10 Best Christmas Movies of All Time, Ranked by IMDb Score

For almost as long as there have been films, there have been Christmas movies to go with them.

But it wasn’t until television came along that watching Christmas movies became a true holiday tradition. That’s true even in the streaming age.

To celebrate the holiday season, the Watch With Us team has brought together this roundup of the 10 best Christmas movies of all time, as ranked by IMDb score.

Chances are very good that you’ve seen many of these films already. But the holiday miracle is that all of them are readily streaming on Prime Video, HBO Max and more.

10. ‘Love Actually’ (2003)

IMDb rank: 7.5

There are some movies, no matter how unserious and corny they are, you can’t deny — and Love Actually is one of them. The 2003 modern holiday classic stars a boatload of stars, mostly British, who all count down the 5 weeks before Christmas by dealing with the one thing that unites them: the agonies and ecstasies of love. The British Prime Minister (Hugh Grant) has to avoid getting distracted by a junior member of his staff, Natalie (Martine McCutcheon), while Mark (Andrew Lincoln) has to accept the fact that the unrequited love of his life, Juliet (Keira Knightley), has just married his best friend.

That’s only two of the nearly dozen tales of yuletide romance and heartbreak that Love Actually spotlights, and while some are better than others, they all combine to make one syrupy, irresistibly enjoyable film. A lot of films try to replicate Love Actually’s particular brand of sentimental magic, but none have been quite as successful as the OG.

Love Actually is streaming on Prime Video.

9. ‘National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation’ (1989)

IMDb rank: 7.5

The best vacations are ones where you don’t have to leave the comfort of your own home. In this third entry in the successful comedy franchise, the Griswold family opts for a staycation — a wise move considering their previous disastrous vacations to Wallyworld and Europe. But with the arrival of their bickering in-laws and the unexpected return of Cousin Eddie (Randy Quaid), the Griswolds will find themselves with another vacation they will wish they could forget.

National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation is a perennial holiday favorite because its jokes still hit hard and fast after all these years. From Clark (Chevy Chase) trying desperately to cover his entire house in Christmas lights to Eddie’s dog, Snots, totally destroying the Griswolds’ house, there’s always something to laugh at while watching the film. Look out for a young Julia Louis-Dreyfus as one of Clark’s snobby, yuppie neighbors, who gets intimately acquainted with Snots by the end of the film.

National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation is streaming on HBO Max.

8. ‘The Bishop’s Wife’ (1947)

IMDb rank: 7.6

Bishop Henry (David Niven) is so worried about raising funds for his church that he’s neglected those around him, including his loving but lonely wife, Julia (Loretta Young). That’s why the angel Dudley (Cary Grant) comes calling — he wants to help Henry save his marriage and keep his church from closing. But problems arise when Dudley finds himself falling for Julia, a surprising romantic development that makes Henry jealous. Will God’s gift to Henry turn out to be the worst thing that has ever happened to him?

A big hit in 1947, The Bishop’s Wife is a classic Old Hollywood film filled with beautiful stars, an outlandish plot and a happily-ever-after ending that could only happen in the movies. It’s unabashedly old-fashioned and naive, which is probably why IMDb users like it so much. That, and the suave, one-of-a-kind Grant, who pulls off the impossible — he makes you hot for one of God’s heavenly messengers.

The Bishop’s Wife is streaming on Prime Video.

7. ‘White Christmas’ (1954)

IMDb rank: 7.6

For trivia lovers out there, the famous Irving Berlin song “White Christmas” did not originate with the movie White Christmas. Instead, it was first used on-screen in the 1942 film, Holiday Inn, which also starred Bing Crosby. Of the two films, White Christmas captures the spirit of the holiday in a more uplifting way, and it’s become one of the most frequently replayed holiday movies on TV.

Crosby and his costar Danny Kaye play a song and dance team, Bob Wallace and Phil Davis. Romantic sparks fly when the two friends meet a sister act, Betty (Rosemary Clooney) and Judy Haynes (Vera-Ellen). They also discover that their Major General from World War II, Tom Waverly (Dean Jagger), is facing financial ruin. To save Waverly’s modest hotel resort, Bob, Phil, Betty and Judy are going to put on one heck of a show.

White Christmas is streaming on Prime Video.

6. ‘Home Alone’ (1990)

IMDb rank: 7.7

Macaulay Culkin became a star overnight thanks to Home Alone, a blockbuster holiday comedy from 1990.  The film does stretch credulity by letting the McCallister family get on a plane for Paris before realizing that their youngest son, Kevin (Culkin), has been left behind. Being home alone is everything Kevin wished for, until he realizes that he misses his family. There are also two crooks, Marv (Daniel Stern) and Harry (Joe Pesci), who seem likely to hurt Kevin if they realize no one else is home.

If you love Christmas music, check out John Williams‘ score for this film. It’s wonderful, and it plays into the spirit of Christmas as Kevin realizes what the holiday is supposed to mean. This is a much better movie than contemporary critics gave it credit for. But we know what the audience really wants to see: Kevin setting elaborate traps that would have probably been fatal for Marv and Harry in any other movie.

Home Alone is streaming on Hulu.

5. ‘The Nightmare Before Christmas’ (1993)

IMDb rank: 7.9

Tim Burton wrote the original story for The Nightmare Before Christmas, but it was director Henry Selick and a legion of stop-motion animators that brought Burton’s bizarre vision to life. Chris Sarandon lends his voice to Jack Skellington, a skeleton man who is beyond bored with life in Halloween Town. When Jack discovers the existence of other holiday towns, he’s particularly impressed by Christmas Town and the work of “Sandy Claws.”

So Jack does what comes naturally to him: He kidnaps Santa (Ed Ivory) and hijacks Christmas by giving the holiday a Halloween makeover. Jack’s closest friend, Sally (Catherine O’Hara), sees that he’s made the wrong decision, but he won’t listen to reason. Jack has to live with his mistake before he can realize how to fix things.

The Nightmare Before Christmas is streaming on Disney+.

4. ‘A Christmas Story’ (1983)

IMDb rank: 7.9

If you haven’t seen A Christmas Story yet, we can only assume you don’t have cable. TNT and TBS have been running 24-hour marathons of this film for years. This movie leans more towards comedy than heartwarming moments, but there’s something universal about Ralphie Parker (Peter Billingsley) and his misguided desire for the one thing he wants for Christmas: A “Red Ryder Carbine Action 200-shot Range Model air rifle.”

Ralphie has such tunnel vision for that air rifle that he sometimes loses perspective about what’s really important. The film was based on the story by Jean Shepherd, who narrates the story as an older Ralphie who has learned a lot in the decades since. If you watch the movie closely, you’ll notice that nobody’s more excited about Ralphie’s Christmas than his old man, Mr. Parker (Darren McGavin). He just doesn’t always show what he’s feeling.

A Christmas Story is streaming on HBO Max.

3. ‘Miracle on 34th Street’ (1947)

IMDb rank: 7.9

There’s a strong argument to be made that the 1994 remake of Miracle on 34th Street also belongs among the best Christmas movies. But the 1947 original is in a class of its own. Edmund Gwenn won Best Supporting Actor at the Oscars for his turn as Kris Kringle, a man who takes real pride in his portrayal of Santa Claus. Macy’s customers rave about Kris and the honesty he shows them and his children. He’d be employee of the month if he didn’t believe he was the real Santa.

Kris’ detractors use that belief to railroad him into charges that may put this Santa in a sanitarium for life. To save Kris and possibly Christmas itself, lawyer Fred Gailey (John Payne) has to prove in court that Kris Kringle is the one true Santa Claus. Hollywood icon Natalie Wood also stars in the film as Susan Walker, a young girl who comes to believe in Kris with all of her heart. Susan’s belief is so powerful that it may change her life, and the life of her mother, Doris Walker (Maureen O’Hara).

Miracle on 34th Street is streaming on Disney+.

2. ‘A Christmas Carol’ (1951)

IMDb rank: 8.1

We’ve lost track of how many adaptations of A Christmas Carol have been made, but this British film is widely regarded as one of the most faithful to the story by Charles Dickens. This movie was called Scrooge in the United Kingdom, but it was shown as A Christmas Carol to American audiences who didn’t discover it until it was rerun on television years after its release.

Alastair Sim leads the cast as Ebenezer Scrooge, and this film goes a long way towards humanizing the old miser by reminding viewers and Scrooge himself that he once had a sister, Fan (Carol Marsh), whom he loved and had chances to turn away from the path of avarice. On one fateful Christmas Eve, Scrooge’s late partner, Jacob Marley (Michael Hordern), warns him that he will be visited by three spirits. What they show Scrooge leads to one of the greatest redemption stories that anyone has ever told. Scrooge wasted a lot of his life, but it’s never too late to change.

A Christmas Carol is streaming on Tubi.

1. ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ (1946)

IMDb rank: 8.6

No one should be shocked that It’s a Wonderful Life came in at No. 1. This film has defined Christmas movies for the better part of the last eight decades. But as with the film directly above it, television played a large role in making this box-office disappointment into a yearly tradition that’s still broadcast on TV every holiday season.

For context, this film was made only a year after World War II ended, and it was nominated for Best Picture. It just took time for a large audience to warm up to George Bailey (James Stewart), a man who sacrificed his dreams to help his family and his small town survive. At Christmas, a mistake leaves George facing financial ruin and considering suicide until an angel named Clarence (Henry Travers) shows him just how much his life has meant by bringing George to a world where he was never born.

It’s a Wonderful Life is streaming on Prime Video.