These are the best ’80s Christmas movies.
Best 1980s Christmas movies
1. National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989)
Chevy Chase and the Griswold clan make the most of a holiday where everything goes disastrously, hilariously wrong in this slapstick-heavy perennial favorite written by John Hughes.
2. A Christmas Story (1983)
Based on the writings of Canada’s Jean Shepherd, the family comedy—centered on a boy who pines for a Red Ryder air rifle—has aired in 24-hour blocks on TNT and/or TBS since Christmas 1997. (Director Bob Clark also helmed a different kind of holiday classic, the 1974 cult slasher flick Black Christmas.)
3. Mickey’s Christmas Carol (1983)
An iconic standout among innumerable Charles Dickens adaptations, this featurette-length animated classic stars Scrooge McDuck as Ebenezer Scrooge—on that fateful night he’s faced with ghosts of Christmas past, present and future. It’s available on DVD/Blu-Ray and streaming on Disney Plus.
4. Santa Claus: The Movie (1985)
Dudley Moore, John Lithgow and David Huddleston star in this British-American comedy about an overworked Santa, his elf and a scheming businessman.
5. A Smoky Mountain Christmas (1986)
Before she reigned as Queen of Netflix Christmas, Dolly Parton starred in this ABC original about a country singer and a mountain man who rescue orphans from a witch and a crooked sheriff. Best of luck getting the toe-tapping title track out of your head. You can stream A Smoky Mountain Christmas on YouTube and other streaming sites.
6. Die Hard (1988)
Bruce Willis’ Christmas Eve battle royale against Alan Rickman and a team of heavily armed terrorists atop Nakatomi Plaza stands tall as one of the finest action pictures ever made, along with the likes of James Cameron‘s Aliens and George Miller‘s Mad Max: Fury Road. An unexpected box office smash, Die Hard was nominated for four Academy Awards and launched Willis’ career into the stratosphere.
7. Scrooged (1988)
Released four years after box office juggernaut Ghostbusters, the tagline for this comedic modernization of A Christmas Carol read “Bill Murray is back among the ghosts, only this time, it’s three against one.” Murray plays a thoroughly modern, cynical, corporate Scrooge, and while some have criticized the film for being mean-spirited—that’s kind of the point. Now it’s revered by many as a comedy classic.
8. Gremlins (1984)
Quick: is Joe Dante‘s handcrafted masterpiece of mayhem a horror movie for Halloween, or is it a Christmas movie? Gremlins is so deliciously inventive, so funny and yes, so frightening, who could blame you for watching it at least twice a year? The PG-rated Gremlins was aimed at a wide audience, and raked in a hefty $153 million against an $11 million budget. The unexpectedly high gore quotient (that microwave scene, anyone?) angered some parents, as did the bloodletting in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom that same summer. By the release of Red Dawn in August, the MPAA instated the PG-13 rating we still have today.
9. Prancer (1989)
Sam Elliott, Cloris Leachman and newcomer Rebecca Harrell star in John Hancock’s family fantasy drama about a young girl who discovers a wounded reindeer she believes to be one of Santa’s sleigh bearers.
10. Lethal Weapon (1987)
Director Richard Donner and writer Shane Black’s iconic, Oscar-nominated action-comedy stars Mel Gibson and Danny Glover as mismatched LAPD officers investigating a mysterious death. Lethal Weapon was number one at the U.S. box office for three weeks, ultimately grossing $120 million against a $15 million budget—and launching a franchise. It is considered among one of the best ’80s movies, regardless of genre.
11. The Brady Bunch: A Very Brady Christmas (1988)
This TV special feature reunited the beloved original cast of ABC’s iconic family dramedy. Parents Mike (Robert Reed) and Carol (Florence Henderson) dip into their savings for plane fare for their adult children, grandchildren and in-laws for a holiday reunion.
12. Rocky IV (1985)
The most iconic Rocky movie aside from the first (Dolph Lundgren! Montages! Brigitte Nielsen!) sees Rocky (Sylvester Stallone) take on his most fearsome, personal fight ever—at Christmastime! Despite mixed reviews, Rocky IV grossed over $300 million, well over ten times its budget.
13. Ernest Saves Christmas (1988)
In the third feature film with Jim Varney’s well-intentioned, oblivious Ernest P. Worrell sees bumbling Ernest seek a replacement for aging Santa Claus.
14. Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984)
Post-Halloween (1978), there was a gold rush of trashy holiday-turned-slasher movies that couldn’t hold a candle to John Carpenter‘s inspired scary classic. TriStar-released Silent Night, Deadly Night, directed by Charles E. Sellier Jr., is perhaps the most infamous. Public response to the R-rated gore fest’s advertising campaign—prominently featuring a killer Santa–was overwhelmingly negative. The film received a critical lashing, and was pulled from theaters after only one (admittedly, lucrative) week. It quickly developed a considerable cult following.
15. Babes in Toyland (1986)
16. Trading Places (1983)
This loose adaptation of Mark Twain‘s 19th century novel The Prince and the Pauper, where Dan Aykroyd and Eddie Murphy play financially disparate men who switch lives, was rightfully compared to the classic comedies of Preston Sturges and Frank Capra upon its release. Aykroyd and Murphyare perfect foils, with great chemistry. This was also a breakthrough for Jamie Lee Curtis, who won a British Academy Film Award for Best Supporting Actress for her hilarious performance as a tough-as-nails hooker with real depth and charm. Looking for something festive and spooky? Check out the best Christmas horror movies.
