best christmas movies of all time
by ruffcoaley | created - 13 Dec 2014 | updated - 16 May 2016 | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. 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: 499,295
2. A Christmas Carol (1951)
TV-PG | 86 min | Drama, Family, Fantasy
Ebenezer Scrooge, a curmudgeonly, miserly businessman, has no time for sentimentality and largely views Christmas as a waste of time. However, this Christmas Eve, he will be visited by three spirits who will show him the error of his ways.
Director: Brian Desmond Hurst | Stars: Alastair Sim, Jack Warner, Kathleen Harrison, Mervyn Johns
Votes: 25,728
3. 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: 54,929 | Gross: $2.65M
4. 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: 653,027 | Gross: $285.76M
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: 133,440 | Gross: $144.83M
6. 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: 168,636 | Gross: $20.61M
7. This Christmas (2007)
PG-13 | 117 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A Christmastime drama centered around the Whitfield family's first holiday together in four years.
Director: Preston A. Whitmore II | Stars: Regina King, Columbus Short, Delroy Lindo, Idris Elba
Votes: 10,448 | Gross: $49.12M
8. 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: 220,162 | Gross: $71.32M
9. Bad Santa (2003)
R | 92 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
A miserable conman and his partner pose as Santa and his Little Helper to rob department stores on Christmas Eve. But they run into problems when the conman befriends a troubled kid.
Director: Terry Zwigoff | Stars: Billy Bob Thornton, Bernie Mac, Lauren Graham, John Ritter
Votes: 155,190 | Gross: $60.06M
10. Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992)
PG | 120 min | Adventure, Comedy, Crime
One year after Kevin McCallister was left home alone and had to defeat a pair of bumbling burglars, he accidentally finds himself stranded in New York City - and the same criminals are not far behind.
Director: Chris Columbus | Stars: Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern, Catherine O'Hara
Votes: 402,653 | Gross: $173.59M
11. The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause (2006)
G | 92 min | Adventure, Comedy, Family
Santa, a.k.a. Scott Calvin, is faced with double-duty: how to keep his new family happy and how to stop Jack Frost from taking over Christmas.
Director: Michael Lembeck | Stars: Tim Allen, Martin Short, Elizabeth Mitchell, Eric Lloyd
Votes: 42,675 | Gross: $84.50M
12. The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
PG | 76 min | Animation, Family, Fantasy
Jack Skellington, king of Halloween Town, discovers Christmas Town, but his attempts to bring Christmas to his home causes confusion.
Director: Henry Selick | Stars: Danny Elfman, Chris Sarandon, Catherine O'Hara, William Hickey
Votes: 375,258 | Gross: $75.08M
13. Friday After Next (2002)
R | 85 min | Comedy, Drama
Working as security guards, Craig and Day-Day run into the thief who stole their Christmas presents.
Director: Marcus Raboy | Stars: Ice Cube, Mike Epps, John Witherspoon, Don 'D.C.' Curry
Votes: 30,213 | Gross: $32.98M
14. 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: 310,860 | Gross: $173.40M
15. Scrooged (1988)
PG-13 | 101 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
A selfish, cynical television executive is haunted by three spirits bearing lessons on Christmas Eve.
Director: Richard Donner | Stars: Bill Murray, Karen Allen, John Forsythe, John Glover
Votes: 116,455 | Gross: $60.33M
16. The Santa Clause 2 (2002)
G | 104 min | Comedy, Family, Fantasy
Scott Calvin has been a humble Santa Claus for eight years, but it might come to an end if he doesn't find a Mrs. Claus.
Director: Michael Lembeck | Stars: Tim Allen, Spencer Breslin, Elizabeth Mitchell, Eric Lloyd
Votes: 63,915 | Gross: $139.24M
17. Jingle All the Way (1996)
PG | 89 min | Adventure, Comedy, Family
A father vows to get his son a Turbo Man action figure for Christmas. However, every store is sold out, and he must travel all over town and compete with everybody else in order to find one.
Director: Brian Levant | Stars: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sinbad, Phil Hartman, Rita Wilson
Votes: 116,176 | Gross: $60.57M
18. A Christmas Carol (2009)
PG | 96 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
An animated retelling of Charles Dickens' classic novel about a Victorian-era miser taken on a journey of self-redemption, courtesy of several mysterious Christmas apparitions.
Director: Robert Zemeckis | Stars: Jim Carrey, Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Steve Valentine
Votes: 129,562 | Gross: $137.86M
19. Holiday Inn (1942)
Passed | 100 min | Comedy, Drama, Music
At an inn which is open only on holidays, a crooner and a hoofer vie for the affections of a beautiful up-and-coming performer.
Directors: Mark Sandrich, Robert Allen | Stars: Bing Crosby, Fred Astaire, Marjorie Reynolds, Virginia Dale
Votes: 17,628 | Gross: $8.18M
20. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Movie (1998)
G | 83 min | Animation, Adventure, Family
It's up to Santa's most famous reindeer to save the day when an evil queen conjures up a storm on Christmas.
Director: William R. Kowalchuk Jr. | Stars: John Goodman, Bob Newhart, Debbie Reynolds, Eric Pospisil
Votes: 3,178 | Gross: $0.11M
21. Christmas in the Clouds (2001)
PG | 96 min | Comedy, Family, Romance
During the holidays at a ski resort in Utah run by a Native American tribe, the overworked manager and a widowed woman from the big city overcome mistaken identities and intrusive guests in their pursuit of romance.
Director: Kate Montgomery | Stars: Timothy Vahle, Sam Vlahos, Mariana Tosca, M. Emmet Walsh
Votes: 890
22. Miracle on 34th Street (1994)
PG | 114 min | Drama, Family, Fantasy
A lawyer and a little girl must prove that a man claiming to be Santa Claus is the real thing.
Director: Les Mayfield | Stars: Richard Attenborough, Elizabeth Perkins, Dylan McDermott, J.T. Walsh
Votes: 43,883 | Gross: $17.19M
23. The Holiday (2006)
PG-13 | 136 min | Comedy, Romance
Two women troubled with guy-problems swap homes in each other's countries, where they each meet a local guy and fall in love.
Director: Nancy Meyers | Stars: Kate Winslet, Cameron Diaz, Jude Law, Jack Black
Votes: 323,083 | Gross: $63.22M
24. 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: 241,382 | Gross: $183.37M
25. How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)
PG | 104 min | Comedy, Family, Fantasy
On the outskirts of Whoville lives a green, revenge-seeking Grinch who plans to ruin Christmas for all of the citizens of the town.
Director: Ron Howard | Stars: Jim Carrey, Taylor Momsen, Kelley, Jeffrey Tambor
Votes: 291,581 | Gross: $260.04M
26. While You Were Sleeping (1995)
PG | 103 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A hopelessly romantic Chicago Transit Authority ticket booth operator is mistaken for the fiancée of a comatose patient.
Director: Jon Turteltaub | Stars: Sandra Bullock, Bill Pullman, Peter Gallagher, Peter Boyle
Votes: 114,047 | Gross: $81.06M
27. 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: 57,599 | Gross: $73.78M
28. The Flight Before Christmas (2008)
G | 80 min | Animation, Adventure, Family
A young reindeer who suffers from vertigo learns to overcome his fear, takes flying lessons from a clumsy flying squirrel and heads to the North pole to save a troubled Santa and his fleet of flying reindeer.
Directors: Michael Hegner, Kari Juusonen | Stars: Olli Jantunen, Hannu-Pekka Björkman, Vuokko Hovatta, Vesa Vierikko
Votes: 3,839
29. It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie (2002 TV Movie)
PG | 100 min | Adventure, Comedy, Family
'Twas the night before Christmas and the Muppet Theatre is in danger of being torn down, but with hilarious send-ups of just about every holiday movie ever made, the Muppets discover that what matters most is their love for each other.
Director: Kirk R. Thatcher | Stars: Steve Whitmire, Dave Goelz, Bill Barretta, Eric Jacobson
Votes: 4,636
30. Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July (1979 TV Movie)
G | 97 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
The Winterbolt is trying to make North Pole his evil wonderland, and it is up to Frosty the Snowman, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and other icons to stop him.
Directors: Jules Bass, Arthur Rankin Jr. | Stars: Red Buttons, Ethel Merman, Mickey Rooney, Alan Sues
Votes: 2,668
31. A Night in Compton (2004)
75 min | Comedy
Zion wants to have spend time with his girlfriend, Lanise, but her friends and family keep getting in the way.
Director: Daven Baptiste | Stars: Tom Lister Jr., Roscoe, Joshua David Brown, Patrice Stewart
Votes: 130
32. Gremlins (1984)
PG | 106 min | Comedy, Fantasy, Horror
A young man inadvertently breaks three important rules concerning his new pet and unleashes a horde of malevolently mischievous monsters on a small town.
Director: Joe Dante | Stars: Zach Galligan, Phoebe Cates, Hoyt Axton, John Louie
Votes: 247,896 | Gross: $148.17M
33. Christmas with the Dead (2012)
88 min | Horror
In his quest to fulfill a promise made to his wife, Calvin sets out to right his wrongs and make it the best Christmas ever. If only it weren't June, and the majority of the population, ... See full summary »
Director: T.L. Lankford | Stars: Damian Maffei, Brad Maule, Chet Williamson, Clyde Williams
Votes: 91
34. Die Hard (1988)
R | 132 min | Action, Thriller
A New York City police officer tries to save his estranged wife and several others taken hostage by terrorists during a Christmas party at the Nakatomi Plaza in Los Angeles.
Director: John McTiernan | Stars: Bruce Willis, Alan Rickman, Bonnie Bedelia, Reginald VelJohnson
Votes: 945,919 | Gross: $83.01M
35. Troublemakers (1994)
PG | 107 min | Comedy, Family, Western
Two brothers who hate each other are going to spend Christmas with their mother. She tries to get them together.
Director: Terence Hill | Stars: Terence Hill, Bud Spencer, Boots Southerland, Ruth Buzzi
Votes: 4,527
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