It's that time of year again, and whether it's time for people to suit up for the cold, or decorate the tree, this movie takes place around that time period. Christmas Movies have the possibility to stay popular because they can be shown once a year on cable channels, so even movies made years ago stay in the limelight, where their contemporaries fall into obscurity.
Compare to Christmas Episode, which is usually from a series or franchise, and requires knowing the original material first in order for it work. Christmas Movies, by contrast, can stand or fall on their own, similar to most Christmas Specials.
See also Christmas Tropes.
Examples include:
- 3 Godfathers
- 7 Women and a Murder
- 8-Bit Christmas
- 8 Women
- Alien Xmas
- All I Want for Christmas
- An Angel for Christmas
- Angel of Christmas
- Anna and the Apocalypse
- Angela's Christmas
- Angela's Christmas Wish
- Annabelle's Wish
- Arthur Christmas
- Await Further Instructions
- Babes in Toyland
- Bachelor Mother
- A Bad Moms Christmas
- Bad Santa
- The sequel Bad Santa 2
- Batman Returns
- Better Watch Out
- Birta
- The Bishop's Wife
- Black Christmas (1974)
- Black Christmas (2006)
- Black Christmas (2019)
- Black Christmas (2006)
- The Black Hole
- A Boy Called Christmas
- Brazil
- Bush Christmas
- Candy Cane Lane
- Carol
- Casper's Haunted Christmas
- Christmas...Again?!
- Christmas Blood
- Christmas Bloody Christmas
- The Christmas Bunny
- An American Christmas Carol (1979, Henry Winkler as Scrooge)
- Bah, Humduck! A Looney Tunes Christmas
- Barbie in A Christmas Carol
- A Christmas Carol (1938, Reginald Owen as Scrooge)
- A Christmas Carol (1984, George C. Scott as Scrooge)
- A Christmas Carol (1999, Patrick Stewart as Scrooge)
- A Christmas Carol (2000, Ross Kemp as Scrooge)
- A Christmas Carol (animated, 1971, Alastair Sim as Scrooge)
- A Christmas Carol (animated, 1997, Tim Curry as Scrooge)
- A Christmas Carol (motion-capture, 2009, Jim Carrey as Scrooge)
- A Christmas Carol (2019 mini-series, aired as a movie outside the UK, Guy Pearce as Scrooge)
- A Christmas Carol Goes Wrong
- Christmas Carol: The Movie (animated, 2001, Simon Callow as Scrooge)
- A Christmas Carol: The Musical (Made-for-TV Movie, 2004, Kelsey Grammer as Scrooge)
- A Diva's Christmas Carol
- Ebenezer (1998)
- A Flintstones Christmas Carol
- Mickey's Christmas Carol
- Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol
- The Muppet Christmas Carol
- Scrooge (1935, Seymour Hicks as Scrooge)
- Scrooge (1951, Alastair Sim as Scrooge)
- Scrooge (1970, Albert Finney as Scrooge)
- Scrooge: A Christmas Carol (2022)
- Scrooged (1988, Bill Murray)
- Spirited (2022)
- The Christmas Chronicles
- Christmas Cracker
- The Christmas Dragon
- Christmas Evil
- Christmas in Connecticut
- A Christmas Horror Story
- Christmas in New York
- Christmas is Here Again
- The Christmas Light
- Christmas Mission
- A Christmas Movie Christmas
- A Christmas No. 1
- A Christmas Prince
- Christmas Scavenger Hunt
- A Christmas Story
- The Christmas That Almost Wasn't
- The Christmas Tree
- Christmas with the Kranks
- A Country Christmas
- Crackers
- The Day of the Beast
- Dear Christmas
- Deck the Halls
- Dial Code Santa Claus
- Die Hard
- Don't Open Till Christmas
- Edward Scissorhands
- Eight Crazy Nights note
- Elf
- The Elf
- Elf-Man
- Eloise At Christmastime
- Ernest Saves Christmas
- A Fairly Odd Christmas
- The Family Man
- The Family Stone
- Father Christmas Is Back
- Fatman
- Fitzwilly
- The Flight Before Christmas
- The Flint Street Nativity
- Four Christmases
- Franz Kafka's It's a Wonderful Life
- Fred Claus
- Get Santa
- Glisten and the Merry Mission
- Godmothered
- Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer
- The Great Santa Claus Caper
- Gremlins (1984)
- The Grinch (2018)
- Grumpy Cat's Worst Christmas Ever
- Gummibär: The Yummy Gummy Search for Santa
- Happiest Season
- The Holdovers
- The Holiday
- Holiday Affair
- Holiday Inn
- Holidaze: The Christmas That Almost Didn't Happen
- Holly And Ivy
- Home Alone
- Hook
- How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)
- I Believe in Santa Claus
- If You Believe
- I'll Be Home for Christmas
- The Impossible
- I'll Be Seeing You
- In the Bleak Midwinter
- Iron Man 3
- It Happened on 5th Avenue
- It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie
- It's a Wonderful Knife (2023)
- It's a Wonderful Life
- Jack Frost (1997)
- Jack Frost (1998)
- Jaws: The Revenge
- Jingle All the Way
- Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey
- The Journey to the Yule Star
- Joyeux Noël
- Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle
- Jumanji: The Next Level
- Jurassic World
- King Kong (2005)
- Klaus (2019)
- The Knight Before Christmas
- Krampus
- Lady in the Lake
- Last Christmas
- Last Train To Christmas
- The Legend of Frenchie King
- Lethal Weapon
- The Lion in Winter
- Little Angels: The Brightest Christmas
- The Littlest Light on the Christmas Tree
- The Lobo Paramilitary Christmas Special
- The Long Kiss Goodnight
- A Loud House Christmas
- Love Actually
- Love at the Christmas Table
- Love Finds Andy Hardy
- Love Hard
- Love the Coopers
- The Magical Christmas Tree
- Make the Yuletide Gay
- The Man Who Came to Dinner
- The Man Who Invented Christmas
- Meet Me in St. Louis
- A Merry Friggin' Christmas
- Merry Little Batman
- Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas
- Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas
- Miracle in Toyland
- Miracle on 34th Street
- Mixed Nuts
- Mrs. Santa Claus
- A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa
- My Reputation
- National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
- Nativity!
- The Nativity Story
- The Naughty Nine
- Next Stop, Christmas
- The Night Before
- The Nightmare Before Christmas
- Noelle
- The Nutcracker and the Four Realms
- The Nutcracker and the Mouse King
- The Nutcracker in 3D
- Nutcracker Massacre
- The Nutcracker Prince
- The Nuttiest Nutcracker
- Office Christmas Party
- On Her Majesty's Secret Service
- One Magic Christmas
- P2
- Pagan Warrior
- Patch Town
- Plácido
- The Polar Express
- Prancer
- A Princess for Christmas
- The Princess Switch
- Rapsittie Street Kids: Believe in Santa
- Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale
- The Ref
- Reindeer Games
- Remember the Night
- A Royal Christmas
- Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964)
- Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1998)
- The Sacrifice Game
- Santa and the Ice Cream Bunny
- Santa Baby
- Santa Claus (1959)
- Santa Claus and the Magic Drum
- Santa Claus Conquers the Martians
- Santa Claus Is a Stinker
- Santa Claus: The Movie
- The Santa Clause
- Santa's Magic Crystal
- Santa's Slay
- The Santa Trap
- Santa vs. the Snowman
- Santa with Muscles
- See Amid the Winter Snow
- SHAZAM! (2019)
- Sheitan
- The Shop Around the Corner
- Silent Night Bloody Night
- Silent Night, Deadly Night
- Silent Night (2021)
- Silent Night (2023)
- Single All the Way
- Sint
- Small Town Santa
- Smoke
- Spencer
- Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
- Spike
- The Star
- Star in the Night
- The Star Wars Holiday Special
- A Tale of Winter
- The Thin Man
- The 3 Wise Men
- This Christmas
- Tokyo Godfathers
- Tom and Jerry: A Nutcracker Tale
- Trading Places
- 'Twas the Night
- Unaccompanied Minors
- Urkel Saves Santa: The Movie!
- A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas
- Violent Night
- We're No Angels
- While You Were Sleeping
- White Christmas
- Whoever Slew Auntie Roo?
- Why Him?
- The Wild Affair
- The Year Without a Santa Claus