The 31 Greatest Christmas Movies
by humblethorn | created - 04 Dec 2018 | updated - 04 Dec 2018 | PublicA Month of Christmas
- Instant Watch Options
- Genres
- Movies or TV
- IMDb Rating
- In Theaters
- Release Year
- Keywords
1. 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: 10,772
2. 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: 12,356 | Gross: $37.63M
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: 51,124 | Gross: $30.00M
4. Christmas in Connecticut (1945)
Approved | 101 min | Comedy, Romance
A food writer who has lied about being the perfect housewife must try to cover her deception when her boss and a returning war hero invite themselves to her home for a traditional family Christmas.
Director: Peter Godfrey | Stars: Barbara Stanwyck, Dennis Morgan, Sydney Greenstreet, Reginald Gardiner
Votes: 12,021
5. The Santa Clause (1994)
PG | 97 min | Comedy, Drama, Family
When a man inadvertently makes Santa fall off his roof on Christmas Eve, he finds himself magically recruited to take his place.
Director: John Pasquin | Stars: Tim Allen, Judge Reinhold, Wendy Crewson, Eric Lloyd
Votes: 133,408 | Gross: $144.83M
6. 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: 310,760 | Gross: $173.40M
7. 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: 70,634 | Gross: $27.28M
8. The Bishop's Wife (1947)
G | 109 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
A debonair angel comes to Earth to help an Episcopalian bishop and his wife in their quest to raise money for the new church.
Director: Henry Koster | Stars: Cary Grant, Loretta Young, David Niven, Monty Woolley
Votes: 20,900
9. 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: 54,906 | Gross: $2.65M
10. 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: 499,021
11. The Polar Express (2004)
G | 100 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
On Christmas Eve, a young boy embarks on a magical adventure to the North Pole on the Polar Express, while learning about friendship, bravery, and the spirit of Christmas.
Director: Robert Zemeckis | Stars: Tom Hanks, Chris Coppola, Michael Jeter, Leslie Zemeckis
Votes: 241,262 | Gross: $183.37M
12. Home Alone (1990)
PG | 103 min | Comedy, Family
An eight-year-old troublemaker, mistakenly left home alone, must defend his home against a pair of burglars on Christmas Eve.
Director: Chris Columbus | Stars: Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern, John Heard
Votes: 652,700 | Gross: $285.76M
13. The Christmas Chronicles (2018)
PG | 104 min | Adventure, Comedy, Family
The story of sister and brother, Kate and Teddy Pierce, whose Christmas Eve plan to catch Santa Claus on camera turns into an unexpected journey that most kids could only dream about.
Director: Clay Kaytis | Stars: Kurt Russell, Darby Camp, Judah Lewis, Oliver Hudson
Votes: 83,480
14. The Christmas Candle (2013)
PG | 100 min | Drama, Family
A pastor who's suffered a personal loss accepts a position in a town that believes in a Christmas miracle candle, which he strives to abolish.
Director: John Stephenson | Stars: Hans Matheson, Samantha Barks, Lesley Manville, Sylvester McCoy
Votes: 2,682 | Gross: $2.21M
15. 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: 59,013
16. 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: 21,463
17. 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: 37,466
18. The Bells of St. Mary's (1945)
Unrated | 126 min | Drama
At a big city Catholic school, Father O'Malley and Sister Benedict indulge in friendly rivalry, and succeed in extending the school through the gift of a building.
Director: Leo McCarey | Stars: Bing Crosby, Ingrid Bergman, Henry Travers, William Gargan
Votes: 9,367 | Gross: $21.30M
19. A Christmas Carol (1984 TV Movie)
PG | 100 min | Drama, Family, Fantasy
A bitter old miser who rationalizes his uncaring nature learns real compassion when three spirits visit him on Christmas Eve.
Director: Clive Donner | Stars: George C. Scott, Frank Finlay, Angela Pleasence, Edward Woodward
Votes: 18,337
20. An Elf's Story: The Elf on the Shelf (2010 TV Movie)
Not Rated | 26 min | Animation, Family, Fantasy
An elf attempts to help a boy believe.
Director: Chad Eikhoff | Stars: Brendan Dooling, Michael May, Doug Williams, Leslie Bellair
Votes: 660
21. Christmas with the Kranks (2004)
PG | 99 min | Comedy, Family
With their daughter, Blair, away in Peru, Luther and Nora Krank decide to skip Christmas all together until she decides to come home, causing an uproar when they have to celebrate it at the last minute.
Director: Joe Roth | Stars: Tim Allen, Jamie Lee Curtis, Dan Aykroyd, M. Emmet Walsh
Votes: 57,580 | Gross: $73.78M
22. The Best Christmas Pageant Ever (1983 TV Movie)
Not Rated | 48 min | Comedy, Family
A teacher puts on a Christmas pageant and puts the worst children in school as the stars.
Director: George Schaefer | Stars: Loretta Swit, Jackson Davies, Antony Holland, David Alexander
Votes: 822
23. 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: 168,604 | Gross: $20.61M
24. The Crippled Lamb (1999 Video)
Not Rated | 26 min | Animation, Short, Family
An orphaned lamb named Joshua was born with a crippled leg. In this story, the poor little lamb feels out of place in the world and that God has given him no purpose. But his time comes ... See full summary »
Stars: Jodi Benson, Robby Benson, Townsend Coleman, Jesse Corti
Votes: 62
25. 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: 38,451 | Gross: $0.20M
26. The Small One (1978)
G | 26 min | Animation, Short, Drama
Ordered by his father to sell his old, small donkey, named Small One, a boy in ancient Palestine takes the donkey to the Jerusalem market. Finding no buyers there, the boy is about to give up when he meets a kind man named Joseph.
Directors: Don Bluth, Jack Cutting, Wolfgang Reitherman | Stars: Sean Marshall, William Woodson, Olan Soule, Hal Smith
Votes: 2,090
27. 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: 67,090 | Gross: $46.46M
28. Prep & Landing: Tiny's Big Adventure (2011 Video)
1 min | Animation, Short, Comedy
A short film in Tiny, Magee's assistant, destroys the break room while attempting to make a pot of coffee.
Directors: Kevin Deters, Stevie Wermers | Star: Sarah Chalke
Votes: 267
29. Angela's Christmas (2017)
G | 30 min | Animation, Short, Adventure
Set in Ireland in the 1910s, 'Angela's Christmas' is a funny, heart-warming and poignant story about the power of family and the innocent desire of a child to ensure everyone is safe, warm and loved at Christmas time.
Director: Damien O'Connor | Stars: Malachy McCourt, Ruth Negga, Vivian Drew, Anya O'Connor
Votes: 3,492
30. The Star of Christmas (2002 Video)
Not Rated | 48 min | Animation, Comedy, Family
Bob the Tomato and Larry the Cucumber appear as Cavis Appythart and Millward Phelps, respectively--two jingle writers based loosely on Gilbert and Sullivan. The setting is 1880s London, and... See full summary »
Director: Tim Hodge | Stars: Dan Anderson, Matthew Hodge, Tim Hodge, Mike Nawrocki
Votes: 460
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: 220,091 | Gross: $71.32M
Tell Your Friends