50 Best Christmas Movies
by Margaret_Nieter | created - 21 Dec 2013 | updated - 24 Dec 2014 | PublicI love schmaltzy Christmas movies, and innocent children's Christmas specials. I think anyone in the Christmas spirit can appreciate them, but there are some that are far superior to others. These are the ones that I absolutely love, that put me in the Christmas spirit. (NOTE: some great family classics are also missing, like Home Alone. This is largely because these films have been overplayed for me. I could probably quote them in my sleep, and I just couldn't bare to watch them one more time. The ones on this list are the ones I actually look forward to watching.) Enjoy!
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1. 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: 498,730
There is a reason it is so frequently chosen as the best Christmas movie. This is one of my favorite movies of all time. Easily in my top 25 favorite movies. I've seen it dozens of times and it never gets old. Never.
2. 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: 58,987
I adore Doctor Seuss, but I've not been much of a fan of the live action versions of his stories. They just don't quite capture the magic of them. This classic animated special however, is so beautiful it hurts. There is no wonder why it has endured. This is still my favorite Christmas special even after years of watching it.
3. White Christmas (1954)
Not Rated | 120 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
A successful song-and-dance team become romantically involved with a sister act and team up to save the failing Vermont inn of their former commanding general.
Director: Michael Curtiz | Stars: Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, Vera-Ellen
Votes: 51,106 | Gross: $30.00M
This big budget musical has two things I absolutely love: Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye. With a sweetly touching story and some fantastic song and dance numbers, this film still endures as the beautiful classic it is.
4. 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: 44,069
Charlie Brown learns the meaning of Christmas. Another sweet special, and one I've seen somewhat less consistently, over the years. Even though it is simple, it is beautiful.
5. The Nativity Story (2006)
PG | 101 min | Adventure, Drama, Family
A drama that focuses on the period in Mary and Joseph's life where they journeyed to Bethlehem for the birth of Jesus.
Director: Catherine Hardwicke | Stars: Keisha Castle-Hughes, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Oscar Isaac, Hiam Abbass
Votes: 12,352 | Gross: $37.63M
6. Prancer (1989)
G | 103 min | Drama, Family, Fantasy
A farm girl nurses a wounded reindeer she believes is one of Santa's, hoping to bring it back to health in time for Christmas. Her holiday spirit inspires those around her, something her disheartened father is having trouble understanding.
Director: John D. Hancock | Stars: Sam Elliott, Cloris Leachman, Rutanya Alda, Abe Vigoda
Votes: 6,340 | Gross: $18.59M
This is a story with lots of heart. It's about faith and it makes me cry like a baby. The end is a little silly, but the realism and truth of the story shine through the rest of it. An excellent film.
7. 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: 31,977 | Gross: $1.05M
8. 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: 25,721
9. Meet John Doe (1941)
Passed | 122 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A penniless drifter is recruited by an ambitious columnist to impersonate a non-existent person who said he'd be committing suicide as a protest, and a social movement begins.
Director: Frank Capra | Stars: Gary Cooper, Barbara Stanwyck, Edward Arnold, Walter Brennan
Votes: 14,893
What's better than one Frank Capra film at Christmas time? Two! Some might argue this is not a Christmas movie, either, and while it has been frequently overshadowed by it's more popular brother, (It's a Wonderful Life), the film climaxes on Christmas Eve, and tells a terrific heartfelt story. More for adults, this is a bit of a political and idealistic Christmas film and just the sort of story I want to watch at Christmas time.
10. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964 TV Movie)
TV-G | 47 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
A young reindeer Rudolph lives at the North Pole. His father is one of Santa's reindeer and it is expected that Rudolph will eventually be one too. However, he has a feature which is a setback and causes him to be ostracized: his red nose.
Director: Larry Roemer | Stars: Billie Mae Richards, Burl Ives, Larry D. Mann, Paul Soles
Votes: 37,454
The Rankin/Bass stop motion animated specials are one of the best things about Christmas time and Rudolph is still their crowning achievement. Even if you've never seen one other stop motion animated story by them, you've probably seen this one at one point or another. Another story I never tire of watching, even though I've seen it dozens of times.
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: 26,536 | Gross: $11.44M
There is something hopeful about this comedy, despite its rougher moments. Really one of the most underrated of Christmas films, it never fails to make me laugh. If you like dysfunctional family comedies, you will love this great Christmas movie.
12. Mickey's Christmas Carol (1983)
G | 26 min | Animation, Short, Comedy
The classic Disney animated characters play the roles in this animated retelling of the Charles Dickens masterpiece.
Director: Burny Mattinson | Stars: Alan Young, Wayne Allwine, Hal Smith, Will Ryan
Votes: 15,346 | Gross: $21.00M
THIS is my FAVORITE version of A Christmas Carol. Still. From when I was a little child. It has just the right amount of creepy and funny and sweet. Another childhood favorite that never gets old.
13. You Can't Take It with You (1938)
Passed | 126 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
The son of a snobbish Wall Street banker becomes engaged to a woman from a good-natured but decidedly eccentric family not realizing that his father is trying to force her family from their home for a real estate development.
Director: Frank Capra | Stars: Jean Arthur, James Stewart, Lionel Barrymore, Edward Arnold
Votes: 27,895 | Gross: $4.66M
What's better than two Frank Capra movies at Christmas time? Three! Easily the funniest of the three and the most fun, You Can't Take It With You is a gentle reminder about how to live life.
14. 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: 310,629 | Gross: $173.40M
While this film has been around 10 years already, I've only had the pleasure of seeing it once, but it is a great family film, very funny and a modern classic.
15. Edward Scissorhands (1990)
PG-13 | 105 min | Drama, Fantasy, Romance
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: 523,405 | Gross: $56.36M
16. The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)
G | 85 min | Comedy, Drama, Family
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: 70,611 | Gross: $27.28M
I love The Muppets, so how could I not love their version of A Christmas Carol? Granted, it's not my favorite version of A Christmas Carol, but with Gonzo and Rizzo narrating it is one of the most fun, and it has great musical numbers. It does tend to drag a little bit in the middle, but overall, it is one of The Muppets' best films.
17. Beyond Tomorrow (1940)
Approved | 84 min | Drama, Fantasy, Romance
The ghosts of three elderly industrialists killed in an airplane crash return to Earth to help reunite a young couple they initially brought together.
Director: A. Edward Sutherland | Stars: Harry Carey, C. Aubrey Smith, Charles Winninger, Alex Melesh
Votes: 2,332
18. 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: 374,850 | Gross: $75.08M
I think of it more as a Halloween movie, than a Christmas movie, but many people look at it as a Christmas film, so I suppose it counts. It is a favorite of mine either way, which is why it ends up on the list, despite its leaning more towards the other holiday. A great story either way!
19. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001)
PG | 152 min | Adventure, Family, Fantasy
An orphaned boy enrolls in a school of wizardry, where he learns the truth about himself, his family and the terrible evil that haunts the magical world.
Director: Chris Columbus | Stars: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Richard Harris
Votes: 855,252 | Gross: $317.58M
Let's be honest, every single Harry Potter film could have been listed on this list as the best of Christmas movies. While not technically all about Christmas, with the films mostly being released during the holiday season, and heavily featuring both Christmas and winter within them, they just feel like Christmas movies now. Also, Christmas is magical and what is Harry Potter if not magical? Argue with me if you will, but I think it belongs here. (I'd put the whole series here, but let's just let the first film represent that.)
20. We're No Angels (1955)
Not Rated | 106 min | Comedy, Crime, Romance
Three Devil's Island escapees hide out in the house of a kindly merchant and repay his kindness by helping him and his family out of several crises.
Director: Michael Curtiz | Stars: Humphrey Bogart, Peter Ustinov, Aldo Ray, Joan Bennett
Votes: 10,771
21. Rise of the Guardians (2012)
PG | 97 min | Animation, Action, Adventure
When the evil spirit Pitch launches an assault on Earth, the Immortal Guardians team up to protect the innocence of children all around the world.
Director: Peter Ramsey | Stars: Hugh Jackman, Alec Baldwin, Isla Fisher, Chris Pine
Votes: 192,408 | Gross: $103.41M
22. Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas (1977 TV Movie)
Not Rated | 48 min | Comedy, Drama, Family
A poor otter family risks everything for the chance to win the cash prize of a talent contest for Christmas.
Director: Jim Henson | Stars: Jerry Nelson, Frank Oz, Marilyn Sokol, Dave Goelz
Votes: 4,762 | Gross: $0.23M
A new discovery for me this year, this is completely underrated, and one of the sweetest and most original of Christmas specials I've seen in a long time. A fun, must watch for kids at Christmas.
23. Little Women (1994)
PG | 115 min | Drama, Family, Romance
The March sisters live and grow in post-Civil War America.
Director: Gillian Armstrong | Stars: Susan Sarandon, Winona Ryder, Kirsten Dunst, Claire Danes
Votes: 63,529 | Gross: $50.08M
24. 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: 165,611 | Gross: $90.40M
25. Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town (1970 TV Movie)
TV-G | 48 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
A mailman reveals the origin of Santa Claus.
Directors: Jules Bass, Arthur Rankin Jr. | Stars: Fred Astaire, Mickey Rooney, Keenan Wynn, Paul Frees
Votes: 17,496
After Rudolph, this is the second best of the Rankin/Bass stop motion animated specials. Narrated by Fred Astaire, it tells the story of Santa Claus and how he became who he is. I'm so in love with this story, actually, that I've never been able to stomach much of the other films about Santa. (I've still never seen The Santa Clause). I'm just worried I'll be comparing them to this the whole time. That's how good it is.
26. Holiday Inn (1942)
Passed | 100 min | Comedy, Drama, Music
At an inn which is open only on holidays, a crooner and a hoofer vie for the affections of a beautiful up-and-coming performer.
Directors: Mark Sandrich, Robert Allen | Stars: Bing Crosby, Fred Astaire, Marjorie Reynolds, Virginia Dale
Votes: 17,618 | Gross: $8.18M
27. 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: 116,382 | Gross: $60.33M
Ok, yes, I know it is yet ANOTHER Christmas Carol movie, but this one has Bill Murray and is hilarious, so it is automatically a win. I've only seen this one a few times over the years, but it is one that has never failed to make me laugh.
28. A Christmas Carol (2009)
PG | 96 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
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: 129,432 | Gross: $137.86M
29. Young Sherlock Holmes (1985)
PG-13 | 109 min | Adventure, Fantasy, Mystery
When assorted people start having inexplicable delusions that lead to their deaths, a teenage Sherlock Holmes decides to investigate.
Director: Barry Levinson | Stars: Nicholas Rowe, Alan Cox, Sophie Ward, Anthony Higgins
Votes: 23,384 | Gross: $19.74M
30. Arthur Christmas (2011)
PG | 97 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
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: 67,056 | Gross: $46.46M
This was a surprisingly good animated story about a family of Clauses. I generally don't like modern stories of Santa Claus, but I found this to be a terrifically heartfelt story about family. A great new addition to the best of Christmas films.
31. 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: 220,023 | Gross: $71.32M
One of the few Christmas movies that has not been completely wore out is the Griswolds Christmas, or Christmas Vacation. Still very funny even though I've seen it far too many times, it is however one that I try to watch sparingly now, as it is teetering on the edge of too much.
32. Frosty the Snowman (1969 TV Short)
TV-G | 25 min | Animation, Short, Comedy
A living snowman and a little girl struggle to elude a greedy magician who is after the snowman's magic hat.
Directors: Jules Bass, Arthur Rankin Jr. | Stars: Jackie Vernon, Billy De Wolfe, Jimmy Durante, Paul Frees
Votes: 21,456
Frosty! Who doesn't love this great animated feature about the loveable snowman? Really another great magical classic special.
33. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005)
PG | 143 min | Adventure, Family, Fantasy
While playing, Lucy and her siblings find a wardrobe that lands them in a mystical place called Narnia. Here they realize that it was fated and they must now unite with Aslan to defeat an evil queen.
Director: Andrew Adamson | Stars: Tilda Swinton, Georgie Henley, William Moseley, Skandar Keynes
Votes: 427,667 | Gross: $291.71M
34. The Shop Around the Corner (1940)
Not Rated | 99 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Two employees at a gift shop can barely stand each other, without realizing that they are falling in love through the post as each other's anonymous pen pal.
Director: Ernst Lubitsch | Stars: Margaret Sullavan, James Stewart, Frank Morgan, Joseph Schildkraut
Votes: 38,420 | Gross: $0.20M
35. It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie (2002 TV Movie)
PG | 100 min | Adventure, Comedy, Family
'Twas the night before Christmas and the Muppet Theatre is in danger of being torn down, but with hilarious send-ups of just about every holiday movie ever made, the Muppets discover that what matters most is their love for each other.
Director: Kirk R. Thatcher | Stars: Steve Whitmire, Dave Goelz, Bill Barretta, Eric Jacobson
Votes: 4,632
Did I mention I love the Muppets? Not everything about this special is perfect but it IS the Muppets and it has Scooter dancing in a cage. Don't ask, just watch. Funny stuff.
36. Millions (2004)
PG | 98 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
Ethics, being human and the soul come to the fore when a 7-year old finds a bag of Pounds just days before the currency is switched to Euros and learns what we are really made of.
Director: Danny Boyle | Stars: Alex Etel, James Nesbitt, Daisy Donovan, Lewis McGibbon
Votes: 26,344 | Gross: $6.58M
37. 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: 322,667 | Gross: $63.22M
38. 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: 168,572 | Gross: $20.61M
39. Peter and The Wolf (2006)
G | 32 min | Animation, Short, Adventure
An animated retelling set to Prokofiev's suite.
Director: Suzie Templeton
Votes: 4,319
40. 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: 54,892 | Gross: $2.65M
41. A Christmas Carol (1971 TV Short)
28 min | Animation, Short, Drama
An old bitter miser is given a chance for redemption when spirits visit him on Christmas Eve.
Director: Richard Williams | Stars: Alastair Sim, Michael Redgrave, Melvyn Hayes, Michael Hordern
Votes: 1,923
42. Nativity! (2009)
PG | 105 min | Comedy, Family
An uptight but secretly heartbroken primary school teacher's little white lie about Hollywood coming to see his class' nativity play grows like wildfire in his rag-tag school low on self-esteem.
Director: Debbie Isitt | Stars: Martin Freeman, Marc Wootton, Jason Watkins, Ashley Jensen
Votes: 12,450
43. The Year Without a Santa Claus (1974 TV Movie)
TV-G | 51 min | Animation, Comedy, Family
When a weary and discouraged Santa Claus considers skipping his Christmas Eve run one year, Mrs. Claus and his elves set out to change his mind.
Directors: Jules Bass, Arthur Rankin Jr. | Stars: Shirley Booth, Mickey Rooney, Dick Shawn, George S. Irving
Votes: 11,632
Another Bass/Rankin stop animation, that I watched for the first time this year. It is not as solid as the previous two stories mentioned, but it does have a pretty great ending. Worth a watch.
44. Love Actually (2003)
R | 135 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance