Christmas movies may not be as old as the film industry itself, but some are close. Walt Disney put his best-known character in an animated film titled “Mickey’s Good Deed” in 1932. The first version of “Scrooge” was released in 1935 and has been followed by another seven movies about the same character.
Many of the most well-known Christmas movies are released around the holidays. Entertainment Weekly reports that there will be 146 Christmas films this year. Dozens already have been released.
Looking back over time, many movies about the holiday rated poorly with critics and audiences but still did well at the box office. People get excited about the holiday season, and it is a great time to go to a theater or watch something at home. As long as people keep watching, they’ll keep making bad Christmas movies of all varieties.
To determine the worst Christmas movie of all time, 24/7 Tempo developed an index using average ratings on IMDb and a combination of audience and Tomatometer scores on Rotten Tomatoes.
There are many classic Christmas movies, including “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” and “A Christmas Story.” However, there are many that are either very bland or so bad that they hurt to watch. For the most part, they follow a few recurring themes, like a dysfunctional family brought together for the holidays, being sad and alone during the holidays or trying to get the right gift for children.
The worst Christmas movie of all time is “Kirk Cameron’s Saving Christmas” (2014). Here are the details:
- IMDb user rating: 1.4/10 (15,548 votes)
- Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 30% (22,154 votes)
- Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 0% (19 reviews)
Released in 2014 and directed by Darren Doane, this faith-based Christmas comedy is considered by many to be one of the worst films ever made. Real-life evangelist Kirk Cameron plays a fictionalized version of himself that insists that consumerism around the holiday is one of the best ways to worship higher powers. Cameron claims that the film has received poor reviews thanks to a conspiracy by “haters,” “pagans” and other atheists. RogerEbert.com wrote: “Perhaps the only Christmas movie I can think of, especially of the religious-themed variety, that seems to flat-out endorse materialism, greed and outright gluttony.”
IMDb is an online movie database owned by Amazon and Rotten Tomatoes is an online movie and TV review aggregator. All ratings were weighted equally and as of November 2021. Only movies with at least 5,000 audience votes on either IMDb or Rotten Tomatoes were considered. Only films in which the Christmas season plays an important role in the plot or were otherwise identified as Christmas movies by Box Office Mojo, the Countdown Until Christmas movie database and Vulture magazine were considered. Information on directorial credits comes from IMDb.
Click here to see all the worst Christmas movies of all time.
The #1 Thing to Do Before You Claim Social Security (Sponsor)
Choosing the right (or wrong) time to claim Social Security can dramatically change your retirement. So, before making one of the biggest decisions of your financial life, it’s a smart idea to get an extra set of eyes on your complete financial situation.
A financial advisor can help you decide the right Social Security option for you and your family. Finding a qualified financial advisor doesn’t have to be hard. SmartAsset’s free tool matches you with up to three financial advisors who serve your area, and you can interview your advisor matches at no cost to decide which one is right for you.
Click here to match with up to 3 financial pros who would be excited to help you optimize your Social Security outcomes.
Have questions about retirement or personal finance? Email us at [email protected]!
By emailing your questions to 24/7 Wall St., you agree to have them published anonymously on a673b.bigscoots-temp.com.
By submitting your story, you understand and agree that we may use your story, or versions of it, in all media and platforms, including via third parties.
Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.
Latest from 24/7
