The 15 best Christmas movies of the 21st century

Modern Christmas films are largely irreverent and play with the traditions of the holidays. After decades of sincerity and goodwill towards men, the industry was tired of all that. Bad Santa is a great jumping-off point to exemplify this list and 21st-century Christmas films. It is, after all, about a loathsome ne’er-do-well, played by Billy Bob Thornton, who gets a job as a mall Santa to rob the place.

Elf also riffs on Christmas traditions for humor but in a more-lighthearted way. This is probably the definitive Christmas film of the last couple of decades, in part because it can be watched with the whole family. At his career peak, Will Ferrell is stellar as Buddy, a human raised at the North Pole but finds his way back to the “regular” world.

For a while, Love Actually was quite popular, with some voices of dissension saying, “You know, that movie is a little weird.” Now, that seems to be the overarching discourse, and things have probably veered a little too far in the other direction. A rational mind can land somewhere in between. It’s got some weird stuff to it, but it’s also one of the definitive Christmas movies of the new millennium. That latter point is undeniable.

On the one hand, The Polar Express was a hit. It’s become a staple on television around the holidays. Basically, everybody knows the movie. On the other hand, it’s nightmare fuel. Robert Zemeckis’ film is the dictionary definition of the uncanny valley, but those eerie faces have burnt the film into our brains and the canon.

Looking for a dark crime film centered on the Christmas holiday? The Ice Harvest is a great choice. It features a couple of other faces familiar to Christmas movie fans, such as Billy Bob Thornton and Uncle Eddie himself Randy Quaid. 

Shane Black loves to work Christmas into his movies. He even did it with Iron Man 3. It’s his motif. While The Nice Guys is his definitive work of the new millennium, Christmas shows up for, like, one scene in that movie. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang has much more of the holiday season to it.

Apparently, 2005 was the year for dark Christmas movies. Santa’s Slay has entered the canon as a new “so bad, it’s good” movie. This horror film stars professional wrestler Bill Goldberg. It's definitely problematic and is still a fun watch for all its absurd nonsense and over-the-top hamminess.

Nancy Myers makes movies about upper-class people with messy love lives and immaculate home décor. The woman is to kitchens what Martin Scorsese is to New York. Vicariousness often trumps storytelling when viewing a Myers movie, including The Holiday, but this film is a star-studded affair with a lot of lush views.

Two Santa Clause movies were released in the 2000s, but why aren't either in the canon? Well, The Escape Clause also gave us Martin Short as Jack Frost. That’s why this film made the cut. Plus, one film from this series does make sense.

Of course, Harold and Kumar got a Christmas movie. And, naturally, it took advantage of/lampooned the rise of 3D as a fad again. All the 3D stuff may not resonate now, assuming you don’t have a 3D television, but it’s up there with Bad Santa in terms of raunchy yuletide comedies.

Well, this is quite the turn from Harold & Kumar . This is a lavishly shot Todd Haynes romantic melodrama starring Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara as lovers. It’s the Christmas movie for the cinephiles, but the people who don’t want too much “Christmas” in their Christmas films.

There have been several Christmas horror movies in the last 20 years. That includes two remakes of Black Christmas. Krampus, a comedy horror film about Santa’s titular punishment-happy counterpart, is the best of the bunch. The genre of Christmas horror had to be recognized. Krampus, it is.

This is a short film, but it is a film. Also, for a short film, it’s pretty long. We’re talking 21 minutes. As a Disney short, it’s easier to see than most shorts. Olaf’s Frozen Adventure also taps into the world of Frozen, so naturally, it is in the mix. Even if you just wanted Coco to start already, for the love of god.

Have you noticed an uptick in handsome Santas? Suddenly, Jon Hamm is getting his St. Nick on? Well, we are of the opinion that this all really started with The Christmas Chronicles , when Kurt Russell stepped into the shoes of Santa Claus and gave him a glow-up. Russell walked so Hamm (and others) could run on the “sexy Santa” front.

The new millennium began with Jim Carrey’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas. It’s…bad. However, as a feature-length Grinch movie, we would have included it had we not been saved by the 2018 version. This animated film is less freaky to look at but definitely hit with audiences. This is, in fact, the highest-grossing Christmas movie of all time. The Grinch didn’t need to steal all that box office cash, as evidently, people were happy to give it to him.