These ten films make the cut because each is about Christmas or firmly set during the holiday season—not merely because a festive detail happens to appear. “21st century” here starts with releases in 2000, inclusive. The ranking is a judgment about craft, performances, seasonal atmosphere, emotional or comic impact, originality and rewatch value, rather than a universal verdict or a tally of review scores.
There is no settled definition of a Christmas movie. The BFI has noted how the debate over Die Hard reflects a genre whose boundaries shift; Metacritic’s November 2025 list uses a broad “Die Hard rules” approach, while Rotten Tomatoes requires its modern-classics picks to be about Christmas or firmly set during the holiday, released after 2000, and Fresh with at least 20 reviews. This list uses the firmer holiday-connection rule but includes 2000, so its scope is not identical to Rotten Tomatoes’.
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Parks and Recreation: The Complete Series [DVD] | $22.99 | Buy on Amazon |
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Avatar - The Last Airbender: The Complete Series | $14.96 | Buy on Amazon |
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Harry Potter: The Complete 8-Film Collection | $30.80 | Buy on Amazon |
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Twilight Saga 5 Movie Collection [DVD] | $11.99 | Buy on Amazon |
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The Lord of the Rings Collection (Theatrical Version) | $7.99 | Buy on Amazon |
How the ranking works
The order weighs how strongly Christmas shapes each film’s setting and story, as well as the quality of its filmmaking, performances and effect on the viewer. It also gives the ten films room to represent different kinds of holiday cinema: animation, romance, adult comedy, melancholy drama and more. A high place does not mean a film is suitable for every age or mood.
Curated selections and score-based lists answer different questions. The BFI offers a considered selection; Rotten Tomatoes applies stated review-count and Freshness conditions; Metacritic orders titles by Metascore. None of those methods makes “greatest” objective, and this countdown is not an average of them.
#1 Best Overall
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The 10 greatest Christmas movies of the 21st century
1. The Holdovers (2023)
Alexander Payne’s wintry comedy-drama earns the top spot for making the holiday break matter without turning it into a sentimental shortcut. A disliked teacher, a stranded student and a grieving cook form an uneasy household at a New England boarding school. Christmas gives the story its confinement and loneliness; the performances and period detail make the people in that setting feel fully lived-in. The BFI highlighted its odd-couple relationship, holiday confinement and melancholic comedy in its 2023 Christmas-film selection.
2. Klaus (2019)
This animated Santa-origin story brings visual invention and a genuinely affecting account of kindness to a familiar piece of Christmas mythology. Its hand-crafted look distinguishes it from much contemporary computer animation, while its central friendship gives the seasonal generosity a narrative foundation. The film is a standout for viewers who want animation with warmth and emotional weight. Rotten Tomatoes includes it among its modern Christmas classics; the AP also described its Santa-origin premise.
Rank #2
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3. Elf (2003)
Will Ferrell’s exuberant performance makes Buddy’s wide-eyed belief in Christmas funny without making the character a joke at the story’s expense. The film’s fish-out-of-water premise turns familiar seasonal rituals into comic set pieces, then lets the sincerity behind them land. The BFI places it in a tradition of Dickens-influenced transformation stories, and Rotten Tomatoes includes it in its modern-classics guide. It ranks below the top two because its pleasures are more straightforward, but few recent films combine silliness and seasonal cheer so effectively.
4. Tokyo Godfathers (2003)
Satoshi Kon’s animated film follows three unhoused people who find an abandoned baby on Christmas Eve and set out to locate the child’s parents. The holiday setting gives their improbable journey urgency, but the film’s vivid characters and shifting mix of comedy, hardship and coincidence keep it from feeling like a conventional seasonal fable. Rotten Tomatoes identifies it as an offbeat international gem. Its humane, unpredictable point of view makes it essential to a list that should not mistake one country or one style for the whole genre.
Rank #3
5. Carol (2015)
Todd Haynes’s restrained romantic drama opens in a Christmas-season New York and uses winter streets, shop windows and family rituals to frame a relationship lived under social pressure. Christmas is not the engine of every plot turn; its seasonal atmosphere is nevertheless integral to the film’s mood and to the contrast between public respectability and private longing. The AP recommended it as a midcentury-style heartbreak story. Its quietness is a strength, though it offers a very different kind of holiday viewing from a broad comedy.
6. Arthur Christmas (2011)
This animated family adventure asks how Santa’s enormous operation could overlook one child—and what his well-meaning son can do about it. The delivery-system premise supplies brisk comic mechanics, while the story’s concern for each child keeps the spectacle pointed toward Christmas rather than technology for its own sake. The BFI connects it to the Dickensian transformation tradition, and Rotten Tomatoes highlights its critical reception. It makes the ranking for imaginative world-building and family appeal, even if its emotional notes are less surprising than the films above it.
Rank #4
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7. Bad Santa (2003)
In Terry Zwigoff’s abrasive comedy, a hard-drinking thief and his partner pose as a department-store Santa and elf so they can rob the place. The premise is deliberately far from wholesome: its humor comes from watching a cynical con man collide with the expectations attached to Santa. The BFI describes that setup as part of the film’s appeal. Its place here recognizes Christmas cinema’s adult, caustic side—not a recommendation for family viewing.
8. The Holiday (2006)
Nancy Meyers’s glossy romantic fantasy sends two women across the Atlantic for a house swap and a change of emotional scenery. Christmas is part of the film’s inviting atmosphere, while the romance and the pleasures of its carefully designed homes do most of the work. The AP’s Lindsey Bahr recommends it as a glossy holiday fantasy, and the BFI also includes it in its Christmas-film selection. It is a dependable choice for viewers seeking warmth and escapism rather than formal experimentation.
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9. Love Actually (2003)
Richard Curtis’s ensemble romance braids together several stories of love, loss and family in the run-up to Christmas. The season is not incidental: its music, rituals and deadline shape the film’s structure and its emotional register. The BFI calls it a sentimental festive film and notes that it divides viewers; that split is part of the case for ranking it rather than treating it as an uncontested classic. Its sprawling format offers generous rewatch possibilities, though not every storyline has aged with equal grace.
10. Krampus (2015)
Michael Dougherty’s horror-comedy turns a family’s holiday dysfunction into a dark seasonal fable. Christmas is central to the premise and imagery, but the film trades comfort for menace, making it the list’s clearest choice for viewers who prefer their holiday stories with a frightening edge. Its inclusion also reflects the breadth of the genre: a Christmas movie need not be tender or suitable for a family audience to make the season essential to its identity.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Why Christmas-movie lists disagree
Publications use different boundaries and ranking methods, so their lists need not match. The BFI’s discussion of Die Hard illustrates the definitional dispute. Metacritic’s November 2025 approach allows a film to qualify through a November or December setting or significant holiday-season moments, even when the plot does not depend on Christmas. Rotten Tomatoes takes a narrower approach for its modern-classics list: the film must be about Christmas or firmly set during the holiday, released after 2000, Fresh, and supported by at least 20 reviews. Those rules help explain why a film can appear on one credible list and not another.
Just missed
Love Actually appears at number nine despite its divisive reputation because its ensemble structure and seasonal framework remain distinctive. Other strong candidates include Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey, Spirited and Gremlins; this list gives priority to films whose release years and holiday connection fit the stated boundary, while balancing tone and genre across the ten.
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