MRQE Ranks: 25 Best Holiday Movies

1

It's a Wonderful Life (1946)

Cast: James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore, Thomas Mitchell, Henry Travers

Director: Frank Capra

Synopsis: This is director Frank Capra's classic bittersweet comedy/drama about George Bailey (James Stewart), the eternally-in-debt guiding force of a bank ... [MORE]

2

When Harry Met Sally... (1989)

Cast: Billy Crystal, Meg Ryan, Carrie Fisher, Bruno Kirby, Steven Ford

Director: Rob Reiner

Synopsis: Rob Reiner's romantic comedy When Harry Met Sally stars Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan as the title pair. The film opens with the two strangers, both n... [MORE]

3

The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

Cast: Danny Elfman, Chris Sarandon, Catherine O'Hara, William Hickey, Glenn Shadix, Paul Reubens

Director: Henry Selick

Synopsis: E.T.A. Hoffman meets The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari in Tim Burton's twisted animated musical, featuring the brilliant stop-motion animation of Henry S... [MORE]

4

Meet Me in St. Louis (1944)

Cast: Judy Garland, Margaret O'Brien, Lucille Bremer, Mary Astor, Leon Ames

Director: Vincente Minnelli

Synopsis: Sally Benson's short stories about the turn-of-the-century Smith family of St. Louis were tackled by a battalion of MGM screenwriters, who hoped to... [MORE]

5

A Christmas Story (1983)

Cast: Peter Billingsley, Darren McGavin, Melinda Dillon, Ian Petrella

Director: Bob Clark

Writer: Jean Shepherd

Synopsis: Nine years after the Yuletide slasher flick Black Christmas, Porky's director Bob Clark once again took on the holiday genre, switching from gasps ... [MORE]

6

Edward Scissorhands (1990)

Cast: Johnny Depp, Winona Ryder, Dianne Wiest, Anthony Michael Hall, Kathy Baker

Director: Tim Burton

Synopsis: Tim Burton's Edward Scissorhands opens as an eccentric inventor (Vincent Price) lovingly assembles a synthetic youth named Edward (Johnny Depp). Ed... [MORE]

7

The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)

Cast: Michael Caine

Director: Brian Henson

Synopsis: Brian Henson, the son of Muppet founder Jim Henson, took over directing duties after the untimely death of his father for The Muppet Christmas Caro... [MORE]

8

Black Christmas (1974)

Cast: Olivia Hussey, Keir Dullea, Margot Kidder, John Saxon, Andrea Martin

Director: Bob Clark

Synopsis: Although this Canadian production saw its widest U.S. cable TV distribution in the early '80s (primarily under the title Stranger in the House) to ... [MORE]

9

White Christmas (1954)

Cast: Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Vera-Ellen, Rosemary Clooney, Dean Jagger

Director: Michael Curtiz

Synopsis: White Christmas, Paramount's belated follow-up to the 1942 hit Holiday Inn, was the studio's first VistaVision production. A veritable warehouse fu... [MORE]

10

Joyeux Noël (2005)

Cast: Diane Kruger, Guillaume Canet, Benno Fürmann, Dany Boon, Gary Lewis

Director: Christian Carion

11

Elf (2003)

Cast: Will Ferrell, James Caan, Bob Newhart, Edward Asner, Mary Steenburgen

Director: Jon Favreau

Synopsis: For his sophomore stab at directing, actor/writer/director Jon Favreau (Swingers, Made), took on this holiday comedy starring Saturday Night Live-a... [MORE]

12

The Polar Express (2004)

Director: Robert Zemeckis

Synopsis: Directed by Robert Zemeckis and based on children's author Chris Van Allsburg's modern holiday classic of the same name, The Polar Express revolves... [MORE]

13

Bad Santa (2003)

Cast: Billy Bob Thornton, Tony Cox, Brett Kelly, Lauren Graham, Bernie Mac

Director: Terry Zwigoff

Synopsis: The Christmas season just got a lot less joyous in this very dark comedy. Willie T. Stokes (Billy Bob Thornton) is a con man and a thief who teams ... [MORE]

14

Love Actually (2003)

Cast: Bill Nighy, Hugh Grant, Liam Neeson, Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman

Director: Richard Curtis

Synopsis: All of London is in love -- or longing to be -- in Four Weddings and a Funeral writer Richard Curtis' first directorial effort. Billed as "the ulti... [MORE]

15

Bridget Jones's Diary (2001)

Cast: Renee Zellweger, Hugh Grant, Colin Firth, Jim Broadbent, Gemma Jones

Director: Sharon Maguire

Writer: Helen Fielding

Synopsis: Based on Helen Fielding's hugely popular novel, this romantic comedy follows Bridget (Renee Zellweger), a post-feminist, thirty-something British w... [MORE]

16

Home Alone (1990)

Cast: Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern, Catherine O'Hara, John Heard

Director: Chris Columbus

Synopsis: Home Alone is the highly successful and beloved family comedy about a young boy named Kevin (Macaulay Culkin) who is accidentally left behind when ... [MORE]

17

Miracle on 34th Street (1994)

Cast: Mara Wilson, Richard Attenborough, Elizabeth Perkins, Dylan McDermott, Robert Prosky

Director: Les Mayfield

Synopsis: The 1947 holiday classic Miracle on 34th Street is transplanted to the 1990s with few changes in this family-oriented remake. The screenplay by the... [MORE]

18

Christmas Vacation (1989)

Cast: Chevy Chase, Beverly D'Angelo, Randy Quaid, Juliette Lewis, Johnny Galecki

Director: Jeremiah Chechik

Synopsis: Chevy Chase, star of National Lampoon's Vacation and its sequel, is back as the paterfamilias of the Griswold family (including Beverly D'Angelo as... [MORE]

19

While You Were Sleeping (1995)

Cast: Sandra Bullock, Bill Pullman, Peter Gallagher, Peter Boyle, Jack Warden

Director: Jon Turteltaub

Synopsis: This latter-day romantic screwball comedy stars Sandra Bullock as a love-starved subway toll booth operator, Lucy. Lucy pines for regular customer ... [MORE]

20

The Family Man (2000)

Cast: Nicolas Cage, Tea Leoni, Don Cheadle, Jeremy Piven, Saul Rubinek

Director: Brett Ratner

Synopsis: In this whimsical romantic comedy that recalls It's a Wonderful Life, Nicolas Cage plays Jack Campbell, a workaholic bachelor who gets to see what ... [MORE]

21

A Christmas Carol (2009)

Cast: Jim Carrey, Steve Valentine, Daryl Sabara, Sage Ryan, Amber Gainey Meade

Director: Robert Zemeckis

Synopsis: Robert Zemeckis directs this animated version of the Yuletide classic A Christmas Story. The story centers on Ebenezer Scrooge (Jim Carrey), a penn... [MORE]

22

Home for the Holidays (1995)

Cast: Holly Hunter, Robert Downey Jr., Anne Bancroft, Charles Durning, Dylan McDermott

Director: Jodie Foster

Synopsis: It's been said that while most people love their families, they don't always like them very much, and that emotional dividing line is the heart of ... [MORE]

23

The Santa Clause 2 (2002)

Cast: Tim Allen, Elizabeth Mitchell, David Krumholtz, Eric Lloyd, Judge Reinhold

Director: Michael Lembeck

Synopsis: Eight years after getting a crash course in the fine art of personifying Christmas, Tim Allen returns as Kris Kringle's replacement in this sequel ... [MORE]

24

How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)

Cast: Jim Carrey, Taylor Momsen, Jeffrey Tambor, Bill Irwin, Jeremy Howard

Director: Ron Howard

Synopsis: He's mean, he's green, and he's doesn't like the Yuletide season one bit -- Jim Carrey stars in this live-action adaptation of the classic children... [MORE]

25

This Christmas (2007)

Cast: Delroy Lindo, Idris Elba, Loretta Devine, Chris Brown, Columbus Short

Director: Preston A. Whitmore II

Synopsis: Upon gathering together under one roof for the first time in seven years, an estranged family celebrating Christmas rediscovers long-forgotten bond... [MORE]