Holidays
Scrooge: A Christmas Carol first image
11 New 2022 Holiday Movies To Watch For All The Jolly Feels

Bring on the cheer.

by Ani Bundel
Netflix

Most people consider the holiday season to start the moment the turkey’s been digested in November, but TV studios and movie theaters are way ahead of them. With broadcast, streaming, and the big screen all competing to be the holliest-jolliest of them all, there are tons of new 2022 holiday movies to watch, starting from the beginning of November all the way to the end of the year. So, ready or not, here they come.

There are a few cable channels that go all out on the holiday spirit, and more production studios are jumping into the game every year, especially streaming services like Netflix, Disney+, and HBO Max. There are tons of new movies coming from all different corners, including horror-themed holiday fare from Shudder and gospel Christmas glory from BET+. It’s wall-to-wall holiday cheer of all stripes enough that even the biggest Scrooge would crack a smile. But with so many titles arriving all at once over the holiday season, it’s also a bit overwhelming.

Between the cable channels, the broadcast specials, and streaming services announcing movies, it might be hard to know what to watch and where. Here’s a rundown of 11 of the most exciting holiday treats for 2022.

01

A Royal Christmas on Ice

GAC Family may not be the best-known channel, but it has an extensive holiday lineup under its heading of “Great American Christmas.” The channel is rolling out films all the way to the New Year, but the one to watch here is the so-absurd-it’s-worth-it A Royal Christmas on Ice. Jonathan Stoddard stars as Prince John, who decides to run away from his responsibilities by hiding out as a “small business owner” in upstate New York, where he falls for a former Olympic ice skating champion, played by Anna Marie Dobbins.

A Royal Christmas on Ice premieres on GAC Family at 8 p.m. ET on Nov. 5.

02

Merry Swissmas

Lifetime kicks off its holiday lineup in early November with Merry Swissmas, starring Jodie Sweetin as Alex in a second-chance holiday romance. Alex visits Switzerland to spend Christmas with her mother and finds out her best friend, Beth (Mikaela Lily Davies), and her ex-boyfriend, Jesse (David Pinard), are also visiting, and only begins to get over it when she meets local Liam (Tim Rozon).

Merry Swissmas premieres on Lifetime at 8 p.m. ET on Nov. 5.

03

Falling for Christmas

Netflix has a bunch of Christmas movies in 2022, but the most significant debut, Falling for Christmas, features Lindsay Lohan’s return to acting. She plays Sierra Belmont, a recently engaged heiress who finds herself with amnesia after a skiing accident and is nursed back to health by a small-town hero (Chord Overstreet).

Falling for Christmas begins streaming on Netflix on Thursday, Nov. 10.

04

A Christmas Open House

A Christmas Open House is about a property stager (Katie Stevens) who teams with her old crush (David Phelps) to renovate her mother’s house. It features Ben and Erin Napier, the Home Town stars who’ve replaced Chip and Joanna Gaines as HGTV’s it-couple in recent years.

A Christmas Open House debuts on Discovery+ on Friday, Nov. 11.

05

Spirited

Christmas movies aren’t usually the kinds of things to come to the big screen unless they have a primary A-list cast. Spirited, a musical version of A Christmas Carol, luckily has three of them: Ryan Reynolds, Will Ferrell, and Octavia Spencer.

Spirited debuts in theaters on Friday, Nov. 11, but it will come to streaming soon after, landing on Apple TV+ a week later on Nov. 18.

06

Christmas at the Golden Dragon

Although Hallmark already started its holiday lineup 10 days before Halloween, Christmas at the Golden Dragon, coming in mid-November, is one of its most interesting offerings. Starring Kara Wang and Osric Chau, the film centers around a small Midwestern town's landmark Chinese restaurant. The family’s adult children start re-evaluating their lives as they, and the restaurant’s faithful patrons, face its closing.

Christmas at the Golden Dragon premieres Nov. 13 at 8 p.m. ET on Hallmark.

07

Scrooge: A Christmas Carol

Spirited isn’t the only Dickens adaptation landing in theaters this year with an all-star cast, nor is it only musical. Scrooge: A Christmas Carol is not just a musical, but also a supernatural, time-traveling, animated musical adaptation of the classic story. Olivia Colman, Jonathan Pryce, Luke Evans, Jessie Buckley, Johnny Flynn, and James Cosmo, to name a few of its British stars, are voicing the characters.

Scrooge: A Christmas Carol debuts in theaters on Friday, Nov. 18, and then moves to streaming on Netflix on Dec. 2.

08

A Christmas Story Christmas

This A Christmas Story sequel will bring back Peter Billingsley as Ralphie Parker, now in his 50s, returning to Cleveland Street to mourn his dad's passing while giving his kids a magical Christmas like the one he had as a child.

A Christmas Story Christmas debuts on Thursday, Nov. 17, on HBO Max.

09

The Sound of Christmas

BET+ has a full lineup of stories for the holiday season with 10 new Christmas films rolling out starting on Nov. 3. But of the latest films, the biggest is The Sound of Christmas, starring Ne-Yo, Serayah, Draya Michele, Michael Bless, and Alijah Kai among others, in a song-filled journey of a music teacher snagging a wealthy widower with music.

The Sound of Christmas debuts on BET+ on Thanksgiving, Nov. 24.

10

Reindeer In Here: Next Stop North Pole

One of the only broadcast specials for Christmas is Reindeer In Here: Next Stop North Pole, coming to CBS. The animated special is based on the children’s book of the same name, telling the story of a reindeer sent by Santa at holiday time, who wants to celebrate being different.

Reindeer In Here: Next Stop North Pole debuts on CBS on Tuesday, Nov. 29, at 9 p.m. ET and will stream starting the following day on Paramount+.

11

Christmas Bloody Christmas

Finally, for those who need the red in their Christmas colors to be blood, the niche horror streamer Shudder has a brand-new holiday film that will both stream and debut in theaters this year. Christmas Bloody Christmas stars Riley Dandy and Sam Delich as stoners Tori and Robbie, who spent the film mocking Christmas tropes, and ranking metal albums and horror sequels in between fighting for their lives against a malfunctioning RoboSanta+.

Christmas Bloody Christmas debuts on Shudder and theaters on Friday, Dec. 9.