanthropic subject of history’s greatest dissident.

1990s

1999: Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmas (G; Family)

Originally available as a video exclusive, now on Disney+, this animated film tells three different Christmas stories starring Mickey and Minnie; Donald and Huey, Dewey and Louie; and Goofy and Max.

1998: I’ll Be Home for Christmas (PG; romance, comedy)

Teenage Jonathan Taylor Thomas plays a college student trying to get home for the holidays in something of a kid-friendly film Planes, trains and automobiles.

1997: Jack Frost (R; Horror)

Not to be confused with the year 1998 Jack Frost A serial killer is reincarnated as a murderous snowman in this low-budget horror film starring Michael Keaton. NOT for children!

1996: Jingle All the Way (PG; comedy, family)

Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sinbad star as fathers desperate to find the must-have toys of the holiday season, which leads to encounters with wild reindeer and Santa Claus impostors.

1995: While You Were Sleeping (PG; romance, comedy)

After saving the life of a comatose stranger on Christmas Eve, Sandra Bullock is mistaken for his fiancée and drawn into his family, only to make a connection with his brother.

1994: Miracle on 34th Street (PG; Family)

Mara Wilson and Richard Attenborough star in this remake of the 1940s classic about a storefront Santa trying to convince a doubtful girl – and a court! – that Santa Claus exists.