The 10 best Christmas movies of all time - RANKED

Every year around the festive period, movie fans sit around and watch their Christmas favourites.

Families also flock to the cinema around this period, which makes Christmas movies a lucrative business. The highest-grossing Christmas movie of all time is 2018's animated Christmas comedy The Grinch, which grossed a healthy $526,760,632 at the box office.

What are the top 10 most popular shows on Amazon Prime right now?

Tuesday 10 February 2026, 14:38

What are the top 10 most popular shows on Netflix right now?

Monday 9 February 2026, 15:27

The most successful Christmas movie franchise is Home Alone which has grossed $914,762,040 over three films. The first two Home Alone movies are two of the most beloved festive flicks of all time.

Within our MovieMeter community, there are naturally various Christmas movies that have received hugely positive responses. By subscribing to become a member of the MovieMeter community HERE, you can rate all of your favourite movies - and some of your least favourite ones.

It is perhaps no surprise to see that our community reckons It's a Wonderful Life is the best Christmas movie. The film stars James Stewart as George Bailey, a whose thoughts of suicide on Christmas Eve bring about the intervention of his guardian angel, Clarence Odbody. Clarence shows George how life for his loved ones would be had he not been born.

There is only one short film on our list and that is The Snowman, the animated favourite with no dialogue save for the central song, "Walking in the Air".

From Bedford Falls and the White Cliffs of Dover to Nakatomi Tower, now, as Die Hard is in number three. As well as being the best Christmas action movie ever, it launched a major franchise.

We have a non-English-language movie in our top 10, too, with 1947's Quai des Orfèvres.

Best Christmas movies

1. It's a Wonderful Life

3.91 (1184)

It's a Wonderful Life (1946)

George Bailey (James Stewart), a resident of the small town of Bedford Falls, wants to see the world and do great things. Circumstances and his own character, however, force him to stay in his hometown to lead what he believes to be a boring life. He marries his childhood sweetheart Mary (Donna Reed), has children and, as a banker, tries to make life in Bedford Falls a little more pleasant for everyone in a socially committed way. When things start to go bad and life has nothing to offer him anymore, George wants to put an end to it. However, his guardian angel Clarence (Henry Travers) thinks otherwise and shows him what would have become of Bedford Falls without his commitment...

Directed by: Frank Capra
Stars: James Stewart, Donna Reed and Lionel Barrymore

2. The Snowman

3.79 (68)

The Snowman (1982)

On a beautiful winter's day, young James builds a snowman. At the stroke of midnight it comes to life. The boy wakes up and lets him into his house. The snowman remembers that he has to go to a party of snowmen and takes the boy on a flying journey to the North Pole.

Directed by: Jimmy T. Murakami and Dianne Jackson
Stars: Raymond Briggs

3. Die Hard

3.82 (5095)

Die Hard (1988)

The only reason New York cop John McClane (Bruce Willis) is in Los Angeles is because he wants to be with his kids over Christmas. He finds himself at a party at his estranged wife's work when German terrorists led by the ruthless Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman) take control of the skyscraper to open a safe with seven locks. Because of his concealed position, he manages to avoid the group of hostages in order to eliminate the terrorists and sabotage their plan.

Directed by: John McTiernan
Stars: Bruce Willis, Alan Rickman and Bonnie Bedelia

4. The Apartment

3.80 (974)

The Apartment (1960)

As an insurance company employee, Bud Baxter (Jack Lemmon) struggles to keep his head above water. He invents a quick way to get higher: rent his apartment to the high bosses, where they can then take their girlfriends. He often has to deal with the aftermath of the visits, and one evening he finds himself with a big problem that he must solve.

Directed by: Billy Wilder
Stars: Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine and Fred MacMurray

5. Quai des Orfèvres (Quay of the Goldsmiths)

3.69 (101)

Quai des Orfèvres (1947)

Jenny Lamour (Delair), a musical singer, despite the love she has for her husband, accepts to dine with an old perverted man, Brignon. Later, Brignon is found dead. Jenny tells her best friend she had to kill him because he got too aggressive...

Directed by: Henri-Georges Clouzot
Stars: Suzy Delair, Louis Jouvet and Simone Renant

6. The Shop Around the Corner

3.74 (295)

The Shop around the Corner (1940)

Budapest in the 1930s. Alfred Kralik works in Mr. Matuschek's leather goods business. He is highly valued by his boss and is the only one in the shop who is allowed to express his own opinion every now and then. But with the new colleague, the self-assured Klara Novak, Alfred has a hard time. When his boss suspects him of having something with his wife, he loses his job. Until now, Alfred found some comfort in his anonymous pen-friend, but now he's afraid to go to their first date.

Directed by: Ernst Lubitsch
Stars: Margaret Sullavan, James Stewart and Frank Morgan

7. Edward Scissorhands

3.68 (3156)

Edward Scissorhands (1990)

Edward was created by an inventor, who died before he could finish his job. This gives Edward scissors where his hands should be. When a woman rings the doorbell at his large mansion and finds him there, she takes him to her house to live with her family. He soon manages to adapt to his unusual environment.

Directed by: Tim Burton
Stars: Johnny Depp, Winona Ryder and Dianne Wiest

8. The Nightmare Before Christmas

3.63 (1781)

The Nightmare before Christmas (1993)

Jack Skellington, pumpkin king of Halloween Town, is tired of doing the same thing every Halloween. One day, he walks into Christmas Town, and is so impressed by the Christmas idea that he persuades his dark villagers from Halloween Town to abolish Halloween and take over the Christmas party from Sandy Claws.

Directed by: Henry Selick
Stars: Chris Sarandon, Danny Elfman and Catherine O'Hara

9. Lethal Weapon

3.52 (2201)

Lethal Weapon (1987)

Riggs (Gibson) and Murtaugh (Glover) thoroughly hate each other in Lethal Weapon. But they are colleagues and top bosses in their profession! Gibson is a tough, white killing machine... Glover a staid family man, who constantly feels 'too old'. But by now the duo is fighting their way through Los Angeles, where a modern jungle war is raging. Gibson takes insane risks as a hard-core 'cop'; Glover is a dedicated detective with an impeccable track record.

Directed by: Richard Donner
Stars: Mel Gibson, Danny Glover and Gary Busey

10. Home Alone

3.35 (3840)

Home Alone (1990)

Eight-year-old Kevin McAllister is accidentally left home alone when his family goes on holiday to France. When Kevin realizes he is home alone, he soon learns to take care of himself. Ultimately, he must protect the house from Harry and Marv, two burglars who plan to break into Kevin's family's house.

Directed by: Chris Columbus
Stars: Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern