7 Christmas films with a near perfect Rotten Tomatoes score-Robert Oliver-Entertainment – Metro

The best Christmas films you need to watch this year! (Picture: Rex)

We all know that the best way to spend time off over Christmas 2024 is to plonk yourself in front of the TV and watch classic films.

The Sound of Music, Elf, Home Alone, and dozens of other legendary movies have been passed down the generations for years.

A few new titles have been added to the collection in recent years, including Klaus, The Holiday, The Christmas Chronicles, and Arthur Christmas.

But the problem these days, with things like Netflix and Amazon Prime and Disney Plus, is that there’s almost too much choice – how do you know for sure you’re going to watch something you’ll love?

Well, don’t worry – we’ve consulted their Rotten Tomatoes score to give you a list of the seven best-rated Christmas films you’ve got to watch this year.

Enjoy!

Meet Me in St Louis (1944)

Meet Me in St Louis stars the wonderful Judy Garland (Picture: Moviestore/REX/Shutterstock)

Starring Judy Garland and Margaret O’Brien, Meet Me in St Louis is a classic Christmas musical film set 40 years before its release.

The movie follows the fortunes of the Smith family in the build up to the 1904 World’s Fair, starting out as a regular old story before transitioning into a Christmas classic.

Meet Me in St Louis is responsible for giving us iconic standards such as Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, The Trolley Song, and The Boy Next Door.

As of 2024, it’s highest rated Rotten Tomatoes Christmas film of all time, standing proud with a critic rating of 100%.

And audiences have been super keen as well, with 87% of Rotten Tomatoes users giving the film a rating of 7 out of 10 or above.

Rent on Amazon Prime Video.

The Shop Around the Corner (1940)

The Shop Around the Corner is set in late 1930s Budapest (Picture: Everett/REX/Shutterstock)

Starring Margaret Sullivan, James Stewart, and Frank Morgan, The Shop Around the Corner is an American film set in Budapest in the run-up to the Second World War.

The film, which takes place in December, follows two colleagues who cannot stand each other but, unbeknownst to them, are actually falling in love with each other through secret anonymous letters.

Despite being a romcom loaded with hijinks and featuring an unconventional love story, The Shop Around the Corner was something of a box office flop in the 1940s.

However, it has gained a huge cult following over the years, with many critics reappraising it as one of the best romantic films of its era.

It currently has a Rotten Tomatoes rating of 99%, while 91% of Rotten Tomatoes users would deem it a 7 out of 10 or above.

Rent on Amazon Prime Video.

The Holdovers (2023)

The Holdovers follows the formation of an unlikely friendship (Picture: Focus Features/Everett/REX/Shutterstock)

The most recently released film on this list is 2023’s The Holdovers, starring Paul Giamatti, Dominic Sessa, and Da’Vine Joy Randolph.

Set in December 1970, The Holdovers follows the story of a cantankerous teacher, a cocky student, and a grieving cafeteria manager who are all left behind at a boarding school over the Christmas period.

The trio form an unlikely friendship during their days as ‘the holdovers’ (a nickname given to those spending Christmas at the school) as they are left to look after the school and maintain the grounds.

Da’Vine won the Academy Award for best supporting actress for her performance as Mary Lamb, the school’s cafeteria manager.

And critics were similarly enthralled, with the film rated at 97% on Rotten Tomatoes, giving it a good chance of becoming a Christmas family classic.

Rent on Amazon Prime Video.

Miracle on 34th Street (1947)

The 1947 version of Miracle on 34th Street remains a Christmas classic (Picture: 20th Century Fox/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock)

This delightful Christmas comedy has become a staple of family viewing in America and the UK over the last few generations.

Set between Thanksgiving and Christmas in the heart of New York City, Miracle on 34th Street follows the story of a man named Kris Kringle, who’s on a mission to convince people that he’s really Santa Claus.

However, despite forming close bonds with the Walker family (played by Maureen O’Hara, and Natalie Wood), Kris struggles to convince the police and local district attorneys, who want him sectioned.

The film currently has a score of 96% on Rotten Tomatoes, with an audience rating of 87% – it’s still one of the best-loved Chritmas films around.

Miracle on 34th Street was remade in the 1990s, with Richard Attenborough and Elizabeth Perkins in the lead roles.

Watch on Disney Plus.

Little Women (1994 & 2019)

Both modern versions of Little Women will make Christmas special (Picture: Columbia/Shutterstock)

Honestly, both modern film adaptations of Little Women are worth your time this Christmas, with Louisa May Alcot’s 1869 story proving timeless.

The 1994 version, starring Winona Ryder and Christian Bale, has a 92% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and an audience score of 84%.

Meanwhile, the 2019 version, directed by Barbie’s Greta Gerwig, stars Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson, Timothée Chalamet, and Florence Pugh, and has a Rotten Tomatoes score of 95%.

Audiences loved it too, with 92% of Rotten Tomatoes users giving it a 7 out of 10 or more. And we’re convinced that it needs to be repeated every Christmas on all the main channels.

Instead of picking and choosing, maybe watch them back-to-back. Compare them, and maybe take notes. If you have enough time, perhaps watch them back-to-back twice?

Rent the 1994 and 2019 versions on Apple TV.

It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)

Get the tissues ready! (Picture: Rko/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock)

Attaboy, Clarence!

Very little needs to be said about It’s a Wonderful Life, the heartbreaking and simultaneously heartwarming Christmas film starring the incomparable James Stewart.

Endlessly quotable and full of rich characters, this 1946 Christmas film means absolutely everything to people of a certain generation, and it should come to mean everything to generations of the future.

As one person puts it in the comments underneath a YouTube video of the film’s final scene, ‘This is not A Christmas movie, this is THE Christmas movie!’

And critics agree. Its Rotten Tomatoes rating stands at a proud 94% after almost 100 years, with 95% of the site’s users absolutely loving it as well.

Remember: no man is a failure who has friends.

Rent on Apple TV.

The Apartment (1960)

It’s Christmas mixed with extramarital affairs in The Apartment… (Picture: Moviestore/REX/Shutterstock)

Last in this list, but by now means least, is the 1960 Billy Wilder romantic comedy-drama The Apartment, starring Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine.

The Apartment follows the story of insurance broker Bud Baxter (Jack Lemmon),who climbs the corporate ladder by allowing his bosses to conduct extramarital affairs in his New York flat.

As the story develops, he falls for Fran, a woman who works in his office building (Shirley MacLaine) who might be more involved in one of his bosses’ affairs than he thinks.

While something of a non-traditional Christmas movie, the story still takes place over the festive period and New Year’s Eve, with several key points in the story occurring between December 24 and 26.

It currently sits at 93% on Rotten Tomatoes while audiences like it even more, with the user score resting at a very positive 94% score.

Rent on Apple TV.

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