Christmas Day 2026 falls on Friday, December 25
Christmas Movies for People Who Hate Christmas Movies
19 picks · updated October 2026
If the matching sweaters and the snow-globe towns have worn thin, these films use Christmas as a setting rather than a sales pitch. There are heists, hitmen, a Kubrick fever dream and a Bergman family epic, and the tinsel stays in the background.
How this list was chosen
Chosen by hand: every film here is set at Christmas, but the holiday is the backdrop, not the point.
Die Hard
John McTiernan
Off-duty NYPD cop John McClane, barefoot and outgunned, takes on Hans Gruber's thieves after they seize a Christmas Eve office party at Nakatomi Plaza.
Explores: One Man Army, Underdog, Christmas Setting.
The Holdovers
Alexander Payne
Bitter isolation at a deserted prep school replaces festive joy, focusing on the prickly friction between three lonely souls who have nowhere else to go.
Explores: Unlikely Friendships, Finding Connection, Grief and Loss.
Gremlins
Joe Dante
A quaint small-town Christmas is violently dismantled by a horde of chaotic monsters, proving that gift-giving rituals are a recipe for absolute suburban destruction.
Explores: Rules Gone Wrong, Small Town Invasion, Holiday Havoc.
Carol
Todd Haynes
In 1950s Manhattan, a shopgirl at a department store's toy counter sells a Christmas gift to a married woman, and the two begin a forbidden love affair.
Explores: Social Class, Female Desire, Repression.
Tokyo Godfathers
Satoshi Kon
Three homeless outcasts in Tokyo navigate the fringes of society, finding an abandoned infant that forces them to confront their own fractured pasts on Christmas Eve.
Explores: found family, redemption, fate vs. free will.
In Bruges
Martin McDonagh
Medieval architecture and existential guilt weigh heavily on two hitmen hiding out in Belgium, far removed from any semblance of seasonal warmth or comfort.
Explores: Guilt, Redemption, Existential Crisis.
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
Shane Black
Fleeing a botched Christmas-season robbery, petty thief Harry Lockhart stumbles into a Hollywood screen test and a real Los Angeles murder case.
Explores: Cynicism, Self-Awareness, Meta-Humor.
Batman Returns
Tim Burton
Gotham City’s gothic rot and the Penguin’s sewer-bound malice turn the festive season into a dark, snowy nightmare of political corruption and costumed vigilantism.
Trading Places
John Landis
Corporate greed meets class warfare in this biting satire where a commodity broker and a street hustler are used as pawns in a wealthy bet.
Explores: Class Warfare, Social Mobility, Identity Swap.
Bad Santa
Terry Zwigoff
A foul-mouthed, alcoholic department store Santa embodies the ultimate rejection of holiday sentimentality while looting shopping malls for personal gain.
Explores: Anti-hero, Dysfunctional Family, Redemption.
Lethal Weapon
Richard Donner
Unstable detectives and heroin-smuggling rings define this gritty action staple, which uses the holiday setting primarily to highlight the isolation of its broken protagonists.
Explores: Mismatched Partners, Redemption, PTSD.
The Long Kiss Goodnight
Renny Harlin
A suburban schoolteacher discovers her violent past as a government assassin, turning a quiet, snowy Christmas season into a high-stakes espionage thriller.
Explores: Amnesia, Identity Crisis, Hidden Identity.
The Ref
Ted Demme
On Christmas Eve in a Connecticut suburb, a cat burglar on the run takes a bickering couple hostage, then has to referee their marriage and their in-laws.
Explores: Dysfunctional Family, Hostage Situation, Christmas Eve.
Fanny and Alexander
Ingmar Bergman
Religious tyranny and family trauma replace festive joy in this sprawling saga, where the warmth of the theater world is crushed by a cold, authoritarian stepfather.
Explores: loss of innocence, religious oppression, family secrets.
Eyes Wide Shut
Stanley Kubrick
An erotic, paranoid journey through New York’s elite underground strips away the veneer of a happy marriage, exposing the dark obsessions hiding behind holiday gatherings.
Explores: Marital Dissolution, Sexual Obsession, Loss of Identity.
Brazil
Terry Gilliam
Bureaucratic incompetence and industrial decay define this dystopian vision, where the holiday season is nothing more than a hollow, consumerist facade for a crumbling society.
Explores: Bureaucracy, Escapism, Loss of Individuality.
Black Christmas
Bob Clark
A sorority house during winter break becomes a claustrophobic hunting ground, marking a terrifying departure from the cozy, traditional tropes of festive cinema.
Explores: Sorority Life, Christmas Break, Obscene Phone Calls.
Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale
Jalmari Helander
Ancient, malevolent folklore replaces the jolly image of Santa Claus in this arctic horror story, where a mining excavation unearths a truly predatory holiday nightmare.
Explores: Evil Santa, Arctic Setting, Father-Son Relationship.
Violent Night
Tommy Wirkola
A cynical, battle-hardened Santa Claus takes up arms against a team of mercenaries, replacing magic and joy with brutal combat and home-invasion violence.
Explores: Bad Santa, Christmas Mayhem, Home Invasion.
Common questions
Are there any Christmas movies that feature horror or monsters?
Yes, several films on this list subvert the holiday with terror. You can watch Gremlins for creature-based chaos, Black Christmas for slasher-style suspense, or Rare Exports for a dark, folk-horror take on the origins of Santa Claus.
What are some good action movies set during Christmas?
If you prefer action over sentiment, Die Hard is the definitive choice for a skyscraper hostage scenario. Alternatively, Lethal Weapon offers a classic buddy-cop dynamic, while Violent Night provides a gritty, combat-heavy spin on the traditional Santa Claus mythos.
Can I find Christmas movies that are actually dark comedies?
Absolutely. Bad Santa features a misanthropic, alcoholic protagonist, while The Ref presents a hostile hostage situation during a family dinner. In Bruges also offers a bleak, darkly comedic look at two hitmen stuck in a quiet, snowy city during the season.