From new Christmas Carols to a Marvel adventure: The new festive movies of 2022

Virgin Radio

22 Dec 2022, 15:14

When you’re hunkering down for the evening with that mince pie you’ve been eyeing up for hours, there are some new Christmas movies hoping to get you in the festive mood. 

While there are of course the classics, from The Muppet Christmas Carol to Love Actually, to enjoy, sometimes there’s nothing better than dipping into something new. 

With that in mind, the elves here at virginradio.co.uk have put together a rundown of the new festive films to tuck into!

Check out the new Christmas movies of 2022 below: 

Spirited 

This new Apple TV+ story takes the tale of A Christmas Carol and turns it on its head, and is full of huge musical numbers, which might explain why the budget was a whopping $75million (or £63.9m)!

Spirited isn’t your regular take on Charles Dickens’s Christmas Carol, because this time, the classic tale of Ebenezer Scrooge is told not from the humbug-spouting protagonist, but the ghosts that haunt him instead. 

Taking on the Scrooge role this time is Hollywood star Ryan Reynolds, who suits up not as a superhero but as mean-spirited Clint, who decides to turn his festive goodwill on its head to help his Ghost of Christmas Present, played by funnyman Will Ferrell. 

Spirited is available to watch on Apple TV+.

Falling For Christmas

Lindsey Lohan is taking to the screen yet again in one of Netflix’s brand new Crimbo-inspired wholesome movies - Falling For Christmas. 

The Mean Girls star stars in the festive treat alongside Glee's Chord Overstreet, and during the exciting announcement back in November, Netflix shared to its socia media: “She’s back! Here is your first look at Lindsay Lohan in her upcoming holiday rom-com, co-starring Chord Overstreet."

The rom-com is ‘about a newly engaged and spoiled hotel heiress who finds herself in the care of a handsome, blue-collar lodge owner and his precocious daughter after getting total amnesia in a skiing accident’.

Falling For Christmas is available to watch on Netflix now.

Guardians of the Galaxy Christmas Special 

Marvel have finally dipped their toe into the festive waters with their brand new Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special.

The hour-long festive special is set between Thor: Love And Thunder and 2023’s Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3. 

It stars all of the main misfits from the Guardians movies, including Star-Lord/Peter Quill, who is played by Chris Pratt, Dave Bautista’s Drax, and Nebula, portrayed by Karen Gillan. The festive show will also feature Mantis (Pom Klementieff), Groot (Vin Diesel), Rocket (Bradley Cooper) and Kraglin (Sean Gunn).

Oh, and Kevin Bacon!

In an attempt to cheer up Peter, Mantis and Drax decide to get him the perfect festive gift, so try to bring back one of Peter’s heroes from his home on earth, namely that of Footloose star Kevin, much to his annoyance! 

The Guardians Of The Galaxy Holiday Special is out on Disney+ now.

Your Christmas Or Mine

Sex Education star Asa Butterfield stars in Amazon Prime’s new Christmas rom-com, Your Christmas or Mine. 

The comedy-drama follows young couple James, played by Asa, and Hayley (Cora Kirk), who, after a disastrous mix-up, end up having to experience each other’s family Christmas without their partners.

Directed by Trying’s Jim O’Hanlon, the tale follows the star-crossed lovers who quickly discover their plans to surprise one another have gone totally pear shaped, and family secrets, drama and traditions are all told with hilarious consequences. 

Your Christmas Or Mine is out on Amazon Prime now. 

Scrooge: A Christmas Carol

We do love a new adaptation of Charles Dickens’ 1843 novella, and Netflix released their very own animated version - Scrooge: A Christmas Carol. 

The musical is an take on Scrooge from the 1970’s, which was itself based on Charles Dickens’ novel. Along with Luke Evans, it also features the voice of Oscar-winning legend Olivia Colman. The star of The Crown and Peep Show will play a character called Past who, judging by her name, will be the first ghost to visit on Christmas Eve.

The film, which is directed by Stephen Donnelly, also features the voices of Fra Fee (voices Harry Huffam), Giles Terera (voices Tom Jenkins), Trevor Dion Nicholas (voices Present), and James Cosmo (voices Mr Fezziwig).

Scrooge: A Christmas Carol is out on Netflix now. 

The Noel Diary 

This Is Us star Justin Hartley and Station 19 actress Barrett Doss star in this classically heartwarming Christmas movie, The Noel Diary. 

The rom-com sees best-selling author Jake Turner (Hartley) return home at Christmas to settle his estranged mother's estate. He soon lands upon a diary that may hold secrets to his own past and that of Rachel (Doss) - an intriguing young woman on a mission of her own. Together, they embark on a journey to confront their pasts and discover a future that's totally unexpected.

While soppy Christmas movies tend to be mocked for their predictable storylines and cheesy sentiment, The Noel Diary has actually become one of Netflix’s best Christmas releases. At time of writing (9th December), the festive flick has been watched for over 79 million hours within four weeks of release.

The Noel Diary is available to watch on Netflix now.