Read update
- Christmas movies come in all shapes and sizes. The movies could be festive and joyful. They could be action and horror movies that have a Christmas background setting. These can also be dramas, with love stories or family conflict as the main storyline. In 2022, there was even a movie that had Santa Claus showing up and killing mercenaries to save a little girl in Violent Night. However, only the best of the best rank high in the eyes and minds of film critics, and their combined scores on Rotten Tomatoes indicate the holiday movies that everyone should check out year after year.
Everyone has their own personal favorite Christmas movie. Some of them are traditional classics, while others are more non-traditional fare that include action and horror movies that take place at Christmas. But what Christmas movies are generally considered the best of the best?
The Rotten Tomatoes team compiled a list of the 62 Best Christmas Movies of All Time, and some of the inclusions may prove surprising. Their choices proved particularly interesting, as it's filled with some great picks, as well as some rather surprising ones.
UPDATE: 2022/12/20 12:30 EST BY SHAWN S. LEALOS
Christmas movies come in all shapes and sizes. The movies could be festive and joyful. They could be action and horror movies that have a Christmas background setting. These can also be dramas, with love stories or family conflict as the main storyline. In 2022, there was even a movie that had Santa Claus showing up and killing mercenaries to save a little girl in Violent Night. However, only the best of the best rank high in the eyes and minds of film critics, and their combined scores on Rotten Tomatoes indicate the holiday movies that everyone should check out year after year.
A Christmas Story (1983) - 90%
Stream now on HBO Max
A Christmas Story might be one of the most popular Christmas movies playing each and every year. While some people might believe television networks overplay it every year, the likable Chrsitmas Story characters make it a movie that people seem to drift back to whether they want to or not.
The movie is about a young boy who just wants one Christmas present that year. However, his memories flash back on his overprotective mother, his foul-mouthed dad, and the school bullies. In 2022, fans even got a sequel with little Ralphie all grown up in A Christmas Story Christmas.
Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale (2010) - 90%
Stream now on Hulu & Peacock
It is not often that horror movies rank high on Rotten Tomatoes. The amount of Christmas-themed horror movies is even smaller for critically-acclaimed movies. That makes Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale as a rare treasure for holiday horror fans.
Rare Exports was a Finish horror movie where a group of researchers accidentally find an imprisoned monstrous Santa. While they imprison him to keep him from getting away, evil creatures set out slaughtering anyone in their way to free him for good. Rotten Tomatoes critics called it "an unexpectedly delightful crossbreed of deadpan comedy and Christmas horror."
Arthur Christmas (2011) - 92%
Stream now on Prime Video, Hulu & HBO Max
The guys behind Wallace and Gromit made a Christmas movie in 2011. Unlike most of Aardman's movies, this one is not stop-motion. Instead, it is a CG movie about Santa Claus and his children. Arthur Christmas is not the heir apparent to Santa.
However, in Arthur Christmas, he is the one who has to save Christmas when everything goes wrong. This is more than just an animated Christmas movie and contains all the smart humor and heartfelt beats that Aardman remains known for.
Die Hard (1988) - 94%
Stream now on Starz
While some people argue whether Die Hard is a Christmas movie, there really is no doubt that it is. The movie takes place when John McClane goes to his wife's Christmas party and ends up battling bad guys. Without the Christmas party, there would be no movie.
Many fans and critics label this one of the best action movies of all time. If anything, it made Bruce Willis a legitimate action hero and changed how action heroes looked in these movies. There were at least two quality Die Hard sequels as well, but this original is a classic action masterpiece.
Carol (2015) - 94%
Stream now on Roku
Based on Patricia Highsmith's revolutionary novel The Price of Salt, Carol is a drama concerning the lesbian relationship between a young photographer and an older divorcee. In the starring roles is Cate Blanchett as Carol Aird and Rooney Mara as Therese Belivet.
The movie received widespread acclaim for its lead performances and Todd Haynes's direction, resulting in six Academy Award nominations (including acting noms for Blanchett and Mara). Unfortunately, it failed to win any, and its lack of Best Picture and Director noms provoked some controversy.
A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965) - 94%
Stream now on Apple TV+
Predating How the Grinch Stole Christmas, A Charlie Brown Christmas is perhaps the greatest Christmas TV special. And, if Rotten Tomatoes is to be trusted, it is. Commissioned by The Coca-Cola Company, the special was expected to be a disaster. It was written in weeks and made on a small budget in a matter of months, and its unorthodox tone, roster of child actors, and jazz music led many to think that it would fail.
That certainly wasn't the case, and A Charlie Brown Christmas continues to be aired every Christmas season, making it a true annual favorite.
It's A Wonderful Life (1946) - 94%
Stream now on Prime Video
Often heralded as the greatest Christmas movie ever made, It's a Wonderful Life failed in its initial run. It received lukewarm reviews (despite receiving numerous Academy Award nominations) and bombed at the box office, and it wasn't until its countless TV airings in the 70s and 80s that it became a perennial Christmas tradition.
Today, it's regarded as the quintessential Christmas film. Just as meaningful today as it was in 1946, It's a Wonderful Life is a wonderful movie that has earned its place in the Christmas canon.
Klaus (2019) - 95%
Stream now on Netflix
While it went mostly underrated thanks to its existence as a Netflix exclusive, but Klaus might be one of the best Santa Claus movies ever made. The movie follo9ws a postman named Jesper, sent to the North to learn how to do his job or lose his family's fortune.
However, when he meets a man named Klaus who is making homemade toys, the two men team up to deliver them. This is a Santa Claus origin story like no other, and is a movie as beautifully animated as it is a story told.
Little Women (2019) - 95%
Stream now on DirecTV
Released in late 2019, Greta Gerwig's Little Women is the seventh adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's iconic novel. It may also be the best.
Most of the praise was singled on Gerwig's re-telling of the story and the superb cast that included the likes of Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson, Florence Pugh, Laura Dern, Timothée Chalamet, and Meryl Streep. It grossed a very respectable $216 million and earned six Academy Award nominations, winning for Best Costume Design.
The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) - 95%
Stream now on Disney+
Perhaps the most famous and acclaimed piece of stop-motion animation in modern movie history, The Nightmare Before Christmas is an undeniable classic.
Produced by Tim Burton and featuring his signature style, the movie continues to earn acclaim for its unique blending of genres and tones (alternating between Halloween and Christmas) and for its impeccable stop-motion animation. Christmas movie, or Halloween movie? Whatever it is, it's a classic.
Miracle On 34th Street (1947) - 96%
Stream now on Prime Video, Disney+ & Peacock
Known as The Big Heart in the United Kingdom, Miracle on 34th Street is another Christmas classic hailing from the 1940s. The story concerns a department store Santa named Kris Kringlem who claims to be the real Santa Claus, resulting in him being institutionalized as insane.
John Payne stars as Fred Gailey, a lawyer who defends Kringle in court and who attempts to prove that he is in fact the real Santa Claus. It's very gooey and sentimental, but that is just what people need and want around the holidays.
How The Grinch Stole Christmas (1966) - 100%
Stream now on Peacock
Technically a TV special but often classified as a movie, How the Grinch Stole Christmas is one of the most popular pieces of Christmas fiction ever released. Running at a tight 25 minutes, the special contains many classic scenes and images, and its reputation is aided by some fantastic narration and voice acting by Boris Karloff.
The special originally aired on CBS on the night of December 18, 1966, and quickly became an annual TV tradition. Even now, over 50 years later, it continues to be enjoyed by families the world over.
Meet Me In St. Louis (1944) - 100%
Stream now on DirecTV
Meet Me in St. Louis was MGM's most successful musical of the 1940s, grossing over $6 million throughout its original run and becoming the second highest-grossing movie of 1944. The story follows the Smith family throughout 1903 and 1904 and earned widespread acclaim for its tone and the leading performances of Judy Garland and Margaret O'Brien.
The movie also introduced the world to the song "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," which quickly entered into the Christmas music canon.
Holiday Inn (1942) - 100%
Rent now on Apple TV & Prime Video
Another oldie but goodie, Holiday Inn is perhaps most famous for introducing the song "White Christmas" to the Christmas music lexicon. The song proved an instant success and won the Academy Award for Best Original Song (the movie's only Oscar win).
The movie is backed by a ton of talent, starring the likes of Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire, and with music composed by the legendary Irving Berlin.
The Shop Around The Corner (1940) - 100%
Stream now on HBO Max
One of the finest romantic comedies ever released, The Shop Around the Corner is the very definition of an oldie but a goodie. Often considered one of the best movies ever made, it concerns two feuding store employees who are falling in love with each other through their anonymous pen pal letters.
The movie continues to receive acclaim for its intelligent screenplay and direction, not to mention the brilliant lead performances from Margaret Sullavan and movie legend, Jimmy Stewart.