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Not sure if it counts as a movie, but I've loved Rich Little's Christmas Carol for decades. Rich Little was/is a master impersonator and he plays all the major roles in A Christmas Carol with characters that would have been well known back in the 1970s. W. C. Fields as Scrooge. Richard Nixon as Marley. Johnny Carson as Freddie. You get the idea. It was my favorite version of that story until The Muppets, and still ranks as my second favorite.
Edit: you can find it on YouTube
Ebbie
Just for its sheer badosity, a 1950s movie made in Mexico, just called Santa Claus. Santa vs. the devil, I shit you not.
Maybe this isn’t that obscure, but Klaus (2019) is an excellent Christmas movie. It’s become a yearly staple since the first time we watched it.
bad santa
Bad Santa is my favorite Christmas movie. Bad Santa 2, however, was kinda meh.
definitely gratuitous sequels
Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang: Shane Black in high form writing Christmas comedy/action/noir. Pre-Iron Man Robert Downey Jr. and Val Kilmer absolutely crushing it. All around great movie.
Santa Claus: The Movie: Santa gets the Superman: The Movie treatment. Possibly made inside of a bag of cocaine. John Lithgow devouring large sections of scenery.
The Lion in Winter: Set during Christmas. Basically a Shakespearean drama/comedy, but written in modern English. Peter O'Toole, Katherine Hepburn, Timothy Dalton, and Anthony Hopkins in his first film role, just an incredibly talented cast working with an amazing script. Bunch of royals all plotting and scheming each others' downfall during a big Christmas get-together. Strong contender for my favorite movie of all time.
The Ref (1994) and A Wish For Wings That Work (1991)
Went to a Christmas movie when I was a kid in the late 60's or early 70's. It was some low key film about a father living alone with his son. I don't remember hardly anything else about it but his son died at the end. I was bummed out and though that was a stupid Christmas movie. What did my parents send me to?
Ernest Saves Christmas
Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas
three of my favourite go to Christmas movies:
Brazil
Blast of Silence
Batman Returns
(all B's, weird)
Brazil you wouldn't think is a christmas movie but it is and it's easily my favourite Terry Gilliam movies.
Blast of Silence is an old movie but it's a unique one about a lonely hitman whose returned to New York City for christmas and how the city itself as kinda left him behind.
Batman Returns IS a christmas movie and easily my favourite Batman flick. watch it every year.
Batman Returns isn't just a Christmas movie, it's a Batman spin on A Christmas Carol. Penguin represents Bruce's past, Catwoman his present, and Schreck his future.
Die hard 2
It may seem like I’m playing two sides here, but I’m of the opinion that Die Hard is definitely a Christmas movie, but Die Hard 2 is just a movie that takes place at Christmas.
The OG gives Christmas vibes, has lots of musical cues and small choices that play into that. I’m just not feeling it with the sequel.
Holiday Mismatch came out on Hallmark last year and was pretty good for a Hallmark movie. Reuniting the actresses from Sabrina the Teenage witch was the main draw for me.
Not sure on everyone’s definition of big, but lesser known and not obviously Christmas themed would include:
Trading Places! I'd forgotten it's a Christmas movie!
Terry Pratchett's Hogfather is my favorite Xmas movie. It's technically 2 90 minute episodes.
Red One was stupid and fun.
DreamWorks' the Grinch is actually a fun watch.
I had been debating getting into Discworld forever and someone here recommended checking out the Hogfather movie as it was up on Youtube anyway, so I checked it out. Without having any context, I still really enjoyed it and the style of humor. Felt like a fun take on Nightmare Before Christmas, but perhaps even weirder.
A few months later I read Guards, Guards and loved that. Had to do some longer road trips this fall so I listened to audiobooks of Mort and Equal Rites and loved those, so at that point I decided I mat as well start from the beginning and just today started Witches Abroad. I've been hooked!
I didn't know there was a hogfather movie . Thank you - I'm so excited to watch it now. I'm even going to wait for my daughter who's visiting over Xmas as she and I read a lot of the TP books together.
As a huge fan of the books, they translate very oddly to film, so keep that in mind. Low expectations is a good thing, and you'll have a good time
The Long Kiss Goodnight.
Peak form Geena Davis as an amnesiac housewife who slowly remembers that she's actually a government assassin. Samuel Jackson is the comic releif.
"I am on the PTA!"
"Then quit!"
Bernard and the genie
Rare Exports
Nice one!
Being set during Christmas, eyes wide shut is technically a Christmas movie.
Not the best for the kids.
I thought you meant the ice storm and I was thinking it's not the kind of movie to put you in the Christmas mood! Very heavy but a good movie nonetheless. I think it's set after Thanksgiving rather than before Christmas but there are stereotypical festive parties in it.
The Ice Storm (1997) — The Movie Database (TMDB) https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/68924-the-ice-storm
Holly Star
Fantastic Fables
Click & Collect starring Asim Chaudhry and Stephen Merchant.
Tangerine
"Die Weihnachtsgans Auguste" by Günter Rätz. I guess one can understand most of it without speaking German.
A Biltmore Christmas.
Christmas, Again
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas%2C_Again
I have not seen it but it gets good reviews. Love to hear from someone who has.