TAGGED AS: Christmas, movies, worst
The Worst Christmas Movies
From painful family reunions to sequels no child asked for to multiple Vince Vaughn and Tim Allen vehicles, these are all the Christmas films that scored less than 30% on the Tomatometer. And to make sure these movies landed on enough critics’ naughty lists to be deemed truly universally loathed, every entry had to have at least 20 reviews for inclusion. This leaves the likes of Kirk Cameron’s Saving Christmas and Nativity 3: Dude, Where’s My Donkey?! out in the cold, but makes plenty of space for Home Alone 3, Christmas With the Kranks, and Deck the Halls. It’s more cinematic coal than you can handle in our guide to the worst Christmas movies ever! —Alex Vo
Best Christmas Movies | Worst Christmas Movies
Best and Worst Christmas Horror | Best Foreign Christmas Movies
Rotten Christmas Movies We Love | Modern Christmas Classics
#22
Adjusted Score: 36004%
Critics Consensus: Macaulay Culkin's precocious charisma is sorely missed in this hollow sequel, which doubles down on the broad comedy while lacking all the hallmarks that made the original a classic.
Synopsis: When an inept group of criminals tries to get a stolen top-secret computer chip through airport security, it ends up...
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#21
Adjusted Score: 33157%
Critics Consensus: Unaccompanied Minors, while featuring credible performances by its mostly young cast, is simply a rehash of other, funnier movies.
Synopsis: When a Christmas Eve blizzard shuts down the airport, five stranded youths take the opportunity to run wild and have...
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#20
Adjusted Score: 28373%
Critics Consensus: Noel strains for holiday uplift, but -- despite the involvement of an outstanding ensemble cast -- settles for treacly sentiment instead.
Synopsis: It's nearly Christmas in New York City. Rose (Susan Sarandon) is in the hospital with her elderly mother, who's been...
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#19
Adjusted Score: 30515%
Critics Consensus: Despite a strong cast, this sour holiday comedy suffers from a hackneyed script.
Synopsis: When their plans for an exotic vacation fall apart, unmarried couple Brad (Vince Vaughn) and Kate (Reese Witherspoon) must spend...
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#18
Adjusted Score: 25010%
Critics Consensus: Neither parent nor child will find any merriment in this mess.
Synopsis: Estranged from his father (Gary Cole), college student Jake (Jonathan Taylor Thomas) is lured home to New York for Christmas...
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#17
Adjusted Score: 26983%
Critics Consensus: The endearingly cheesy Santa Claus Conquers the Martians might just be so naughty it's nice for viewers seeking a sub-competent sci-fi holiday adventure.
Synopsis: Martian ruler Kimar (Leonard Hicks) is upset that the children of Mars are lazy and under the influence of too...
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#16
Adjusted Score: 22169%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: In 19th-century England, a minister's quest to modernize his village puts him at odds with people who believe that whoever...
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#15
Adjusted Score: 25391%
Critics Consensus: A slew of talent is wasted in this contrived and overly sentimental Christmas film, which can't quite get the balance between slapstick humor and schmaltzy uplift.
Synopsis: Of the two Claus brothers, Fred (Vince Vaughn) is the troublemaker and polar opposite of his saintly sibling, Nicholas (Paul...
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#14
Adjusted Score: 23442%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: In ancient times, a man named Claus (David Huddleston), who delivers toys in his small village, fulfills his destiny to...
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#13
Adjusted Score: 21677%
Critics Consensus: It boasts a few laughs, but overall, Tyler Perry's A Madea Christmas ranks among Perry's least entertaining or substantive works.
Synopsis: Madea (Tyler Perry) accompanies her niece, Eileen (Anna Maria Horsford), to the small town of Buck Tussel to pay a...
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#12
Adjusted Score: 20610%
Critics Consensus: The Perfect Holiday is the perfect example of Christmas movie clichés run amok.
Synopsis: Nancy (Gabrielle Union), a divorced mother of three, feels especially lonely during the holidays. Sensing her sadness, Nancy's youngest daughter,...
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#11
Adjusted Score: 23260%
Critics Consensus: Love the Coopers has a talented cast and a uniquely bittersweet blend of holiday cheer in its better moments, but they're all let down by a script content to settle for cloying smarm.
Synopsis: For their annual Christmas Eve celebration, Sam Cooper (John Goodman) and his wife Charlotte (Diane Keaton) welcome four generations of...
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#10
Adjusted Score: 19003%
Critics Consensus: Playing Jack Frost as an evil cross between Liza Minnelli and Liberace, Martin Short is a welcome presence, but this tired series continues drawing from its bag of bland gags and dumb slapstick.
Synopsis: Christmas cheer turns into holiday chaos when Scott Calvin (Tim Allen), aka Santa, invites his in-laws (Ann-Margret, Alan Arkin) for...
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#9
Adjusted Score: 22673%
Critics Consensus: Arnold Schwarzenegger tries his best, but Jingle All the Way suffers from an uneven tone, shifting wildly from a would-be satire on materialism to an antic, slapstick yuk-fest.
Synopsis: Workaholic Howard Langston (Arnold Schwarzenegger) wants to make things up to his son, Jamie (Jake Lloyd), and wife, Liz (Rita...
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#8
Adjusted Score: 14088%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Boyd is forced to spend Christmas at his parents' house and has to hit the road with his eccentric father...
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#7
Adjusted Score: 14956%
Critics Consensus: A gratuitous remake of the 1974 slasher, Black Christmas pumps out the gore and blood with zero creativity, humor, or visual flair.
Synopsis: The holiday season turns deadly for a group of sorority sisters (Katie Cassidy, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Lacey Chabert, Michelle Trachtenberg)...
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#6
Adjusted Score: 14159%
Critics Consensus: An American Carol suffers not so much from its perceived political bias, but from the fact that it simply is not very funny.
Synopsis: Documentary filmmaker Michael Malone (Kevin Farley) makes movies about America's shortcomings and is now embarking on a campaign to abolish...
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#5
Adjusted Score: 14588%
Critics Consensus: Mixed Nuts may provoke strong allergic reactions in all but the most undemanding filmgoers -- and the most forgiving Steve Martin fans.
Synopsis: Philip (Steve Martin) manages a suicide-prevention hotline called Lifesavers, assisted by Mrs. Munchnik (Madeline Kahn) and Catherine (Rita Wilson). On...
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#4
Adjusted Score: 11426%
Critics Consensus: Surviving Christmas is unpleasant characters attacking each other for 90 minutes before delivering a typical, hollow anti-consumerist message
Synopsis: A wealthy executive, Drew Latham (Ben Affleck) has no close relationships and becomes nostalgic for his childhood home as Christmas...
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#3
Adjusted Score: 8926%
Critics Consensus: Relying on flat humor and a preposterous plot, Deck the Halls is an unnecessarily mean-spirited holiday movie that does little to put viewers in a holiday mood.
Synopsis: Steve (Matthew Broderick), suburban dad and Christmas enthusiast, finds a wrinkle in his well-ordered existence with the arrival of his...
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#2
Adjusted Score: 8998%
Critics Consensus: A mirthless movie as fresh as last year's fruit cake, Christmas with the Kranks is a coarse, garish comedy that promotes conformity.
Synopsis: Finally alone for the holidays, Luther (Tim Allen) and Nora Krank (Jamie Lee Curtis) plan to eschew the Christmas traditions...
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#1
Adjusted Score: 447%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Christmas in Vienna is a dull affair for 9-year-old Mary (Elle Fanning), until her beloved Uncle Albert (Nathan Lane) arrives...
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35%
