The 10 Best Christmas Movies of All Time

2025 is coming to an end – and we all know what that means: it’s time for Christmas celebrations.

In addition to the classic songs, the exuberant decorations and the long-awaited gifts, celebrating one of the holidays that ends the year can be accompanied by a good film. Be with the iconic ‘Happiness can’t be bought’with the powerful drama ‘Carol’ or with the instigating and adored ‘Die Hard’there are countless feature films that have become Christmas emblems and never fail to accompany moviegoers’ festivities.

And of course the CinePOP I wouldn’t fail to bring you great tips for watching this year-end: starting our specials, we’ve prepared a brief list of the 10 best Christmas movies of all timeencompassing diverse genres including comedy, action, animation and drama.

Check it out below:

10. YOU ALSO LIVE BY ILLUSION (1947)

Winner of three Oscar statuettes, ‘We also live by illusion’ has survived the test of time and aged like a great bottle of wine, whether due to the solid work of George Seaton in the direction and script, whether through the passionate performances of Maureen O’Hara, John Payne e White Edmund. The plot centers on the famous department store Macy’s, which is in need of a Santa Claus and ends up hiring the real one by chance. Soon he infects everyone with his altruistic spirit and ends up demonstrating that he really is the real good old man.

9. EDWARD SCISSORHANDS (1990)

Tim Burton is known for a series of chilling productions that explore the drives of beauty within the grotesque. Responsible for titles such as ‘Corpse Bride’, ‘Ed Wood’ e ‘Sweeney Todd’Burton has a unique perspective on the world around him – and whose ultimate representation emerges with the exuberant and enchanting ‘Edward Scissorhands’. Starring Johnny Depp e Winona Ryderthe feature film is a celebration of love and acceptance that unfolds in a theatrical and fabulous way, relying on Christmas festivities to build an intoxicating and inescapable atmosphere.

Before the iconic ‘Coraline and the Secret World’the skilled Henry Selick lent his artistic vision to the stop-motion musical ‘The Nightmare Before Christmas’which featured an original story by Tim Burton. Introducing Jack Skellington, the King of Halloween Town, who begins a plan to kidnap Santa Claus and take control of Christmas, Selick built a fantastic and almost mythical universe that featured iconic songs and a breathtaking aesthetic and narrative appreciation – which maintains the production as one of the best productions of the genre of all time.

Chris Columbus became known for several titles aimed at children, such as ‘Harry Potter’, ‘Percy Jackson’ e ‘The Christmas Chronicles’. However, it was in the early 1990s that Columbus found a way to immortalize himself with the popular and prestigious Christmas comedy ‘They Forgot About Me’: by catapulting Macaulay Culkin to stardom and immortalizing the McCallister family in culture pop forever, the film is revisited and discovered by several generations who are enchanted by the adventures of young Kevin, who is left alone at home by his parents and brothers on Christmas Eve.

6. LITTLE WOMEN (2019)

Two years after heading the highly praised ‘Lady Bird’, Greta Gerwig surpassed expectations and his own artistic abilities by spearheading an impeccable adaptation of the iconic book ‘Little Women’of Louisa May Alcottwhich was named after ‘Little Women’. Exploring the author’s modern theme with an engaging and well-balanced mix of drama and comedy, the feature film featured a strong cast that included Saoirse Ronan, Timothée Chalamet, Laura Dern, Florence Pugh e Meryl Streep – and explored the power of family bonds amid life’s inherent turbulence.

Bruce Willis immortalized one of the most iconic characters in culture pop with the unexpected Christmas action classic ‘Die Hard’. Immortalizing the heroic and mythical construction of John McClane and revitalizing the genre by constructing a fallible and complex protagonist, the feature film found a status undeniable within the seventh art, winning four Oscar nominations and becoming an undeniable success with the public and critics – extending its legacy to countless reformulations, tributes and mentions, in addition to catapulting Alan Rickman to fame

Judy Garland is known for a variety of acclaimed works, including ‘The Magic of Oz’ e ‘A Star Is Born’. And in 1944, Garland starred in the incredible musical ‘Now We Will Be Happy’sharing the spotlight with names like Margaret O’Brien, Mary Astor e Lucille BremerIn the plot, which is divided into several seasonal vignettes, Garland gives life to Esther, one of the four daughters of Alonzo and Anna Smith. Esther is in love with the boy who lives next door, who, at first, doesn’t notice her. However, she eventually crosses paths with him at a party, sparking a relationship fueled by music and the power of family ties.

The Christmas season is accompanied by a celebration of companionship, happiness and, as we can imagine, love. AND ‘Carol’set during the 1952 end-of-year celebrations, opens up space for explorations that go beyond the obvious and that transform the relationship between Carol and Therese, two women who meet in a busy department store, into a romantic epic guided by performances applauded and awarded Cate Blanchett e Rooney Mara. Moved by a dense atmosphere and exploring themes such as homosexuality, motherhood and freedom, the film is impeccable and touching from beginning to end.

The 1940s are marked by some of the best cinematographic productions of all time, such as ‘Citizen Kane’ e ‘Casablanca’. And, in this varied and extensive group, ‘The Corner Store’ has a well-deserved place as one of the best romantic dramedies of the seventh art by relying on the pre-World War II scenario and inviting the public to visit a store in Budapest, where two employees who hate each other have no idea that they are secret love correspondents – culminating in a great twist on the eve of Christmas that turns the film into a fun and honest story.

Amidst so many Christmas classics, ‘Happiness can’t be bought’ remains the most emblematic of all – being praised by countless prestigious cinema directors, including Steven Spielberg, Orson Welles, David Lynch e Akira Kurosawa. Almost eighty years after its release in cinemas, whose mixed reception and poor box office soon gave way to an extremely successful reevaluation, the film directed by Frank Capra is a powerful fantasy drama guided by performance impeccable of James Stewart – and which delves into delicate themes such as empathy, altruism, self-destructive thoughts and redemption.

In contact with the arts in general from a very early age, Thiago Nolla is a journalist, writer and drag queen in his spare time. She has been working with pop culture since 2015 and is a walking encyclopedia about pop divas (mainly her muses, Lady Gaga and Beyoncé). He is also passionate about wine, literature and chatting.