Staff Reporter | On 17, Dec 2020

The best way to spread Christmas Cheer is singing loud for all to hear. That’s true this year for Sky customers, with the broadcaster holding the rights once again to everyone’s favourite Will Ferrell comedy, Elf. (Head this way to find out where to watch Elf online.)

Sky Cinema has a whole host of other seasonal treats, though, from It’s a Wonderful Life to Die Hard.

Sky customers can watch the below by paying several extra quid per month on top of a standard Sky TV bundle to get access to Sky Cinema. There’s even a dedicated Sky Cinema Christmas channel, which cycles through all of their festive flicks on an endless loop.

Don’t have Sky? You can still stream any of the Sky Cinema titles on-demand through NOW. A NOW NOW Cinema Membership costs £11.99 a month, with no contract and a 7-day free trial.

Here is a full list of the Christmas films available on Sky Cinema and NOW in 2020 – with all the best ones at the top.

It’s a Wonderful Life

What would the world be like if you didn’t exist? Frank Capra’s seasonal classic not only tackles the subject of suicide but also manages to find time for topical anti-bankers commentary, angels and heart-warming family sentiment. It’s hard to think of a Christmas movie that’s more human.

Watch on Sky Cinema or NOW (£11.99 a month)

Elf

“Oh my God! Santa’s coming! I know him!”
Santa’s oversized helper Will Ferrell goes to New York to find his real

Watch on Sky Cinema or NOW (£11.99 a month)

Die Hard

“Now I have a machine gun. Ho ho ho.”

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The Holiday

Iris is in love with a man who is about to marry another woman. Across the globe, Amanda realises the man she lives with has been unfaithful. Two women who have never met and live 6,000 miles apart, find themselves in the exact same place. They meet online at a home exchange website and impulsively switch homes for the holiday. Come for the cast that includes Kate Winslet, Cameron Diaz and Jude Law. Stay for the pretty interior decor.

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Happiest Season

Kristen Stewart and Mackenzie Davis lead a delightful ensemble cast in this feel-good Christmas comedy about acceptance.

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Jingle All the Way

Arnie stars in this unlikely festive comedy about Howard, a haggard salesman who promises his son a Turbo Man toy for Christmas – but is forced to fight every parent and travel all over town to get the toy after he forgets to buy it.

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Scrooged

Bill Murray plays a horrible TV executive in Richard Donner’s 80s comedy classic. Visited by spirits, will he learn the error of his ways? Whether the answer surprises you or not, Murray has never been so likeably horrid.

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Batman Returns

Tim Burton likes Christmas almost as much as Shane Black. Here, his superhero sequel sees Gotham wrapped in a deep, crisp and even frost – one that only brings out the eerie beauty in Danny DeVito’s villainous Penguin.

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Last Christmas

Down-on-her-luck Kate accepts a job as a department store elf. When she meets Tom on the job, her life dramatically changes direction. Emilia Clarke stars in this romantic comedy-drama inspired by the music of George Michael.

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Love Actually

Richard Curtis’ unabashedly sentimental anthology of love stories set during the festive season works better as a cinematic Advent Calendar than a film, what with its questionable men and apparent obsession with turtleneck jumpers. But with a cast that includes Alan Rickman, Bill Nighy, Hugh Grant dancing and the national treasure that is Emma Thompson, this just-one-more-rewatch rom-com has become a hard-to-resist ritual that wins you over every December. (Read our full review)

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Gremlins

Joe Dante’s seminal horror comedy sees a young boy acquire a new pet, under strict instructions to never get it wet or feed it after midnight.

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Gremlins 2: The New Batch

Loveable Mogwai Gizmo spawns a new batch of mischievously evil Gremlins who take over a cable network in this playful sequel.

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Anna and the Apocalypse

Endlessly appealing, this Christmas zombie musical is a true triple threat.

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Rise of the Guardians

The Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy and Santa Claus are together at last in this entertaining animated adventure that might be DreamWorks’ most under-appreciated film.

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Dr. Seuss’ How The Grinch Stole Christmas

Jim Carrey pulls out all the stops for this take on Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch, which manages to be amusing as well as endearing – and boasts one hell of a make-up team.

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The Polar Express

Tom Hanks plays the train conductor of the titular North Pole express in Robert Zemeckis’ 2004 Christmas flick. It’s too heavy on the dead-eyed motion-capture CG, but the music is the real star.

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Bad Santa

Billy Bob Thornton is delightfully horrible in this dark, twisted take on the season of goodwill. Moving in uninvited with a home alone boy, will he soften up or stay the alcoholic, womanising loser he already is? For once, all bets are off.

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Trading Places

John Landis’ charming Christmas classic sees a con artist and a rich commodities investor effectively swapped as part of a seasonal bet to prove that lowlives and the upper class aren’t that different after all. Watch out for the moment when Dan Aykroyd briefly becomes one of the best on-screen Santas in cinema history.

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Sleepless in Seattle

Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan are on charming form in this endearing rom-com from queen of the genre Nora Ephron, which sees a reporter fall for a voice on the radio, even though they live on opposite sides of America.

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Surviving Christmas

There’s Christmas chaos when lonely millionaire Ben Affleck hires a family to spend the holidays with. Comedy with Christina Applegate.

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The Family Stone

Sparkling comedy drama with Diane Keaton as the mom trying to stop son Dermot Mulroney from making a matrimonial mistake with uptight career girl Sarah Jessica Parker.

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Look Who’s Talking Now

After wise-cracking babies, the third entry in the comedy series finds John Travolta and Kirstie Alley dealing with a pair of mismatched mutts voiced by Danny DeVito and Diane Keaton.

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All I Want for Christmas

Lauren Bacall and Leslie Nielsen – together at last. The par play divorced parents, whose kids try to reunite them for Christmas in this 1991 drama.

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Christmas Scenes

Fireplace for Your Home? That’s just the start of NOW’s festive stocking fillers, as kittens playing with baubles and a view out of a wintery window provide you with the all the background wallpaper TV you could need.

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Home Alone 4

Despite his forgetful parents splitting up, Kevin McCallister (Mike Weinberg) finds himself left home alone once more while spending Christmas at the hi-tech home of his dad’s new girlfriend. But while the place is a gadget lover’s dream, it turns out to be a burglar’s nightmare, as Kevin’s old nemesis Marv (Frenchy Stewart) is about to discover with his new sidekick Vera (Missi Pyle).

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Home Alone: The Holiday Heist

When Malcolm McDowell’s goofy crooks target the Baxter house in an art robbery, it’s up to 10-year-old Finn to defend his home…

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This Christmas

Idris Elba and Delroy Lindo star in this 2007 comedy about The Whitfields, who celebrate their first family Christmas together for four years. And they’re going to do it in the traditional style: with put-downs and punch-ups.

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Miracle on 34th Street (1994)

Six-year-old Susan Walker (Mara Wilson) is skeptical of the Christmas myth surrounding Santa Claus, a trait she perhaps learned from her mother, Dorey (Elizabeth Perkins). When tasked with hiring the Santa who will pose with kids at Macy’s, Dorey enlists a man with the curious name of Kris Kringle (Richard Attenborough) who claims to be Santa himself. H

The Grinch (2019)

The Grinch grows increasingly annoyed with the ever-growing festive cheer that engulfs the village of Whoville. So, he teams up with his dog to ruin the festive spirit by playing spoilsport.

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12 Men of Christmas

A public-relations executive (Kristin Chenoweth) uses her media savvy to stir excitement in a small Montana town.

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The Christmas Swap

A woman raising her four children without their father and a man trying to get custody of his two sons cross paths during the holiday.

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Memories of Christmas

When Noelle inherits her mother’s house, she finds out that for the past few years her aging mother had been hiring professionals to decorate it for Christmas. Noelle tells the decorator that the deal is off, but he refuses to take no for an answer.

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Miracle on 34th Street (1947)

You may have grown up with the remake starring Richard Attenborough, but this 1947 original – about the legal case to save an old man claiming to be Santa from being institutionalised – has oodles more charm. A film about the importance of fantasy as much as festive spirit, it’s enchanting stuff.

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Miracle on 34th Street (1973)

Sebastian Cabot takes the lead role in another remake of the film made for CBS.

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Bah, Humduck! A Looney Tunes Christmas

Special Christmas film based on Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, featuring Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and the rest of Looney Tunes gang. Dastardly Daffy Duck owns a superstore called the Lucky Duck, and causes a ruckus when he makes his employees work on Christmas Day.

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The Star (2017)

A donkey goes in search of excitement in this charming animated comedy about the story of the first Christmas. With Kelly Clarkson and Oprah Winfrey.

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Black Christmas

A mysterious cloaked figure on a bloodthirsty rampage interrupts the Christmas cheer at Hawthorne College, prompting Riley and her friends to fight back in Blumhouse’s remake of the horror classic.

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Christmas Town

When Lauren leaves everything behind in Boston to embark on a new chapter in her life, an unforeseen detour to a charming town leads to a surprising turn in events.

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Elf: Buddy’s Musical Christmas

Buddy heads to the Big Apple in this festive special based on the much-loved film.

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Christmas With the Coopers

John Goodman, Ed Helms and Alan Arkin lead a star-studded ensemble in this festive family comedy about the titular clan’s annual seasonal gathering.

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A Christmas Feast (2019)

Take a seat at the table of a large Italian family on Christmas Eve as they prepare the traditional Feast of the Seven Fishes and reminisce about the past.

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A Wedding for Christmas

Sparks fly for wedding planner Haley when she returns to her childhood small town to plan her sister’s Christmas nuptials and runs in to an old flame. With Vivica A Fox.

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Mickey’s Magical Christmas

Mickey, Minnie, Pooh, Piglet and many more Disney favourites reminisce about Christmases past in this festive animation.

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A Christmas in Royal Fashion

A handsome prince falls in love with a fashion assistant after meeting at a prestigious Christmas fashion show, but is she who he thinks she is?

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Tom and Jerry: Santa’s Little Helpers

Merry mayhem ensues until the destructive duo decide to put their differences aside and work as a team in order to save Christmas. Animated short.

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Mickey’s Once Upon A Christmas

Mickey Mouse leads the festive fun alongside Disney stalwarts Donald Duck and Goofy in a trio of colourful tales for Christmas.

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Curious George: A Very Monkey Christmas

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Cheeky monkey George and The Man with the Yellow Hat struggle to find the perfect Christmas present for each other.

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