These are the top 20 Christmas movies ever

The Santa Claus released on November 11, 1994, in the United States, and November 24, 1994, in Australia.

The movie is directed by 77-year-old John Pasquin who is also a producer and an actor. He has made over forty movies in his journey as a director.  The writers of the movie are Leo Benvenuti and Steve Rudnick. Similarly, Steve has worked as a writer in about twenty works. 

The plot of the film revolves around a divorced dad named Scott played by Tim Allen who has custody of his son portrayed by Eric Lloyd for Christmas Eve. They get transported to the North Pole after he kills a man accidentally. An elf appears and tells Scott that he must take Santa’s place for the next Christmas. He thinks that he is dreaming and does not give it much thought. However, over some months he gains weight and begins to grow a white beard slowly. He starts to think that the night might not be a dream, he was actually turning into Santa Claus and had a lot of work to do.

The movie has a talented cast of:

• Tim Allen as Scott Calvin
• Judge Reinhold as Neal
• Wendy Crewson as Laura
• Eric Lloyd as Charlie Calvin
• David Krumholtz as Bernard
• Larry Brandenburg as Detective Nunzio
• Mary Gross as Ms. Daniels
• Peter Boyle as MT.White

According to Rotten Tomatoes earned $145.5 Million at Box Office in the United States. With the extreme success of the movie, more movies have been made such as The Santa Claus 2 and The Santa Claus 3. The Santa Claus franchise earned over $360 Million globally. 

Grelims was theatrically released on 8th June 1984 by Warner Bros. 

The movie is directed by the talented Joe Dante. He has directed over 35 movies and series such as Salem, Legends of Tomorrow, and many more. the writer of Gremlins is Chris Columbus who has also worked as a producer and director. He has worked as a writer for about seventeen works in his career.

The film starts with a salesman looking for a special gift for his son. He finds the gift at a store in Chinatown. He attempts to buy mogwai but the shopkeeper is not keen on that idea. After some effort, he sells the mogwai and warns him to never expose it to water, or bright light or to feed him after midnight. He buys the mogwai but is unable to follow the instructions of the shopkeeper. After all these things happen, a group of gremlins is formed and they decide to tear up the town on Christmas Eve. 

The cast of the movie, Gremlin includes:

• Zach Galligan as Billy
• Phoebe Cates as Kate
• Hoyt Axton as Randall Peltzer
• John Louie as Chinese boy
• Keye Luke as Grandfather
• Scoot Brady as Sheriff Frank
• Arnie Moore as Pete’s Father
• Corey Feldman as Pete

The black comedy horror film earned about 212 million USD at the Box Office. Gremlins are available to stream on HBO Max, Prime Video, Vudu, Redbox, Prime TV, and Apple TV. 

The holiday movie National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation was released on the 1st of December, 1989 in the US. 

The movie is created by a 67-year-old director, producer, and actor, Jeremiah S. Chechik. He is also known for working as a producer in Gossip Girl. He has won two Yoga Awards and a Stinker Award. 

John Hughes is the writer of the film. He had worked as a writer for more than fifty movies, series, screenplay, and more. He had written The Wonderful World of Disney, Uncle Buck, Curly Sue, and Home Alone.

The film starts with the main character Clark Griswold wanting to have a perfect Christmas with his family. As the holidays are arriving he talks to his wife, Ellen, and his children to make sure that everyone arrives and everything is perfect. He wants all things to be perfect including the Christmas tree and decorations. Things do not go as planned. His cousin named Eddie and his family arrive without notice and live in their camper on the Griswold property. As things start to go down, even worse news visits him and his employers decided to go back on the promised holiday bonus. 

The expert casts of the movie are as follows:

• Chevy Chas as Clark
• Beverly D’Angelo as Ellen
• Juliette Lewis as Audrey
• Johnny Galecki as Rusty
• John Randolph as Clark, Sr.
• Diane Ladd as Nora
• Doris Roberts as Francis

National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation earned around 70 million USD at the Box Office in the United States of America. Currently, the movie is available to stream on the streaming channel, HBO Max. 

Scrooged released on November 23, 1988, in the United States and is a retelling of A Christmas Carol.

The director of the movie is Richard Donner who has worked in over eighty movies and series such as The Twilight Zone, The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters, Wanted: Dead or Alive, and Letter to Loretta, among others. Mitch Glazer, Michael O’Donoghue, and Charles Dickens are the writers of the film.

A Christmas Carol based film made by Charles Dickens follows the life of Frank Cross who is a successful TV executive. His cold ambition and bad-tempered nature have led the love of his life, Claire Phillips to go away from him. On Christmas Eve, he fires his staff member Eliot Loudermilk. He is suddenly visited by many ghosts that give him a second chance to undo his past and right the wrong that he has done.

The main casts of Scrooged are:

• Bill Murray as Frank Cross
• Karen Allen as Claire Phillips
• John Forsythe as Lew Hayward
• John Glover as Brice Cummings
• Bobcat Goldthwait as Eliot Loudermilk
• David Johansen as Ghost of Christmas Past
• Carol Kane as Ghost of Christmas Present

The movie earned around fifty-eight million USD at the box office. The Holiday movie is now on Prime Video, The Roku Channel, Paramount Plus, Redbox, Vudu, ROW8, YouTube, Amazon Video, and many more for streaming.

The movie, Die Hard was released in theaters on the 15th of July 1988, throughout the world. 

It is made by the 71-year-old director, John McTiernan who has worked in The Thomas Crown Affair, The Hunt for Red October, Predator, Medicine Man, and others. The film is written by Roderick Thorp, Jeb Stuart, and Steven E. de Souza. 

The plot of the film revolves around John McClane who is a New York City policeman. On Christmas Eve, he visits his estranged wife. The company, the headquarters of the business his wife is working for has a holiday party. He decides to join her wife at the party, however, a group of terrorists appears and hijacks the party. He soon realizes that no one but him can save the hostages.

The top cast of the movie includes the following:

• Bruce Willis as John McClane
• Alan Rickman as Hans Gruber
• Bonnie Bedelia as Holly Gennaro McClane
• Reginald VelJohnson as Sgt. al Powell
• Paul Gleason as Dwayne T. Robinson
• De’voreaux White as Argyle

Die Hard earned around $81 million at the box office in the USA. We can watch the movie, Die Hard on Amazon Instant Video, Vudu, iTunes, Hulu, and Starz. 

Miracle on 34th Street is a classic Christmas movie that was released in the year 1947, on May 2nd in theaters, and was available to stream on October 5, 1999.

The film is directed by George Seaton who was a writer, director, and producer. He has worked in more than forty movies and series such as Airport, What’s So Bad About Feeling Good?, and The Counterfeit Traitor, among others. Valentine Davies and George Seaton are the writers of Miracle on 34th Street. 

The story starts with an old man named Kris Kringle who fills in the Macys Thanksgiving Parade for an intoxicated Santa. He does his job very well and is soon appointed to work regularly at Macys main store in Manhattan. After he claims that he is the real Santa Claus, the employees and customers are stunned. The fiasco is led to the court to find out the old man’s mental health and authenticity.

The main casts of the movie are:

• Edmund Gwenn as Kris Kringle
• Maureen O’Hara as Doris Walker
• John Payne as Feed Gailey
• Gene Lockhart as Judge Henry X. Harper
• Natalie Wood as Susan Walker
• Porter Hall as Granville Sawyer
• William Frawley as Charlie Halloran

The movie earned about 2.7 million USD. It is available to stream on Prime Video, Vudu, Retro Reels, Spectrum TV, Fawesome Teens, Philo, and many more. 

White Christmas released on October 14, 1954. The film is directed by director and writer, Michael Curtiz who has worked in more than one hundred movies and series. He had directed Tha Man in the Net, The Hangman, The Proud Rebel, and The Helen Morgan Story among others. Norman Krasna, Norman Panama, and Melvin Frank are the writers of White Christmas. 

The plot of the story revolves around Bon Wallace, Phil Davis, Betty, and Judy Haynes plan to perform a Christmas show in Vermont. The team runs into the boys commander in WWII, Thomas. They learn that he is having some financial difficulties and his inn was failing. They plan to help his inn get back on track by performing a musical extravaganza.

The top casts of the movie are:

• Bing Crosby as Bob Wallace
• Danny Kaye as Phil Davis
• Rosemary Clooney as Betty Haynes
• Vera-Ellen as Judy Haynes
• Dean Jagger as Major General Thomas F. Waverly
• Mary Wickles as Emma Allen
• John Brascia as John

The movie earned about $30,000,000 at the domestic box office. We can watch the holiday movie, White Christmas on platforms like Philo, Redbox., Prime Video, Vudu, Netflix, and Apple TV. 

The Night Before Christmas was released on October 29, 1993, in the theaters and was available for streaming on October 3, 2000. 

It is directed by 70-year-old Henry Selick. He has worked as directed thirteen movies and is known for directing Coraline, James and the Giant Peach, and Slow Bob in the Lower Dimensions. Tim Burton, Michael McDowell, and Caroline Thompson are the writers of the movie. 

The Nightmare Before Christmas follows the life of Jack, the Halloween towns pumpkin king. He is bored with the same routine of scaring people in the real world. He comes across a town called Christmastown with warm spirits and bright colors and he plans to capture Santa Claus and control and take over Christmas. She soon finds out that his best plans of skeletons and mice can go wrong. 

The top casts of the animated film are as follows:

• Danny Elfman as Jack Skellington (singing voice)
• Chris Sarandon as Jack Skellington (voice)
• Catherine O’Hara as Sally
• William Hickey as Dr. Finkelstein
• Glen Shadix as Mayor
• Paul Reubens as Lock
• Ken Page as Oogie Boogie

The movie earned around $2 USD at the box office in the home country. It is available to stream on Vudu, Disney+, Amazon Instant Video, and other platforms. 

Trading Places was released on June 8, 1983. It was available for streaming on 2002 September 24. 

The film is directed by John Landis who is also a producer and an actor. He is known for directing The Blue Brothers, Schlock, Twilight Zone: The Movie, and Blue Brothers 2000. Timothy Harris and Herschel Weingrod are the writers of the movie.

The movie starts with the executive Louis Winthrope III and Billy Tay Valentine are the subjects of a bet made by Mortimer and Randolph. An employee of Duke and Duke is framed by the brothers for a crime that he did not commit. Louis and Billy set out to uncover the truth and the tables turn on the Dukes.

The casts of Trading Places are as follows:

• Eddie Murphy as Billy Ray Valentine
• Dan Aykroyd as Louis Winthrope III
• Ralph Bellamy as Randolph Duke
• Don Ameche as Mortimer Duke
• Denholm Elliot as Coleman
• Maurice Woods as Duke and Duke Employee

Trading Places made around 120 USD at the box office. The film is available to watch on Prime Video, Vudu, Redbox., Apple TV, and ROW8.

How can we forget Home Alone among the list of Christmas movie? Home Alone was released on November 16, 1990, and was available for streaming on December 7, 2004.

The director of the movie is 64-year-old Chris Columbus. He is also a writer and producer and has worked in various movies such as Pixels, I Love You, Beth Cooper, Nine Months, Mrs. Doubtfire, Adventures in Babysitting, and many more. The movie was written by John Hughes who has worked in over 50 movies as a writer.

The top cast of the movie includes:

• Macaulay Culkin as Kevin
• Joe Pesci as Harry
• Daniel Stern as Marv
• John Heard as Peter
• Roberts Blossom as Marley
• Catherine O’Hara as Kate
• Angela Goethals as Linnie

The film starts when a mischievous child named Kevin McCallister acts out the night before a family trip and his mother makes him sleep in the attic. The next morning, the family leaves for the airport without him. He wakes up and finds that no one is home. He believes that his wish to have no family came true and starts to get excited. Two men plan to rob the house thinking it was empty. The eight-year-old now has to protect his family home all by himself.

The movie, Home Alone earned over 281 million USD at the box office. Streaming on Disney+, Hulu+ Live TV, Vudu, Redbox, ROW8, Vudu, Amazon Prime Video, and others is available. 

The animated movie, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer was released on the 1st of June, 1964 all over the world.

Larry Roemer, the director of the movie has not only worked as a director in his career but as a producer in movies such as The Ballad of Smokey the Bear, Return to Oz, The Wacky World of Mother Goose, The Daydreamer, and many more. The writers of the film are Romeo Muller, Robert May, and Johnny Marks. 

The voice casts of the animated film are as follows:

• Billie Mae Richards as Rudolph
• Burl Ives as Sam the Snowman
• Larry D. Mann as Yukon Cornelius
• Paul Soles as Hermey
• Stan Francis as Santa Claus
• Alfie Scopp as Charlie-In-The-Box
• Janis Orenstein as Clarice

The plot revolves around the young reindeer, Rudolph who lives at the North Pole. His father is Santa’s reindeer and he is also expected to do the same. His distinct feature, a red nose is a setback to becoming Santa’s reindeer and it causes him to be ostracized.

It earned around $113 million at the box office. The movie can be watched on various online platforms such as Apple TV, YouTube Movies, Google Play, and Amazon Prime Video. 

The Year Without a Santa Claus was released on December 10, 1974.

The film was directed by Jules Bass and Arthur Rankin Jr. Jules has worked in over forty movies as a director and fifty movies as a producer. Arthur Rankin Jr. has worked in more than 60 movies as a producer and 40 movies as a director. William J. Keenan and Phyllis McGinley are the writers of the teleplay and novel respectively.

The voice casts of the movie are the following:

• Shirley Booth as Mrs. Santa
• Mickey Rooney as Santa Claus
• Dick Shawn as Snow Mister
• George S. Irving as Heat Miser
• Bob McFadden as Jingle Bells
• Rhoda Mann as Mother Nature
• Bradley Bolke as Jangle Bells

The film starts out when Santa Claus is suffering from a cold and feels unneeded. He decides against the annual Christmas journey. Elves Jingle and Jangle roam the world looking for the people who believe in Santa to make his trip. They get into a dilemma as Southtown is in a warm climate and needs to make it snow. Santa sees the evidence that people still believe in him and heads out for his annual trek. 

The Christmas movie, A Year Without a Santa Claus can be watched on platforms like iTunes, Amazon Instant Video, Google Play, and Vudu. It is also available on Disney Plus, Prime Video, and Apple TV. 

The Muppet Christmas Carol was released on 11th December 1992 and was available to stream on November 6, 2012. 

It was directed by actor, director, and producer named Brian Henson who has worked as a director in seventeen movies and series so far like The Happytime Murders, Sid the Science Kid, The Skrupms, and others. The writer of the novel is Charles Dickens and the screenplay is Jerry Juhl.

The main casts of the film are as follows:

• Michael Caine as Scrooge
• Dave Goelz as The Great Gonzo
• Steve Whitmire as Rizzo the Rat
• Jerry Nelson as Tiny Tim Cratchit
• Frank Oz  as Missy Piggy
• David Rudman as Rat
• Don Austen as Ghost of Christmas Present

The Muppet characters, Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Gonzo, Fozzie Bear, and others tell their version of the classic old redemption on Christmas Eve. Scrooge gets visits from past, present, and future Christmases. The Muppet Christmas Carol earned about 27 million USD at the box office. The film is available to watch on Disney+, Prime Video, Apple TV, Vudu, and Redbox.

Bad Santa was released on the 26th of November in 2003.

Terry Zwigoff, the director of the movie has won the Cinema Eye Honors Awards four times for the 1994 movie Crumb, the Jury Special Prize, the Independent Spirit Award, and the Award of Ecumenical Jury for Ghost World, DGA Award, IDA Award for Crumb. The writers of the film are Glenn Ficarra and John Requa.

The top cast of the movies are:

• Billy Bob Thornton as Willie
• Bernie Mac as Gin
• Lauren Graham as Sue
• John Ritter as Bob Chipeska
• Tony Cox as Marcus

In the film, Willie and his partner Marcus reunite every year for a holiday con posing as Santa and an elf, on Christmas Eve, 24 December, they con the shopping store. This year Willie is depressed and indulged in alcohol. His behavior is suspicious in the mall. He becomes friends with a boy and begins to wonder if he still has hopes. 

The Christmas movie earned about 60 million USD at the box office. Bad Santa is available on fubo TV, Showtime Amazon Channel, Directv, Paramount+ Showtime, and others. 

The holiday movie, Love Actually was released on November 6, 2003, and was available to stream on April 27, 2004.

The writer and director of the film is 66-year-old Richard Curtis. He has worked as a director for five movies and a writer for more than sixty movies such as The Vicar of Dibley, A Cheeky Nativity Poem, One Red Nose Day and a Wedding, Yesterday, and many others.

The casts of Love Actually include:

• Hugh Grant as The Prime Minister, David
• Martine McCutcheon as Natalie
• Liam Neeson as Daniel
• Laura Linney as Sarah
• Bill Nighy as Billy Mack

In the movie, nine stories are intertwined with one another and love connects it all. David falls in love with a young junior staff, Sarah, a graphic designer’s love life is complicated because of his brothers mental illness, and Harry who is married is tempted by his new secretary. 

Love Actually earned about 56 million USD at the Box Office in the USA. The film is available on Peacock, AMC+, Vudu, YouTube, Prime Video, and Apple TV.

How the Grinch Stole Christmas was released on December 18, 1966.

The movie is directed and co-directed by Chuck Jones who was a director as well as a producer and Ben Washam who was a director and writer. The writers of the film include Dr.Seuss, Irv Spector, and Bob Ogle.

The casts of the animated movie are as follows:

• Boris Karloff as Narrator
• Thurl Ravenscroft as Singer
• June Foray as Cindy Lou Who
• Dal McKennon as Max

The film based on Dr. Seuss book, is about a grinch who hates Christmas and wants to make everyone miserable on Christmas like he is. In the movie, the character named Scrooged comes to know what Christmas is all about with the help of the Whos in Whoville. It is available to watch on Peacock, Amazon, Roku, Hulu, and many other platforms. 

The movie Elf was released on the 7th of November in 2003.

The movie was directed by Jon Favreau who is also a writer and an actor. He has worked in more than thirty movies such as The Book of Boba Fett, Alien Xmas, The Lion King, The Chef Show, and others. David Berenbaum, the writer of Elf has also written The Haunted Mansion, Zoom, Strange Magic,  and The Spiderwick Chronicles.

The main casts of the movie are:

• Will Ferrell as Buddy
• James Caan as Walter
• Bob Newhart as Papa Elf
• Zooey Deschanel as Jovie
• Edward Asner as Santa

The story starts when Buddy is transported to the North Pole as a child and is raised by Santa’s elves. The adult Buddy travels to New York as he knows that he does not fit in and moves to find his real father. His father turns out to be Walter Hobbs a cynical businessman. 

The film earned about 177 million USD at the box office. The Christmas movie, Elf can be watched on various online platforms such as HBO Max, ROW8, Prime Video, Vudu, Apple TV, and Redbox. 

A Charlie Brown Christmas is a movie released on December 9, 1965.

The director of Bill Melendez has worked in The Bugs Bunny and Tweety Show, The Sylvester & Tweety Show, Turn-On, A Boy Named Charlie Brown, and others. Charles M. Schulz, the writer of the film has worked as a writer in The Peanuts Movie, You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown, and Skunk Fu.

The top cast of the animated movies are:

• Ann Altieri as Frieda
• Chris Doran as Schroeder
• Sally Dryer as Violet
• Bill Melendez as Snoopy
• Karen Mendelson as Patty

The plot of the movie revolves around Charlie Brown who is depressed at the commercialism around him. He tries to find the deeper meaning of Christmas and not only fancy lights and Christmas trees. For now, A Charlie Brown Christmas can be watched on the platform called Apple TV+.

The movie A Christmas Story was released on November 18, 1983. It has lots of sequel movies as well.

The movie was directed and written by Bob Clark who has worked in thirty movies as a director and written sixteen movies. The other writers of the movie are Jean Shepherd and Leigh Brown.

The casts of the film are as follows:

• Peter Billingsley as Ralphie Parker
• Melinda Dillon as Mother Parker
• Darren McGavin as The Old Man Parker
• Scott Schwartz as Flick
• Jean Shepherd as Ralphie as Adult

The movie is based on the writing of Jean Shepherd. The story involves the young Ralphie who spends his time dodging a bully and wishing for an ideal Christmas gift, a Red Ryder air rifle. At the box office, it made around 20.7 million USD in the USA. The film is available to watch on TNT, HBO Max, iTunes, Google Play, Amazon Instant Video, and Vudu.

The movie that topped the of the top 20 is It’s a Wonderful Life. It was released on December 20, 1946, in the theaters.

It was directed and written by Frank Capra who has won twelve awards like Oscar, Life Achievement Award, Golden Globe, and many more. The other writers of the film are Albert Hackett and Frances Goodrich.

The main casts of the Christmas movie are:

• James Stewart as George Bailey
• Donna Reed as Mary Hatch
• Lionel Barrymore as Mr. Potter
• Thomas Mitchell as Uncle Billy
• Henry Travers as Clarence

The film starts after the main character, George wishes that he was never born, to begin with. An Angel arrives on earth where he is to make his wish come true. He soon realizes the lives he has influenced and everything in his life would be poles apart had he not been born. It earned around 3 million USD at the box office. It’s a Wonderful Life can be watched on different online platforms like Amazon Prime, Vudu, iTunes, Amazon Instant Video, Google Play, and more.