The 2025 holiday season is shaping up to be one of the most cinematic in years, despite middling summer results at the box office —and not just because the big studios are rolling out their blockbuster tentpoles. This year, the films arriving between November and New Year’s aren’t only aiming to entertain you for two hours; they’re vying to become part of your rituals, the stories you quote at dinner, the movies you insist your friends “have to see before the year ends.” Whether you’re planning cozy nights in, family outings to the multiplex, or solo escapes from the chaos of holiday gatherings, the right film can define how this season feels—and how you’ll remember it.
We’re living in a moment where streaming platforms drop new releases alongside theater exclusives, franchises compete with intimate indie dramas, and audiences are more vocal than ever about what they want from their stories. In 2025, that means holiday releases are doing more than trotting out familiar formulas with tinsel on top. You’ll see studios taking creative risks, elevating diverse voices, reimagining classic genres, and leaning into themes of connection, identity, and hope.
That’s where this guide comes in. We’re zeroing in on the titles that matter: the movies most likely to spark conversation, stir emotion, or become your new seasonal staple. In this article, we’ll provide an abbreviated version of the movies to prioritize during your holiday season.
Wicked: For Good –Holiday Season
Release Date: November 21, 2025
Cast: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater, Marissa Bode, Peter Dinklage, Bowen Yang
Preceding Film: Wicked: Part 1 chronicles the formative years of Elphaba, the future Wicked Witch of the West, and Glinda, the Good Witch of the North, beginning with their strained, forced co-habitation as college roommates at Shiz University. The green-skinned, magically gifted outcast Elphaba dreams of meeting the Wizard of Oz to use her powers for good, particularly to help the oppressed talking Animals of Oz, like her mentor Doctor Dillamond. Meanwhile, the bubbly, status-obsessed Galinda (later Glinda) is focused on popularity and love, specifically with the newly arrived Fiyero. Their initial animosity slowly gives way to a profound, if complicated, friendship. This bond is tested when Elphaba is summoned to the Emerald City, only to discover that the revered Wizard is a powerless, manipulative fraud who is actively working with Madame Morrible to strip the Animals of their rights. Realizing she has been used, Elphaba steals a powerful spellbook and flees, refusing Glinda’s pleas to reconcile, thus becoming publicly branded as the “Wicked Witch” and setting her on a path of rebellion against the regime.
Synopsis: “Wicked: For Good” opens with Elphaba in exile, living as a fugitive in the Ozian forest, where she continues her relentless, solitary fight for Animal rights against the tyrannical regime of the Wizard and Madame Morrible. Glinda, meanwhile, has accepted her role as the public face of the Wizard’s government, known as Glinda the Good, and lives a life of carefully curated glamour and popularity in the Emerald City.
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Release Date: December 19, 2025
Cast: Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Oona Chaplin, Kate Winslet, Cliff Curtis, Britain Dalton, David Thewlis, Michelle Yeoh, Giovanni Ribisi
Preceding Film: Over a decade after “Avatar”, Jake Sully and Neytiri have raised a family on Pandora among the Omaticaya, but their peace is shattered by the return of the militant human forces of the RDA, led by a Recombinant avatar of Jake’s nemesis, Colonel Quaritch, who is determined to find and kill Jake. To ensure his family’s safety, Jake uproots them and seeks sanctuary with the aquatic Metkayina clan. The Sully children struggle to integrate into the water tribe, with the outcast Lo’ak forming a profound bond with Payakan, an exiled Tulkun (an intelligent, whale-like species that is ruthlessly hunted by the humans). Quaritch eventually tracks them down, leading to a massive confrontation involving the Tulkun hunters. The battle tragically costs Jake and Neytiri their eldest son, Neteyam, forcing the family to confront their need to protect one another at all costs. Having found a new home and purpose with the Metkayina, the Sully family resolves to cease running and permanently integrate with the reef people to continue the fight against the human invaders.
Synopsis: “Avatar: Fire and Ash” continues the epic saga of Jake Sully and Neytiri as they navigate life with the Metkayina clan and grapple with the emotional fallout of losing their son, Neteyam, while the RDA colonization effort intensifies. The narrative takes a dark turn with the introduction of the Ash People, a fiery, volatile Na’vi tribe led by Varang, who forms an unexpected and dangerous alliance with Recombinant Colonel Quaritch and the human military. This new enemy creates a complex three-way conflict that shifts the focus to Pandora’s volcanic regions and forces the Na’vi to fight against one of their own, challenging the simplistic good vs. evil dynamic of previous films. As the Sullys fight for survival and the fate of Pandora, they must also confront their deep internal wounds, with the children, Kiri and Lo’ak, and their human brother, Spider, taking increasingly central roles in a war that threatens to consume all of Pandora in literal and metaphorical fire and ash.
Is This Thing On – Holiday Season
Release Date: December 19, 2025
Cast: Will Arnett, Laura Dern, Bradley Cooper, Andra Day, Ciaran Hinds, Sean Hayes
Synopsis: “Is This Thing On?” is a bittersweet dramedy chronicling the dissolution of Alex (Will Arnett) and Tess’s (Laura Dern) 20-year marriage and the subsequent, messy search for self-rediscovery in middle age. As the couple attempts to navigate an amicable separation and the complexities of co-parenting their two sons, finance executive Alex finds himself utterly lost. Seeking solace, he stumbles into a New York comedy club where, on a whim, he signs up for an open mic night to avoid a cover charge. This impulsive act awakens a dormant passion, turning the stand-up stage into a vulnerable, therapeutic space where Alex channels his heartbreak and confusion over the divorce. Meanwhile, Tess confronts the personal and professional aspirations she set aside for her family. The film delicately balances humor and heartache, focusing not on a dramatic blow-up, but on the intimate, often awkward, journey of two people who still care for each other, forced to redefine their individual identities and the new, evolving form their love must take.
Anaconda
Release Date: December 25, 2025
Cast: Jack Black, Paul Rudd, Thandie Newton, Steve Zahn
Synopsis: “Anaconda” is a meta action-comedy that sidesteps a straight remake by telling the story of two childhood best friends, Doug (Jack Black) and Griff (Paul Rudd), whose midlife crises inspire them to pursue their lifelong dream of remaking their favorite film, the 1997 cult classic Anaconda. Despite securing minimal financing, the hapless duo drags a makeshift crew to the Amazon rainforest, intending to shoot their film “indie style.” Disaster quickly strikes, culminating in the loss of their prop snake and forcing them deep into the jungle in search of a replacement. This pursuit turns their comically chaotic film set into a genuine nightmare when they encounter a real, massive, predatory anaconda. The film follows their desperate, often hilarious, struggle to survive the giant reptile, effectively turning their attempt to make a movie about a killer snake into a frantic, life-or-death scenario where they are the stars of an authentic, monstrous horror story.
Zootopia 2 – Holiday Season
Release Date: November 26, 2025
Cast: Ginnifer Goodwin, Jason Bateman, Idris Elba, Skahira, Jenny Slate, Bonnie Hunt, Alan Tudyk
Synopsis: “Zootopia 2” rejoins rookie partners Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde, whose differences in policing style lead to a failed undercover mission and mandatory couples counseling, testing their unique relationship. Their next case is their most intricate yet: investigating the mysterious arrival of Gary De’Snake, a reptile whose presence exposes a deep, historic conspiracy and prejudice against reptiles in the mammal-dominated city. Following Gary’s trail, Judy and Nick venture into previously unexplored, segregated areas like the Marsh Market and go undercover, relying on new allies to track a historical book Gary is trying to steal—a book said to contain truths about the city’s discriminatory foundation. When the pair realize Gary is being framed by a villain attempting to maintain the oppression of reptiles, Judy helps him escape, instantly making herself and Nick fugitives from the law. The two officers must then race against the clock to expose the true criminal and clear Gary’s name, cementing their partnership by proving that a better, more inclusive Zootopia is worth fighting for, even if it means defying the very police force they serve.