List of Christmas films
Theatrical
This is a list of Christmas-themed films which received a theatrical release.

List of Christmas films

Section Title: Theatrical
Table Section Text: This is a list of Christmas-themed films which received a theatrical release.

Title	Year	Description

The Unholy Three	1930	A trio of thieves plan a jewel heist on Christmas Eve.

A Bill of Divorcement	1932	A man returns home on Christmas Eve after spending fifteen years in an insane asylum but finds out that things have changed since he left.

The Thin Man	1934	Nick and Nora Charles solve a mystery during Christmas.

Babes in Toyland	1934	Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's adaption of Victor Herbert's operetta starring Laurel and Hardy, Felix Knight, Charlotte Henry and Henry Brandon.

Love Finds Andy Hardy	1938	Andy Hardy finds himself romantically entangled with three different girls at once as Christmas approaches.

Bachelor Mother	1939	A department store salesgirl is roped into caring for an orphaned infant in order to keep her job.

Beyond Tomorrow	1940	The ghosts of three elderly industrialists who were killed in an airplane crash return to Earth to help reunite a young couple whom they plan to bring together.

The Blue Bird	1940	The heroine and her friends try to find the bluebird of happiness on Christmas Eve.

Remember the Night	1940	While awaiting trial for shoplifting on Christmas Eve, a woman spends the holidays in the custody of the district attorney who is prosecuting her.

The Shop Around the Corner	1940	A pair of feuding Budapest shop clerks unknowingly conduct a romance by mail as Christmas approaches.

Meet John Doe	1941	A former newspaper reporter asks a man who needs money to impersonate a protester who says he will commit suicide on Christmas Eve.

Holiday Inn	1942	Musicians prepare for a white Christmas at a cozy lodge.

The Man Who Came to Dinner	1942	An acerbic New York radio personality is forced to spend the holidays with an Ohio family after breaking his hip at their house.

Going My Way	1944	A priest tries to save his parish before Christmas.

Christmas Holiday	1944	A nightclub singer shares the story of her unhappy marriage with a soldier on leave for Christmas.

The Curse of the Cat People	1944	The main character befriends her father's dead first wife and an elderly retired stage actress during Christmas.

Meet Me in St. Louis	1944	The Smith family prepare to move to New York after Christmas.

I'll Be Seeing You	1944	A soldier suffering from combat fatigue meets a young woman on Christmas furlough from prison and their mutual loneliness blossoms into romance.

The Cheaters	1945	An eccentric wealthy family facing bankruptcy schemes to steal an inheritance, but an alcoholic ex-actor they take in for Christmas charity complicates their plan.

Christmas in Connecticut	1945	A food writer must entertain her boss and a returning war hero for the holidays.

The Bells of St. Mary's	1945	A priest and a nun who have a friendly rivalry must try to save their school from being shut down on Christmas.

It's a Wonderful Life	1946	A businessman is shown by his guardian angel on Christmas Eve what the world would be like if he were never born.

Miracle on 34th Street	1947	An old man claims to be Santa and a lawyer defends him in court to stop him from being institutionalized.

The Bishop's Wife	1947	An angel helps a bishop to change his life and save his marriage before Christmas.

Christmas Eve	1947	To save her fortune from a designing nephew, Matilda Reid must locate her three long-lost adopted sons in time for a Christmas Eve reunion.

It Happened on Fifth Avenue	1947	A hobo who occupies a vacant New York City mansion for the winter unknowingly gets involved with the owner's family.

Lady in the Lake	1947	Private detective Philip Marlowe gets mixed up in a case involving a missing wife and murder at Christmas time.

3 Godfathers	1948	At Christmastime in the Old West, three outlaws find a woman dying in childbirth, and deliver the baby to civilization in a retelling of The Three Wise Men.

Mr. Soft Touch	1949	A returning war hero who is on the run from the mob learns that a gangster has taken over his nightclub and murdered his partner.

Holiday Affair	1949	A fired sales clerk and a young woman fall in love.

The Great Rupert	1950	A squirrel accidentally helps two dysfunctional families during Christmas.

Trail of Robin Hood	1950	Roy Rogers and friends come to the aid of a Christmas tree farmer.

The Lemon Drop Kid	1951	A horseracing fan has a month to pay back the money that he borrowed from a gangster just before Christmas.

The Holly and the Ivy	1952	An English country vicar hosts his estranged adult children for Christmas.

Susan Slept Here	1954	A bachelor screenwriter finds himself playing host to a teenage delinquent over the holidays.

White Christmas	1954	As in Holiday Inn, musicians bring Irving Berlin's lyrics to a New England lodge, this time in Vermont. (The story is not a remake, however.)

We're No Angels	1955	Three escaped prisoners hide out in the home of a kindly shopkeeper and repay his kindness by helping him and his family out of several crises.

The Night of the Hunter	1955	A religious fanatic marries a naïve widow whose children are reluctant to tell him where their father hid $10,000 he had stolen during Christmas.

Santa Claus	1959	Santa must stop Satan from ruining Christmas.

Babes in Toyland	1961	Disney reinterpreted the Christmas tale about the residents of Toyland in Technicolor in this 1961 musical.

Pocketful of Miracles	1961	A New York gangster and his girlfriend attempt to turn street beggar Apple Annie into a socialite when she learns that her daughter is about to marry into royalty.

Period of Adjustment	1962	Two couples hash out their respective marital difficulties on Christmas Eve.

The Christmas Kid	1967	A corrupt sheriff, who was born on Christmas Day, decides to change his ways and go against the most powerful man in town.

Fitzwilly	1967	A butler helps finance his employer's charitable activities through a variety of illicit schemes, including a plan to rob Gimbels department store on Christmas Eve.

The Lion in Winter	1968	Christmas 1183 is the setting for palace intrigues with Henry II of England and family.

My Night at Maud's	1969	Devout Catholic Jean-Louis falls in love with a fellow parishioner, but encounters temptation at a Christmas dinner hosted by the seductive Maud.

Silent Night, Bloody Night	1972	A series of murders occur in a small New England town on Christmas Eve, after a man inherits a family estate which was once an insane asylum.

Black Christmas	1974	Sorority sisters are terrorized by a mysterious stalker/murderer. Remade in 2006.

Female Trouble	1974	A spoiled school-girl runs away from home at Christmas, gets pregnant while hitch-hiking, and ends up as a fashion model for a pair of beauticians who like to photograph women committing crimes.

Six Weeks	1982	A 12-year-old girl dying from leukemia flies to New York City and assumes the lead role of Marie in The Nutcracker with the New York City Ballet at Lincoln Center during Christmas.

A Christmas Story	1983	Ralphie has to convince his parents, teachers, and Santa that a Red Ryder B.B. gun really is the perfect gift.

Trading Places	1983	The lives of an upper-class commodities broker and a homeless street hustler cross paths when they are unknowingly made part of an elaborate bet.

Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence	1983	During WWII, a British colonel tries to bridge the cultural divides between a British POW and the Japanese camp commander in order to avoid bloodshed.

Don't Open till Christmas	1984	A serial killer butchers men dressed as Santa Claus.

Gremlins	1984	A boy inadvertently breaks 3 important rules concerning his new Christmas present and unleashes a horde of malevolently mischievous monsters on a small town preparing for Christmas.

Silent Night, Deadly Night	1984	A traumatized young man becomes a Santa suit-clad spree killer on Christmas Eve.

Trancers	1984	Jack Deth comes down the line to 1985; Los Angeles, Christmas time. He confronts a Santa squid-faced Trancer; mosh pits to a punk rendition of Jingle Bells, and even meets The Three Wise Men.

The Sure Thing	1985	A college student (John Cusack) plans a cross-country trip to get laid, but ends up traveling with a young woman (Daphne Zuniga).They hate each other, so naturally...

One Magic Christmas	1985	An angel shows a young mother the true meaning of Christmas.

Rocky IV	1985	Rocky challenges Drago to an unsanctioned 15-round fight in the Soviet Union on Christmas Day

Santa Claus: The Movie	1985	The story of where Santa Claus came from and his attempts to save Christmas after his elf gets mixed up with an evil toy tycoon.

Less Than Zero	1987	College freshman returns home at Christmas time to find all his high school friends take drugs.

Lethal Weapon	1987	Mismatched buddy cops thwart a drug smuggling operation

The Princess Bride	1987	A child sick at Christmas time is give a book as a present by his grandfather.

Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2	1987	The younger sibling of the teenager who killed while dressed as Santa carries on in his brother's bloody footsteps.

Die Hard	1988	New York Cop saves a Christmas Party from a group of robbers.

Ernest Saves Christmas	1988	Ernest helps Santa Claus as he searches for his successor.

Scrooged	1988	A modern, dark-humored interpretation of Dickens' story, with Christmas spirits visiting a cynical, selfish television executive, played by Bill Murray.

3615 code Père Noël	1989	A child genius spends Christmas Eve defending himself and his grandfather from a psychotic home invader dressed like Santa Claus.

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation	1989	The Griswold family plans turn to disaster, this time at Christmas. Third film in the Vacation series.

Prancer	1989	Refusing to give up her belief in Santa Claus, a child, Jessica Riggs (Rebecca Harrell), discovers a hurt reindeer in the woods, which she believes to be Prancer.

Die Hard 2: Die Harder	1990	John McClane attempts to avert disaster on Christmas Eve as rogue military operatives seize control of Dulles International Airport outside Washington, D.C.

Home Alone	1990	An eight-year-old boy is mistakenly left behind during Christmas and has to defend his house against two burglars.

All I Want for Christmas	1991	Two kids plot to reunite their estranged parents at Christmas.

Hook	1991	Peter Pan is now an adult and must save his children from Captain Hook.

The Last Boy Scout	1991	Around Christmas, cynical detective and a disgraced quarterback team up to take down a professional sports betting syndicate.

Batman Returns	1992	Batman, Catwoman and the Penguin, what more could you want at Christmas time...

Home Alone 2: Lost in New York	1992	Kevin McCallister, now nine years old, mistakenly travels to New York City without his family on Christmas.

The Nightmare Before Christmas	1993	The mascot of Halloween, Jack Skellington grows tired of having to be scary on Halloween and decides to try celebrating/hosting Christmas

Look Who's Talking Now	1993	In the third film of the series, it's the pets who do the talking.

Miracle on 34th Street	1994	A modern remake of the 1947 film.

Mixed Nuts	1994	A comedy centered around a suicide-prevention hotline called Lifesavers on Christmas Eve.

The Ref	1994	Bickering spouses annoy the cat burglar who takes them hostage in their Connecticut home before Christmas dinner with the family.

The Santa Clause	1994	When a man inadvertently kills Santa on Christmas Eve, he finds himself magically recruited to take his place.

Trapped in Paradise	1994	Three brothers plan a bank robbery on Christmas.

While You Were Sleeping	1995	Lonely transit worker Lucy pulls her longtime crush, Peter, from the path of an oncoming train. At the hospital, doctors report that Peter is in a coma, and a misplaced comment from Lucy causes Peter's family to assume that she is his fiancée.

How the Toys Saved Christmas	1996	The story follows some toys as they struggle to avoid the heartless Mr. Grimm, that plans to auction off the toys to the highest bidder, and to find their true homes.

Jingle All the Way	1996	A dad competes with others to get the sold out hot toy for his son.

The Preacher's Wife	1996	A remake of the earlier film.

Santa with Muscles	1996	Due to an unusual series of events, a bodybuilder with amnesia thinks that he is Santa Claus.

I'll Be Home for Christmas	1998	A son in college has not been home since his mother died and his father remarried. His father offers his vintage car if he is home by a certain time for Christmas.

Jack Frost	1998	A father passes away but comes back to life in the form of a snowman.

Go	1999	Supermarket co-workers and customers taking time off for and/or going to a Christmas-themed party or dinner have different overlapping adventures.

Reindeer Games	2000	After assuming his dead cellmate's identity to get with the other man's girlfriend, an ex-con finds himself a reluctant participant in a casino heist.

Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas	2000	A live action film of the Dr. Seuss story.

The Family Man	2000	A wealthy bachelor wakes up on Christmas to find that he has been transported to an alternate reality where he is a mere tire salesman, with a wife and kids.

Serendipity	2001	A man (John Cusack) and a woman (Kate Beckinsale) meet on Christmas Eve circa 1991 and reunite a decade later on the same day.

Friday After Next	2002	Craig and Day-Day go after a fake Santa who robs their house on Christmas Eve.

The Santa Clause 2	2002	Santa/Scott Calvin must find a Mrs. Claus. A sequel to The Santa Clause.

Elf	2003	A man raised as an elf in the North Pole searches for his father in New York City.

Bad Santa	2003	A dark comedy about a thief disguised as Santa, who learns the meaning of Christmas.

Blizzard	2003	A girl's aunt tells her a story of a girl named Katie who loved ice skating and befriended a reindeer named Blizzard.

Love Actually	2003	Eight very different couples and their love lives intertwine during a hectic month before Christmas in London.

Christmas with the Kranks	2004	When a suburban couple decide to forgo Christmas festivities, preferring to take a cruise to the Caribbean instead, their neighbours refuse to allow such Scrooge-like behaviour.

The Polar Express	2004	A magical train takes a boy and other children up to the North Pole to meet Santa Claus. An adaptation of the beloved children's book.

Noel	2004	Five New Yorkers come together on Christmas Eve, seeking a miracle.

Surviving Christmas	2004	A lonely millionaire pays a family $250,000 to spend Christmas with him by living in the home that he grew up in.

Just Friends	2005	While visiting his hometown during Christmas, a man (Ryan Reynolds) comes face-to-face with his old high school crush whom he was best friends with -- a woman (Amy Smart) whose rejection of him turned him into a ferocious womanizer.

The Family Stone	2005	An uptight woman meets her fiancé's free-spirited family for the first time over the Christmas holidays and chaos ensues.

The Ice Harvest	2005	A shady lawyer attempts a Christmas Eve crime, hoping to swindle the local mob out of some money.

Joyeux Noël	2005	A film set around the informal Christmas truce on the Western Front during Christmas 1914.

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang	2005	Set around Christmas, a thief and a P.I. team up to solve a murder.

Rent	2005	Set around Christmas, a group of New Yorkers struggle with their careers, love lives and the effects of the AIDS epidemic on their community.

Santa's Slay	2005	Santa Claus is actually a demon who lost a bet with an Angel, so he becomes the giver of toys and happiness.

Black Christmas	2006	Sorority sisters are stalked and murdered on Christmas Eve in this remake of the 1974 thriller.

Deck the Halls	2006	Rival neighbors duke it out when one of them decides to light his house up so it can be seen from outer space.

The Holiday	2006	Two women swap homes at Christmastime after bad breakups with their boyfriends. Each woman finds romance and romantic comedy ensues, Starring Kate Winslet, Cameron Diaz, Jude Law, Jack Black.

The Nativity Story	2006	The Biblical account of the birth of Jesus Christ.

The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause	2006	Santa/Scott is faced with double-duty: how to keep his new family happy, and how to stop Jack Frost from taking over Christmas.

Unaccompanied Minors	2006	Bored kids make up their own holidays while stuck in an airport after Christmas.

Fred Claus	2007	Santa's bitter older brother is forced to move to the North Pole.

This Christmas	2007	The Whitfield family comes together for their first Christmas in several years.

What Would Jesus Buy?	2007	A documentary focusing on the commercialization of Christmas.

Christmas Cottage	2007	The story of painter Thomas Kinkade.

Four Christmases	2008	A couple struggle to visit all four of their divorced parents on Christmas Day.

Nothing like the Holidays	2008	A Puerto Rican family in Chicago gather for their possibly last Christmas together.

A Christmas Tale (Un conte de Noël)	2008	The troubled Vuillard family is no stranger to illness, grief, and banishment, but when their matriarch requires a bone-marrow transplant, the estranged clan reunites just in time for Christmas.

Everybody's Fine	2009	Against the advice of his doctor, Frank sets out on a road trip to reconnect with his offspring for Christmas.

Home for Christmas	2010	Set in the small Norwegian town of Skogli, this film looks at those who are desperately trying to (re)connect with their families.

The Nutcracker in 3D	2010	Set in 1920s Vienna, this a tale of a little girl, whose godfather gives her a special doll one Christmas Eve.

Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale	2010	In the depths of the Korvatunturi mountains lies the closest ever guarded secret of Christmas. A Spielberg-ian horror romp with an Christmas twist.

Arthur Christmas	2011	Santa's youngest son must deliver a bicycle to an overlooked girl before Christmas morning dawns. 3-D/CGI animated film.

A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas	2011	Stoner buddies Harold and Kumar cause a holiday fracas by inadvertently burning down Harold's father-in-law's prized Christmas tree.

Christmas in Compton	2012	Am aspiring music manager causes trouble for his father's Christmas tree business in an attempt to prove he can be a success.

Last Ounce of Courage	2012	A small-town mayor battles against what he perceives as "the war on Christmas".

Silent Night	2012	A murderous Santa Claus terrorizes a small town on Christmas Eve in this loose remake of Silent Night, Deadly Night.

Angels Sing	2013	A man tries to regain the holiday spirit after a tragic accident.

The Best Man Holiday	2013	Sequel to the 1999 film The Best Man.

Black Nativity	2013	A street-wise teen from Baltimore who has been raised by a single mother travels to New York City to spend the Christmas holiday with his estranged relatives.

The Christmas Candle	2013	In 1890, an English village copes with the disappearance of a supposedly miraculous candle. Based on the novel by Max Lucado.

A Madea Christmas	2013	Madea (Tyler Perry) dispenses her unique form of holiday spirit on rural town when she is coaxed into helping a friend pay her daughter a surprise visit in the country for Christmas.

Christmas Cruelty!	2013	A group of friends are terrorized by a serial killer dressed like Santa Claus.

Iron Man 3	2013	Tony Stark deals with posttraumatic stress disordercaused by the events of The Avengers, while investigating a string of terrorist attacks led by the mysterious Mandarin, and comes into a conflict with an old enemy: Aldrich Killian.

All Is Bright	2013	While out of prison on parole, a man reluctantly takes a job selling Christmas trees with his old buddy in order to make enough money to buy his estranged daughter the piano she has always wanted.

A Merry Friggin' Christmas	2014	Boyd Mitchler and his family must spend Christmas with his estranged family of misfits. Upon realizing that he left all his son's gifts at home, he hits the road with his dad in an attempt to make the 8-hour round trip before sunrise.

Saving Christmas	2014	A man endeavors to "put Christ back into Christmas".

All Through the House	2015	A Santa-killer terrorizes a neighborhood a little girl had disappeared from 15 years prior.

A Christmas Horror Story	2015	The film is a series of interwoven stories tied together by a framework story, featuring William Shatner as a radio DJ.

Krampus	2015	Comedy horror film based upon the legendary Christmas demon, and alter ego of Santa Claus

Love the Coopers	2015	When four generations of the Cooper clan come together for their annual Christmas Eve celebration, a series of unexpected visitors and unlikely events turn the night upside down, leading them all toward a surprising rediscovery of family bonds and the spirit of the holiday.

The Night Before	2015	On Christmas Eve, three lifelong friends spend the night in New York City looking for the Holy Grail of Christmas parties.

Carol	2015	An aspiring photographer develops an intimate relationship with an older woman over the Christmas holidays in 1950s New York.

Almost Christmas	2016	A dysfunctional family gathers together for their first Christmas since their mom died.

Bad Santa 2	2016	Fueled by cheap whiskey, greed and hatred, Willie teams up once again with his angry little sidekick, Marcus, to knock off a Chicago charity on Christmas Eve.

Office Christmas Party	2016	When the CEO tries to close her hard-partying brother's branch, he and his Chief Technical Officer must rally their co-workers and host an epic office Christmas party in an effort to impress a potential client and close a sale that will save their jobs.

Why Him?	2016	A holiday gathering threatens to go off the rails when Ned Fleming (Bryan Cranston) realizes that his daughter's millionaire boyfriend (James Franco) is about to pop the question.

Better Watch Out	2016	Ashley travels to the suburban home of the Lerners to babysit their 12-year-old son Luke during the holidays. She must soon defend herself and the young boy when unwelcome intruders announce their arrival.

The Man Who Invented Christmas	2017	In 1843, author Charles Dickens sets out to write and self-publish a novel that he hopes will revive his career. He spends the next six weeks bringing Ebenezer Scrooge, Tiny Tim and other characters to life in "A Christmas Carol."

A Bad Moms Christmas	2017	A Christmas sequel to Bad Moms. The plot follows the three moms from the first film, Amy (Mila Kunis), Kiki (Kristen Bell) and Carla (Kathryn Hahn), dealing with their own mothers, Ruth (Christine Baranski), Sandy (Cheryl Hines) and Isis (Susan Sarandon), visiting during the Christmas holiday

Daddy's Home 2	2017	A Christmas sequel to Daddy's Home. The plot follows Brad (Will Ferrell) and Dusty (Mark Wahlberg), now co-parenting Dusty's kids, who have to deal with their own fathers, Don (John Lithgow) and Kurt (Mel Gibson), visiting for the holidays.

Just Getting Started	2017	A former defense lawyer and a former FBI agent team up to stop the mafia and save Christmas at the Villa Capri resort.

The Star	2017	A computer-animated adventure comedy based on the Nativity of Jesus. A small but brave donkey and his animal friends become the unsung heroes of the first Christmas.

Anna and the Apocalypse	2018	A zombie apocalypse threatens the sleepy town of Little Haven - at Christmas - forcing Anna and her friends to fight, slash and sing their way to survival, facing the undead in a desperate race to reach their loved ones.

The Grinch	2018	An animated adaption of Dr. Seuss' story

The Nutcracker and the Four Realms	2018	A young girl is transported into a magical world of gingerbread soldiers and an army of mice.

The Christmas Chronicles	2018	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.

Shazam!	2019	A 14 year old boy is given the ability of becoming an adult superhero whenever he says the name of the wizard who gave him the powers

Noelle	2019	The story revolves Santa's daughter (Anna Kendrick) who is forced to take over the family business when her father decides to retire and brother (Bill Hader) ends up getting cold feet prior to his first big Christmas Eve flight.

Margie Claus	2019	The story begins when Santa Claus goes missing while delivering presents on Christmas Eve. His wife, Margie Claus (Melissa McCarthy), must then put together an unlikely rescue team and set off from the North Pole for the first time in decades to rescue Santa and save Christmas.

Sentence(s)

Trapped in Paradise is a 1994 American Christmas-themed crime film.

final_sentence: Trapped in Paradise is a 1994 American Christmas-themed crime film.