Christmas season is nearly here, and with it will surely come a fierce debate about the best Christmas movies out there.
The setup: Well, Rotten Tomatoes — often seen as the authority on how good films are in 2019 — recently released a list of the “freshest modern Christmas classics.” The term “fresh” on Rotten Tomatoes indicates a solid film with positive reviews from fans and critics.
The editorial team at Rotten Tomatoes revealed the list of modern classics using the following criteria:
- The movies had to be about Christmas.
- The movies were set during Christmas.
- The movies had to be released after 2000.
- Movies had to have a “fresh” score with at least 20 reviews.
What they’re saying: “Some are titles you will no doubt be familiar with, movies from the earlier years of the 21st century that have already assumed the ‘classic’ label in the ensuing years,” according to the Rotten Tomatoes news release.
Here’s a breakdown of the top 22 movies:
- “Tangerine” — 96% (R)
- “Carol” — 94% (R)
- “Arthur Christmas” — 92% (PG)
- “Tokyo Godfathers” — 90% (PG-13)
- “Better Watch Out” — 89% (R)
- “Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale” — 89% (R)
- “Un Conte De Noel (A Christmas Tale)” — 86% (NR)
- “Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang” — 85% (R)
- “Elf” — 84% (PG)
- “Ben Is Back” — 82% (R)
- “The Man Who Invented Christmas” — 79% (PG)
- “Get Santa” — 79% (PG)
- “Anna and The Apocalypse” — 78% (R)
- “Bad Santa” — 78% (R)
- “Happy Christmas” — 75% (R)
- “Joyeux Noel (Merry Christmas) ”— 74% (PG-13)
- “The Best Man Holiday” — 71% (R)
- “A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas” — 68% (R)
- “The Night Before” — 67% (R)
- “Krampus” — 67% (PG-13)
- “The Christmas Chronicles” — 64% (NR)
- “Love Actually” — 64% (R)