Best Christmas Movies to Stream in 2026 (and Where to Watch Them)

As children in the loving Ekdahl family, Fanny and Alexander enjoy a happy life with their parents, who run a theater company. After their father dies unexpectedly, however, the siblings end up in a joyless home when their mother, Emilie, marries a stern bishop. The bleak situation gradually grows worse as the bishop becomes more controlling, but dedicated relatives make a valiant attempt to aid Emilie, Fanny and Alexander.

Stream on

• HBO Max

Director

Ingmar Bergman

Starring

Pernilla Allwin, Bertil Guve, Jan Malmsjö

Ebenezer Scrooge is far too greedy to understand that Christmas is a time for kindness and generosity. But with the guidance of some new found friends, Scrooge learns to embrace the spirit of the season. A retelling of the classic Dickens tale with Disney's classic characters.

Stream on

• Disney+

Director

Burny Mattinson

Starring

Alan Young, Wayne Allwine, Clarence Nash

Lovely Linda Mason has crooner Jim Hardy head over heels, but suave stepper Ted Hanover wants her for his new dance partner after fickle Lila Dixon gives him the brush. Jim's supper club, Holiday Inn, is the setting for the chase by Hanover and his manager.

Stream on

• Prime Video

Director

Mark Sandrich

Starring

Bing Crosby, Fred Astaire, Marjorie Reynolds

George Bailey has spent his entire life giving to the people of Bedford Falls. All that prevents rich skinflint Mr. Potter from taking over the entire town is George's modest building and loan company. But on Christmas Eve the business's $8,000 is lost and George's troubles begin.

Stream on

• Prime Video

Director

Frank Capra

Starring

James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore

A curmudgeonly instructor at a New England prep school is forced to remain on campus during Christmas break to babysit the handful of students with nowhere to go. Eventually, he forms an unlikely bond with one of them — a damaged, brainy troublemaker — and with the school’s head cook, who has just lost a son in Vietnam.

Stream on

• Peacock

Director

Alexander Payne

Starring

Paul Giamatti, Dominic Sessa, Da'Vine Joy Randolph

A selfish postman and a reclusive toymaker form an unlikely friendship, delivering joy to a cold, dark town that desperately needs it.

Stream on

• Netflix

Director

Sergio Pablos

Starring

Jason Schwartzman, J.K. Simmons, Rashida Jones

Kris Kringle, seemingly the embodiment of Santa Claus, is asked to portray the jolly old fellow at Macy's following his performance in the Thanksgiving Day parade. His portrayal is so complete that many begin to question if he truly is Santa Claus, while others question his sanity.

Stream on

• Prime Video
• Disney+

Director

George Seaton

Starring

Maureen O'Hara, John Payne, Edmund Gwenn

High above the city of L.A. a team of terrorists has seized a building, taken hostages, and declared war. One man has manages to escape... An off-duty cop hiding somewhere inside. He's alone, tired... and the only chance anyone has got.

Stream on

• Prime Video
• Hulu
• YouTube TV

Director

John McTiernan

Starring

Bruce Willis, Alan Rickman, Alexander Godunov

Tired of scaring humans every October 31 with the same old bag of tricks, Jack Skellington, the spindly king of Halloween Town, kidnaps Santa Claus and plans to deliver shrunken heads and other ghoulish gifts to children on Christmas morning. But as Christmas approaches, Jack's rag-doll girlfriend, Sally, tries to foil his misguided plans.

Stream on

• Disney+
• Fubo

Director

Henry Selick

Starring

Danny Elfman, Chris Sarandon, Catherine O'Hara

Four sisters come of age in America in the aftermath of the Civil War.

Stream on

• Hulu
• YouTube TV

Director

Greta Gerwig

Starring

Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson, Florence Pugh

An irritable marketing executive, Neal Page, is heading home to Chicago for Thanksgiving when a number of delays force him to travel with a well meaning but overbearing shower curtain ring salesman, Del Griffith.

Stream on

• Paramount+
• YouTube TV
• Fubo

Director

John Hughes

Starring

Steve Martin, John Candy, Laila Robins

A small suburban town receives a visit from a castaway unfinished science experiment named Edward.

Stream on

• Disney+
• Hulu
• YouTube TV
• Fubo
• FXNow

Director

Tim Burton

Starring

Johnny Depp, Winona Ryder, Dianne Wiest

In 1950s New York, a department-store clerk who dreams of a better life falls for an older, married woman.

Stream on

• Prime Video
• Lionsgate+

Director

Todd Haynes

Starring

Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara, Kyle Chandler

Ebenezer Scrooge malcontentedly shuffles through life as a cruel, miserly businessman, until he is visited by three spirits on Christmas Eve who show him how his unhappy childhood and adult behavior has left him a selfish, lonely old man.

Stream on

• Dove

Director

Brian Desmond Hurst

Starring

Alastair Sim, Mervyn Johns, Glyn Dearman

A snobbish investor and a wily street con-artist find their positions reversed as part of a bet by two callous millionaires.

Stream on

• YouTube TV

Director

John Landis

Starring

Dan Aykroyd, Eddie Murphy, Ralph Bellamy

An imaginary world comes to life in a holiday tale of an eccentric toymaker, his adventurous granddaughter, and a magical invention that has the power to change their lives forever.

Stream on

• Netflix

Director

David E. Talbert

Starring

Forest Whitaker, Keegan-Michael Key, Hugh Bonneville

A petty thief posing as an actor is brought to Los Angeles for an unlikely audition and finds himself in the middle of a murder investigation along with his high school dream girl and a detective who's been training him for his upcoming role...

Stream on

• Howdy

Director

Shane Black

Starring

Robert Downey Jr., Val Kilmer, Michelle Monaghan

An Episcopal Bishop, Henry Brougham, has been working for months on the plans for an elaborate new cathedral which he hopes will be paid for primarily by a wealthy, stubborn widow. He is losing sight of his family and of why he became a churchman in the first place. Enter Dudley, an angel sent to help him. Dudley does help everyone he meets, but not necessarily in the way they would have preferred. With the exception of Henry, everyone loves him, but Henry begins to believe that Dudley is there to replace him, both at work and in his family's affections, as Christmas approaches.

Stream on

• Prime Video

Director

Henry Koster

Starring

Cary Grant, Loretta Young, David Niven

After receiving an exotic small animal as a Christmas gift, a young man inadvertently breaks three important rules concerning his new pet, which unleashes a horde of malevolently mischievous creatures on a small town.

Stream on

• HBO Max

Director

Joe Dante

Starring

Zach Galligan, Phoebe Cates, Hoyt Axton

An airport security officer races to outsmart a mysterious traveler forcing him to let a dangerous item slip onto a Christmas Eve flight.

Stream on

• Netflix

Director

Jaume Collet-Serra

Starring

Taron Egerton, Jason Bateman, Sofia Carson

An ordinary young boy called Nikolas sets out on an extraordinary adventure into the snowy north in search of his father who is on a quest to discover the fabled village of the elves, Elfhelm. Taking with him a headstrong reindeer called Blitzen and a loyal pet mouse, Nikolas soon meets his destiny in this magical and endearing story that proves nothing is impossible…

Stream on

• Netflix

Director

Gil Kenan

Starring

Henry Lawfull, Toby Jones, Sally Hawkins

A retelling of the classic Dickens tale of Ebenezer Scrooge, miser extraordinaire. He is held accountable for his dastardly ways during nighttime visitations by the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future.

Stream on

• Disney+

Director

Brian Henson

Starring

Michael Caine, Dave Goelz, Steve Whitmire

Miser Ebenezer Scrooge is awakened on Christmas Eve by spirits who reveal to him his own miserable existence, what opportunities he wasted in his youth, his current cruelties, and the dire fate that awaits him if he does not change his ways. Scrooge is faced with his own story of growing bitterness and meanness, and must decide what his own future will hold: death or redemption.

Stream on

• MGM+

Director

Clive Donner

Starring

George C. Scott, Roger Rees, David Warner

The monstrous Penguin, who dwells in the sewers beneath Gotham, joins up with corrupt mayoral candidate Max Shreck to topple the Batman once and for all. But when Shreck's timid assistant Selina Kyle finds out, and Shreck tries to kill her, she's transformed into the sexy Catwoman. She teams up with the Penguin and Shreck to destroy Batman, but sparks fly unexpectedly when she confronts the caped crusader.

Stream on

• HBO Max
• Cinemax

Director

Tim Burton

Starring

Michael Keaton, Danny DeVito, Michelle Pfeiffer

A young woman's plans to propose to her girlfriend while at her family's annual holiday party are upended when she discovers her partner hasn't yet come out to her conservative parents.

Stream on

• Hulu

Director

Clea DuVall

Starring

Kristen Stewart, Mackenzie Davis, Mary Steenburgen

A transit worker pulls commuter Peter off railway tracks after he's mugged, but—while he's in a coma—his family mistakenly thinks she's Peter's fiancée, and she doesn't correct them. Things get more complicated when she falls for his brother, who's not quite sure that she's who she claims to be.

Stream on

• Disney+

Director

Jon Turteltaub

Starring

Sandra Bullock, Bill Pullman, Peter Gallagher

When Tony Stark's world is torn apart by a formidable terrorist called the Mandarin, he starts an odyssey of rebuilding and retribution.

Stream on

• Disney+

Director

Shane Black

Starring

Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle

In 1843, despite the fact that Dickens is a successful writer, the failure of his latest book puts his career at a crossroads, until the moment when, struggling with inspiration and confronting reality with his childhood memories, a new character is born in the depths of his troubled mind; an old, lonely, embittered man, so vivid, so human, that a whole world grows around him, a story so inspiring that changed the meaning of Christmas forever.

Stream on

• HBO Max
• Cinemax

Director

Bharat Nalluri

Starring

Dan Stevens, Christopher Plummer, Jonathan Pryce

After Dr. Bill Harford's wife, Alice, admits to having sexual fantasies about a man she met, Bill becomes obsessed with having a sexual encounter. He discovers an underground sexual group and attends one of their meetings -- and quickly discovers that he is in over his head.

Stream on

• HBO Max

Director

Stanley Kubrick

Starring

Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman, Sydney Pollack

Two talented song-and-dance men team up after the war to become one of the hottest acts in show business. In time they befriend and become romantically involved with the beautiful Haynes sisters who comprise a sister act.

Stream on

• Prime Video

Director

Michael Curtiz

Starring

Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney

You'd better watch out - Willie T. Soke is coming to town, and he doesn't care if you've been naughty or nice. Willie's favorite holiday tradition is to fill his sacks with loot lifted from shopping malls across the country. But this year his plot gets derailed by a wisecracking store detective, a sexy bartender, and a kid who's convinced Willie is the real Santa Claus.

Stream on

• HBO Max
• Cinemax

Director

Terry Zwigoff

Starring

Billy Bob Thornton, Tony Cox, Lauren Graham

A family gathers on Christmas Eve for what could be the last holiday in their ancestral home. As the night wears on and tensions arise, one of the teenagers sneaks out with her friends to claim the wintry suburb for her own.

Stream on

• Hulu
• AMC+
• Philo
• Sundance Now

Director

Tyler Taormina

Starring

Matilda Fleming, Maria Dizzia, Ben Shenkman

As the residents of the Pi Kappa Sigma sorority house prepare for the festive season, a stranger begins to harass them with a series of obscene phone calls.

Stream on

• Prime Video
• Peacock
• AMC+
• Shudder
• Philo
• Chilling

Director

Bob Clark

Starring

Olivia Hussey, Keir Dullea, Margot Kidder

When a team of mercenaries breaks into a wealthy family compound on Christmas Eve, taking everyone inside hostage, the team isn’t prepared for a surprise combatant: Santa Claus is on the grounds, and he’s about to show why this Nick is no saint.

Stream on

• Netflix

Director

Tommy Wirkola

Starring

David Harbour, John Leguizamo, Beverly D'Angelo

On Christmas Eve, divorced dad Scott Calvin and his son discover Santa Claus has fallen off their roof. When Scott takes the reins of the magical sleigh, he finds he is now the new Santa, and must convince a world of disbelievers, including himself.

Stream on

• Disney+

Director

John Pasquin

Starring

Tim Allen, Judge Reinhold, Wendy Crewson

Each Christmas Eve, the Ghost of Christmas Present selects one dark soul to be reformed by a visit from three spirits. But this season, he picked the wrong Scrooge. Clint Briggs turns the tables on his ghostly host until Present finds himself reexamining his own past, present and future.

Stream on

• Apple TV

Director

Sean Anders

Starring

Will Ferrell, Ryan Reynolds, Octavia Spencer

Eight very different couples deal with their love lives in various loosely interrelated tales all set during a frantic month before Christmas in London.

Stream on

• Netflix
• Starz

Director

Richard Curtis

Starring

Hugh Grant, Alan Rickman, Emma Thompson

Siblings Kate and Teddy try to prove Santa Claus is real, but when they accidentally cause his sleigh to crash, they have to save Christmas.

Stream on

• Netflix

Director

Clay Kaytis

Starring

Darby Camp, Judah Lewis, Kurt Russell

Desperate to avoid his family’s judgment about his perpetual single status, Peter convinces his best friend Nick to join him for the holidays and pretend that they’re now in a relationship. But when Peter’s mother sets him up on a blind date with her handsome trainer James, the plan goes awry.

Stream on

• Netflix

Director

Michael Mayer

Starring

Michael Urie, Philemon Chambers, Luke Macfarlane

In New York City for their annual tradition of Christmas Eve debauchery, three lifelong best friends set out to find the Holy Grail of Christmas parties since their yearly reunion might be coming to an end.

Stream on

• Netflix

Director

Jonathan Levine

Starring

Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen, Anthony Mackie

When his dysfunctional family clashes over the holidays, young Max is disillusioned and turns his back on Christmas. Little does he know, this lack of festive spirit has unleashed the wrath of Krampus: a demonic force of ancient evil intent on punishing non-believers.

Stream on

• Prime Video
• Peacock

Director

Michael Dougherty

Starring

Adam Scott, Toni Collette, David Koechner

The Grinch hatches a scheme to ruin Christmas when the residents of Whoville plan their annual holiday celebration. But a certain little who might change things.

Stream on

• Peacock

Director

Yarrow Cheney

Starring

Benedict Cumberbatch, Rashida Jones, Kenan Thompson

Kris Kringle's daughter, Noelle, sets off on a mission to find and bring back her brother, after he gets cold feet when it's his turn to take over as Santa.

Stream on

• Disney+

Director

Marc Lawrence

Starring

Anna Kendrick, Shirley MacLaine, Bill Hader

Two women, one American and one British, swap homes at Christmastime following bad breakups. Each woman finds romance with a local man but realizes that the imminent return home may end the relationship.

Stream on

• Hulu

Director

Nancy Meyers

Starring

Cameron Diaz, Kate Winslet, Jude Law

An uptight, conservative businesswoman accompanies her boyfriend to his eccentric and outgoing family's annual Christmas celebration and finds that she's a fish out of water in their free-spirited way of life.

Stream on

• Prime Video

Director

Thomas Bezucha

Starring

Dermot Mulroney, Sarah Jessica Parker, Diane Keaton