10 Most Depressing Christmas Movies, Ranked

11 hours ago 2

Christmas

Blended image showing James Stewart as George Bailey in It's a Wonderful Life with pine trees in the background.

If there's one thing Christmas movies typically have in common, it's that they're generally feel-good stories meant to put people in the proper mood for the coming holiday, which is supposed to be about happiness and togetherness. Usually, this is the case, and there is most certainly no shortage of Christmas films that fit this criteria. However, this is more of a guideline than an actual rule.

In fact, some Christmas films are far from joyful or cheery and can be downright grim. Usually, this quality is due to their storylines, which often feature devastating events, family turmoil, poverty, death, or illness, transforming a once-merry season into a terrible time for everyone involved. These are the most depressing Christmas movies, which provide a stark contrast and a differing experience to the typical Yuletide fare that one may expect to find in other movies of the genre.

10 'The Family Stone' (2005)

Directed by Thomas Bezucha

A family greeting each other in The Family Stone

The Family Stone is a holiday dramedy set in a fictional town in New England. Sarah Jessica Parker gives her most underrated performance as Meredith, an uptight and reserved young woman spending Christmas with her boyfriend's rambunctious and chaotic family, whom she has never met. Instead of warm greetings and holiday cheer, Meredith is almost instantly met with hostility from the family, so she asks her sister to come along for moral support. Of course, this only makes things worse, and the tension grows even more.

The Family Stone is supposed to be about happy times, with Meredith's boyfriend planning to propose and with it being a Christmas film and all. Instead, audiences are treated to incessant bickering, a family in chaos, and a resounding tension that can be cut with a knife. Perhaps it's so miserable due to how relatable it is for a lot of people whose family functions typically end in arguing and infighting, or perhaps it's because the true meaning of Christmas is totally missing. Either way, no one in this movie is having a holly jolly Christmas, especially considering the heartbreaking revelation concerning the matriarch.

The Family Stone

Release Date December 16, 2005

Runtime 104 Minutes

9 'Stepmom' (1998)

Directed by Chris Columbus

Julia Roberts as Isabel Kelly and Susan Sarandon as Jackie Harrison in Stepmom

Stepmom doesn't waste a second letting its viewers know what they're in for, featuring a divorced couple struggling to parent their children during the holiday season. The father has a girlfriend, Isabel (Julia Roberts), but she doesn't particularly like kids, has never wanted to be a mother, and has a hard time getting her boyfriend's kids to like her. This friction leads to several arguments between Isabel and the kids' biological mother, Jackie (Susan Sarandon), who has been secretly living with lymphoma.

If there's anything that shouldn't happen during Christmas, it's a cancer diagnosis; the constant squabbling between the two moms is definitely not helping the mood. Of course, the ones who suffer the most are the children, who feel left behind as their parents try to sort everything out. The turmoil kind of spoils the festive energy that should be present in a Christmas movie, making for an experience that is truly heartbreaking yet all too real for many. As much about Christmas as it is a movie about grief, Stepmom is a beautiful but outright depressing experience.

Stepmom

Release Date December 25, 1998

Runtime 125 minutes

Writers Gigi Levangie , Jessie Nelson , Steven Rogers , Karen Leigh Hopkins , Ronald Bass

8 'The Snow Sister' (2024)

Directed by Cecilie A. Mosli

The two main characters of 'the snow sister', a boy and a girl against a snowy backdrop

The Snow Sister is a Norwegian Christmas movie released by Netflix in 2024. The movie stars Mudit Gupta as Julian, a lonely boy with a birthday on Christmas Eve. However, the holiday has been effectively ruined following the death of his beloved sister on the same day. Julian becomes disillusioned with the season, finding it to be empty and grey, with the memories of his sister's death still haunting his family.

Luckily for Julian, things do work out, as he meets Hedwig (Celina Meyer Hovland), a girl who is extremely enthusiastic about the holiday. She befriends Julian and helps him get back into the Christmas spirit and feel at peace again. While it's not as sad as it could have been due to everything working out in the end, things start pretty brutal since a parent losing their child on Christmas is probably one of the worst things that could ever happen to any family.

Release Date November 29, 2024

Cast Mudit Gupta , Celina Meyer Hovland , Advika , Gunnar Eiriksson , Sampda Sharma , Jan Sælid

Writers Siv Rajendram Eliassen , Maja Lunde

WATCH ON NETFLIX

7 'Nestor, the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey' (1977)

Directed by Jules Bass & Arthur Rankin Jr.

A still from Nestor the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey looking scared

Nestor, the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey is a Rankin/Bass christmas special, which are usually pretty whimsy affairs that are pretty short and kid-friendly. Yet this one stands as being the saddest of them all. This film takes viewers back to the First Century, where a baby donkey with abnormally long ears named Nestor (Erik Stern) is thrown out of his stable due to being perceived as a misfit. His mother (Linda Gary) accompanies him out into the cold winter, and on their first night together, the mother shelters him to keep him warm in the night.

Tragically, his mother freezes to death in the process, resulting in one of the most crushing and devastating animal deaths ever featured in a movie. Things do eventually work out for Nestor, but his being ostracized by the other animals in the stable and by other humans at such a young age is pretty depressing, and it's only made worse by the untimely passing of the only person who ever cared for him. Nestor, the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey is a somber reminder that loss and pain are parts of life, whether we like it or not.

Nestor, the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey

Release Date December 3, 1977

Cast Brenda Vaccaro , Roger Miller , Eric Stern , Linda Gary , Paul Frees , Don Messick , Iris Rainer , Shelly Hines

Writers Romeo Muller

WATCH ON AMAZON

6 'Meet Me in St. Louis' (1944)

Directed by Vincente Minnelli

Judy Garland and Tom Drake in a promo shot for Meet Me in St. Louis.

Meet Me in St. Louis is a Christmas classic that has refused to disappear since its release in 1944. The musical film stars the legendary Judy Garland as Esther Smith, one of four children in a relatively affluent family living in St. Louis, Missouri. Esther falls in love with John (Tom Drake), the boy next door, but their relationship hits multiple bumps in the road, causing Esther to question John's love for her.

As they make amends, Esther's father has devastating news: he is packing the entire family up to move them to New York City, and Esther will be forced to leave John behind. While they try to stay in high spirits, the looming threat of their permanent separation always hangs in the air, bringing an aching, melancholy tone to the entire movie. The film is best remembered for its songs, particularly the Christmas staple "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," possibly the most bittersweet holiday tune ever written.

Meet Me in St. Louis

Release Date November 28, 1944

Cast Judy Garland , Margaret O'Brien , Mary Astor , Lucille Bremer , Tom Drake , Marjorie Main

Runtime 113 Minutes

5 'Prancer' (1989)

Directed by John Hancock

Prancer is about a family of apple farmers living in rural United States, with the daughter, Jessica (Rebecca Harrell), as the protagonist. The family starts in a really bad place, with their father being cynical and jaded, grumbling about his days after the death of his wife. As if this wasn't bad enough, their apple farm isn't doing very well economically, prompting Jessica's father to consider sending his children to live with their aunt.

Through it all, Jessica tries to remain optimistic for the Christmas season but despairs when she finds a wounded reindeer, believing it to be one of Santa's helpers, Prancer. She takes care of the reindeer, but everyone else ostracizes her for believing it to be Prancer, especially her bully of an older brother. Prancer is a biting reminder of the less fortunate during Christmastime, who don't have much to share and must find joy in anything that they can, no matter how trivial.

RENT ON AMAZON

4 'A Midnight Clear' (1992)

Directed by Keith Gordon

Mel (Kevin Dillon) standing in a battlefield in 'A Midnight Clear'

A Midnight Clear is set during World War II, the deadliest conflict in human history; right away, there is the indication that it's not going to be a particularly happy story. Taking place during the Battle of the Bulge in December of 1944, the movie centers on an American reconnaissance and intelligence squad during this last, desperate offensive from the Germans against the Allies.

The squad, already reeling from the heavy losses they have suffered, is subject to another loss during a routine operation that goes terribly wrong. Thus, they are forced to celebrate the "festivities" while the death of their comrade weighs heavy on their conscience. A Midnight Clear shows how death and war can ruin everything, even a day that is supposed to be joyous and festive, and the impact conflict has on an individual's psyche.

Release Date April 24, 1992

Cast Peter Berg , Kevin Dillon , Arye Gross , Ethan Hawke , Gary Sinise , Frank Whaley , John C. McGinley , Larry Joshua , David Jensen , Curt Lowens , Rachel Griffin , Tim Shoemaker , Kelly Gately , Bill Osborn , Andre Lamal

Runtime 108 Minutes

Writers William Wharton

WATCH ON TUBI

3 'It's a Wonderful Life' (1946)

Directed by Frank Capra

George Bailey looking at someone in It's a Wonderful Life

It's a Wonderful Life is a classic Christmas movie based on a short story called The Greatest Gift by Philip van Doren Stern, which can be pretty sad on its own. Contrary to the movie's title, things are anything but wonderful for the main protagonist, George Bailey (James Stewart), a savings and loan associate who has to take over the family business in a town he hates because none of his other family members will. The business is rapidly failing, and the town's bank is vehement about closing the business and ruining Bailey's life.

With his dreams thoroughly shattered and him sacrificing everything for his family, Bailey wishes for nothing more than to be dead. At this point, though, an angel comes to him and shows him what the town would be like without him, changing his mind. But it's a long, hard road to get there, with one thing after another sending Bailey deeper into a dark depression, and the audience can definitely feel each knife go in as things continue to go wrong.

It's a Wonderful Life

Release Date December 20, 1946

Cast Donna Reed , James Stewart , Lionel Barrymore , Thomas Mitchell , Henry Travers , Beulah Bondi , Frank Faylen , Ward Bond , Gloria Grahame , H.B. Warner , Frank Albertson , Todd Karns , Samuel S. Hinds , Mary Treen , Virginia Patton , Charles Williams , Sarah Edwards , William Edmunds , Lillian Randolph , Argentina Brunetti , Robert J. Anderson , Ronnie Ralph , Jeanne Gail , Jeanine Ann Roose , Danny Mummert

Runtime 130 minutes

Writers Albert Hackett , Frances Goodrich

2 'A Christmas Tale' (2008)

Directed by Arnaud Desplechin

The Vuillard family standing near a Christmas tree in 'A Christmas Tale.'

A Christmas Tale is a French film about the dysfunctional Vuillard family. The elderly parents are subject to poor health, and their children, who are in their 30s and are constantly at each other's throats, are faring no better. One has a child with severe mental illness, and another has fallen into a downward spiral of alcoholism. The two youngest children are friends with their cousin, who lived with them as a child following the deaths of his parents, and he, too, has fallen into the trap of alcohol addiction. Oh, and there was a fourth sibling who passed away due to leukemia at the young age of six. Merry Christmas, indeed.

The family is finally brought together again, but under grim circumstances: the mother, played by the great Catherine Deneuve, has now also fallen ill with leukemia and requires a bone marrow transplant. The Vuillards come together not just to save the mother but to try and enjoy each other's company before she dies. Things hardly even work out in the end, and the numerous misfortunes befalling the family set the stage for a truly miserable holiday movie that is unapologetic in how sad it is.

A Christmas Tale

Release Date May 16, 2008

Cast Catherine Deneuve , Jean-Paul Roussillon , Anne Consigny , Mathieu Amalric , Melvil Poupaud , Hippolyte Girardot

Runtime 143 minutes

1 'Joyeux Noël' (2005)

Directed by Christian Carion

Two soldiers and a woman on the street in Joyeux Noël - 2005

Joyeux Noël means "Merry Christmas" in French and is the most common way to wish someone a happy holiday in the language. But the holiday in this movie is anything but happy, as it takes place during World War I, a global conflict during which millions of people lost their lives in just four years. The movie has an ensemble cast of six characters, all of various backgrounds and nationalities, who exist at different points in the world during Christmas of 1914. This Christmas, in particular, is special, as it marks an event known as the Christmas Truce when Triple Entente and Triple Alliance soldiers all along the Western Front agree to put aside their differences and cease-fire for the holiday. They meet in No Man's Land to exchange presents, have dinner and enjoy each other's company.

By far, the most upsetting part of this is seeing the friendships grow between French, German, and British soldiers, knowing that they will have to go right back to killing each other in the following days. It's truly a tragic movie about how nothing is sacred in war, and though the true meaning of Christmas is on full display, it doesn't change how the holiday is effectively ruined by the conflict. No one should have to enjoy Christmas in a trench but should be home with their families, which is what makes this the saddest Christmas movie ever made.