The 12 Best Movies and TV Shows to Watch This Christmas
Merry Christmas, or, as the internet is calling the holiday, “A Complete Babyratu” day, or just “Babyratu,” or “A Complete Unosferatu.” Thanks to “Barbenheimer,” every anticipated movie pairing must have a ship name (see also “Glicked“). But what people should be worrying about is how to navigate which movies to see with whom. You can probably bring your whole family to A Complete Unknown, but not Babygirl. Take the 20-something cousins obsessed with Harris Dickinson to that. While Nosferatu is best for your introverted horror-loving siblings. Or you all can just go to the movies to sing along to “Defying Gravity.” (That’s allowed now. Kind of.)
Featured Presentations
A Complete Unknown
Hot off a masterful press tour, the Timothée Chalamet–starring Bob Dylan biopic is headlining movie theaters. From director James Mangold, A Complete Unknown tackles the beginnings of the musician’s rise in the early ’60s through to Dylan’s controversial use of electric instruments at the Newport Folk Festival. The strong supporting cast includes Edward Norton as Pete Seeger, Boyd Holbrook as Johnny Cash, Scoot McNairy as Woody Guthrie, Monica Barbaro as Joan Baez, and Elle Fanning as Dylan’s girlfriend, Sylvie Russo.
In theaters now
Babygirl
Nicole Kidman is the titular babygirl. In filmmaker Halina Reijn’s followup to 2022’s Bodies Bodies Bodies, Kidman stars as corporate CEO Romy, who engages in an erotic tryst with an intern, Samuel (a charming Harris Dickinson), which poses potential problems for her job, family, and marriage to theater director Jacob (Antonio Banderas). It’s definitely not the best film on this list to watch with your family this holiday season, but it’s well worth the sneaky solo trip to the movies.
In theaters now
➼ 2024, the year of Nicole Kidman.
Nosferatu
Director Robert Eggers and Nosferatu is as natural a pairing as peanut butter and jelly. The gothic filmmaker assembled a fantastic cast with Lily-Rose Depp as Ellen Hutter, a woman plagued by a desire for the deviously dark vampire at the center of the film (Count Orlok played by Bill Skarsgård). Nicholas Hoult co-stars as Ellen’s husband, along with Willem Dafoe as Professor Albin Eberhart Von Franz (a character heavily based on Dracula’s Abraham Van Helsing).
In theaters now
➼ Willem Dafoe on his third collaboration with Robert Eggers.
NFL Christmas Gameday on Netflix
Kansas City Chiefs vs. Steelers (1 p.m. ET) and Baltimore Ravens vs. Houston Texans (4:30 p.m. ET)
Netflix finally got the rights to two NFL games, and it landed some marquee match-ups. Nearly all the biggest teams in the AFC are here, with the two hottest franchises in the North, the Steelers and Ravens, facing off, respectively, against reigning Super Bowl champs Chiefs and the South’s division leader Texans. This could be a preview for the playoffs — an explanation that surely everyone in your family will understand when you dip out of Christmas festivities early to start streaming. —Tolly Wright, Ravens fan
And don’t forget Beyoncé’s halftime show …
How did Santa Netflix know exactly what we wanted? Beyoncé’s heading home to Houston for the holidays to perform at the Texans-versus-Ravens halftime show. Will this cement “Texas Hold ’Em” as a nonconventional Christmas song? Yeehaw. —T.W.
The Fire Inside
Christmas is crowded with edgy new releases this year, but those searching for something to take the family to should check out Rachel Morrison’s directorial debut, written by Barry Jenkins, which turns the story of boxer Claressa “T-Rex” Shields into a rousing sports drama that departs from the genre’s usual rhythms. —Alison Willmore
In theaters now
Doctor Who Christmas Special, “Joy to the World”
Doctor Who is no stranger to Christmas specials. In this latest one, Ncuti Gatwa and Nicola Coughlan star as the Fifteenth Doctor and a woman named Joy, respectively, who finds a secret doorway that lands her in the Time Hotel. There she and the Doctor battle villains and dinosaurs, but it’s all to save Christmas.
Streaming on Disney+
Back in Theaters
Wicked Sing-Along
Okay, technically Wicked has not even left theaters yet, but Universal is adding sing-along screenings of the musical complete with lyrics onscreen! So, while past screenings have encouraged fans to quietly hold space during Wicked, you can now go to these designated screenings and attempt the “Defying Gravity” riff yourself (though remember that’s Cynthia Erivo’s line). Just make sure you’re actually in the right theater before you start belting.
In theaters now
Comedy Corner
Your Friend, Nate Bargatze
This is the comedy special to turn on over the holiday if you’re looking for something for your dad, your uncles, or your older millennial brothers, or if you’re with conservative family and need something that, somehow, everyone will miraculously agree on. That is Bargatze’s superpower. —Kathryn VanArendonk
Streaming on Netflix
Grand Finale
Shrinking
Vulture critic Jen Chaney on why Shrinking doesn’t work without Harrison Ford:
The entire second season is on Apple TV+, so you can check out all of Ford’s antics in Shrinking now if you’ve been slacking on it. And read more of Jen Chaney’s performance review here.
Streaming on Apple TV+
➼ A big finale day for Apple TV+, the second season of Bad Sisters is also fully ready to binge.
Finally Streaming
Nightbitch
Disney wasted no time in getting Nightbitch onto streaming. In fact, I’m not even sure it had a proper theatrical release since it barely premiered in limited theaters on December 6. That means you probably didn’t have a chance to watch Amy Adams navigate motherhood in this surreal comedy directed by Marielle Heller. As the title, sort of, suggests, Adams plays a mother who begins morphing into a dog.
Streaming on Hulu on December 27
➼ Party with Kyle Mooney’s disaster comedy Y2K ahead of the new year as it hits digital streaming platforms this Friday.
Want more? Read our recommendations from the weekend of December 20.
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