Whether you’re the type to have the decorations up by mid-November or someone who runs for the hills at the first whiff of a clove-studded orange, you’re probably as susceptible to the charms of a good Christmas film as anyone else. Rooting around to write this piece, it dawned on me that the subgenre of stories involving St. Nick himself has actually provided fewer films than I’d remembered — but we do tend to watch the ones that stick a lot.
The following list contains more genres than you might imagine, including comedy, action, animation, and straight-up festive heart-warmers. There are some not-very-good films that still gave us good Santas. There are also some quite good films that gave us bad ones. Regardless, you’ll find them below, ranked in ascending order. Read on to discover more, and use the guide below to find them on services like AppleTV, Netflix, Prime Video and elsewhere.
12. Tom Hanks in The Polar Express (2004)
We begin our list in two places: The North Pole and, less hospitably, the uncanny valley. Robert Zemickis has always been the kind of director who likes to work at the cutting edge of special effects (think recent movies like The Walk and Here), but his mo-capped 2004 Christmas movie, The Polar Express, is probably best known for pushing the boat out a little too far.
As a result, the film can be unsettlingly humanlike at times, but it’s mostly a delight—and who doesn’t want to see Tom Hanks (aka America’s dad) as the man himself?
11. Paul Giamatti in Fred Claus (2007)
Given the actor’s lovable, gruff nature and physical charms, it was only a matter of time before Paul Giamatti was asked to play Santa Claus. Unluckily, his opportunity came in the not particularly funny Vince Vaughn comedy Fred Claus, in which Vaughn plays the jolly guy’s degenerate brother.
The film is one of Vaughn’s post-Wedding Crashers comedies, so if you’re okay with the movies from that era (The Break-Up, Four Christmases), then you’ll probably have a good time with it. Regardless, Giamatti, as ever, is a delight.
10. Jim Broadbent in Arthur Christmas (2011)
Given the number of great animated Christmas movies out there, there’s no shortage of solid Santa vocal performances to choose from. One of the more delightful and low-key comes from Jim Broadbent in Arthur Christmas.
This festive action caper (which follows Santa’s youngest son on a quest to deliver one last present) comes from the geniuses at Aardman Animations, so if you like films like Curse of the Were-Rabbit and Chicken Run, this is one you’ll want to check out.
9. JK Simmons in Klaus (2019)
The next animated film on our list is Klaus, a gorgeous 2019 Netflix release that offers a kind of origin story for the man in the red suit. The protagonist is a Norwegian postman who gets stationed in the far north, where he meets a toy maker who seems like he might have other skills to offer.
The signature voiced J.K. Simmons actually played Santa in the flesh in last year’s Dwayne Johnson-led action film, Red One, but his work here is even better—especially if you liked his voice work in shows like Invincible and BoJack Horseman.
8. David Harbour in Violent Night (2022)
A more recent trend in Christmas films is to blend the festive cheer with another, less festive genre. A few of these, like the aforementioned Red One, have opted for action, and none with more of a sense of ‘90s fun than the 2022 film Violent Night, which basically marketed itself as a blend of Home Alone and Die Hard.
For the lead role of this axe-wielding Santa, the filmmakers cast David Harbour—an actor who, funnily enough, was already known for playing a Red Guardian. The story takes place in a compound on Christmas Eve, where Santa must save a family from a group of mercenaries.
7. Tim Allen in The Santa Claus (1994)
If you were born at some point in the late ‘80s or early ‘90s, there’s a good chance that Tim Allen’s performance in The Santa Clause was burned onto your retinas. The film probably isn’t considered as much of a classic these days as it used to be, but in terms of offering an alternative take on Christmas mythology (Allen plays a divorced Dad who has to take on the role after accidentally killing St Nick), it kind of got there first—so credit where credit’s due.
This is one that fans of festive movies from around that period, like Home Alone 2 and Jingle All the Way, will probably love.
6. Chris Sarandon in The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
Our highest-ranked animated film is, of course, a Christmas classic in its own right—and kind of a classic in general, especially for fans of gothy stop frame animation (think Coraline, Corpse Bride). All that said, Henry Sellick and Tim Burton’s Nightmare Before Christmas doesn’t exactly star Santa, but this incarnation, voiced by Chris Sarandon, is nothing if not memorable.
Having been abducted by Jack Skellington, Sarandon’s festively plump Claus gets to show some range as he’s quickly scared out of his leather boots, first by Lock, Shock, and Barrel and then by the terrifying Oogie Boogie.
5. Kurt Russell in The Christmas Chronicles (2018)
Given how bearded Kurt Russell looked when he made his comeback in Quentin Tarantino’s The Hateful Eight, are we surprised that someone asked him to play Santa just a couple of years later? Whatever the case, we now have two Christmas Chronicles movies—and if you enjoy Russell’s vibe in films like Death Proof and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, let’s just say he doesn’t change his approach too much here.
The first of the two—in which two kids have to help Santa out after accidentally causing his sleigh to crash—is easily the best.
4. Ed Asner in Elf (2003)
Thinking back over all these movies, you start to notice a few different types emerging. There’s the endlessly warm kind, the cool dad kind, and then there’s the tough love, no-nonsense kind. At the time of writing, no one has done the latter as well as Ed Asner did in Elf.
The actor really only appears in a handful of scenes in this air-tight, Will Ferrell classic (imagine Barbie meets Step Brothers, but set at Christmas, and you’ll have some idea of the vibe), yet every moment he has on screen is solid gold.
3. Billy Bob Thornton in Bad Santa (2003)
Now, if Asner is the best example of the patriarchal Santa, nobody did the anti-hero version quite like Billy Bob Thornton in Bad Santa. The movie, surprisingly enough, was directed by none other than Terry Swigoff—and if you appreciate the slacker energy of the director’s previous movies (think Ghost World and Crumb), this is definitely the Christmas film for you.
Thornton’s Santa is, of course, not exactly the sleigh-riding kind, but the film does build to a relatively festive conclusion—once you get past all the bad behaviour, of course.
2 & 1. Richard Attenborough/Edmund Gwenn in Miracle on 34th Street (1994/1947)
As we reach the end of our countdown, it’s time to forget all those alternative approaches and just bask in the presence of the real deal. It’s almost impossible to choose between the two Miracle on 34th Street films, so in the spirit of Christmas, I’ve decided to award them joint first.
The 1947 original (which, given the time period, will appeal to fans of It’s a Wonderful Life) stars Maureen O’Hara and Natalie Wood (who was just eight years old at the time), but it’s the great Edmund Green who steals the show as St. Nick—the actor remains the only person to win an Oscar for playing the role.
If I had to choose one, however, it would be Richard Attenborough, who gives a performance that is pure warmth in the 1994 version—and honestly, that monologue about being “a symbol” just gets me every time. This one was written by the great John Hughes, so if you like Home Alone, you’re gonna love it.
