12 Underrated Holiday Movies to Watch This Season

When Meredith Morton (Sarah Jessica Parker) heads to the fictional town of Thayer, Connecticut, with her boyfriend to spend time with his family during the holidays, tensions and chaos soon follow. Featuring a star-studded ensemble, including Diane Keaton, Luke Wilson, Rachel McAdams, and Craig T. Nelson, this dramedy film is filled with family squabbles and moments that will make you both laugh and cry. 

It’s a battle of Christmas spirit between Steve Finch (Matthew Broderick) and Buddy Hall (Danny DeVito) in this 2006 Christmas comedy film. Determined to make his house visible from space, Hall decides to use Christmas lights and other elaborate decorations, making him the talk of the town. Christmas enthusiast Finch is threatened by his new neighbor’s popularity, leading to an unusual rivalry filled with hilarious hijinks.

Starring Kristen Stewart, Mackenzie Davis, Victor Garber, Dan Levy, Aubrey Plaza, and more, this holiday rom-com revolves around Abby (Kristen Stewart) and her girlfriend Harper (Mackenzie Davis) while visiting Harper’s family during Christmas. When Abby decides to propose to Harper, she soon learns that Harper has not come out yet to her conservative parents.

Determined to get his son a Turbo-Man, the hottest toy of the season that is nearly sold out, Howard Langston (Arnold Schwarzenegger) goes on a quest to find the unattainable action figure, only to discover that there is another father on a similar mission. 

Emma Roberts and Luke Bracey star as two strangers who are fed up with being single around the holidays. As a result, they agree to be each other’s plus-ones, or “holidates,” for every festive occasion throughout the year.

After their daughter departs for a Peace Corp assignment, Luther (Tim Allen) and Nora Krank (Jamie Lee Curtis) decide to skip the Christmas festivities and spend their holidays on a Caribbean cruise. However, this choice does not sit well with their neighbors, making the Kranks social outcasts unless they get into the holiday spirit.

This animated fantasy film reimagines Santa Claus (Alec Baldwin), the Tooth Fairy (Isla Fisher), the Easter Bunny (Hugh Jackman), and the Sandman as legendary Guardians who protect children all around the world from darkness. When Pitch Black (Jude Law) threatens to destroy the happiness of children, the Guardians seek the help of Jack Frost (Chris Pine) to stop him.

When Scott Calvin (Tim Allen) accidentally causes the real Santa Claus to fall from his roof, he and his son are transported to the North Pole where he discovers he is now the new Santa. If you enjoy the first film, you will be glad to know that there are two sequels in this film series. 

For those who want a bit of horror this holiday season, Krampus follows the story of a young boy who loses his Christmas spirit. Because of this, Krampus—a demonic beast who punishes naughty children and non-believers around Christmastime—threatens the young boy and his dysfunctional family, forcing them to fight back in order to survive.

In this modern adaptation of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, Bill Murray stars as Frank Cross, a successful yet cynical television executive who is visited by several spirits on Christmas Eve in order to help him get back his holiday spirit. 

When city magazine writer Elizabeth Lane (Barbara Stanwyck) must host a Christmas dinner for a returning war hero in her supposed country farm, she devises a plan in order to keep up the fictitious life she created for her column of being a farm wife and mother. 

When Santa Claus (Bill Nighy) misses one child out of billions on Christmas Eve, it's up to his youngest son Arthur (James McAvoy) to deliver the present to the child before Christmas morning.